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163-500: A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns , acrobats , trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians , dancers , hoopers , tightrope walkers , jugglers , magicians , ventriloquists , and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term "circus" also describes the field of performance, training, and community which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not

326-468: A Winkte . Canadian First Nations also feature jester-like ritual performers, translated by one Anishinaabe activist as "Harlequins", though the exact nature of their role is kept secret from non-members of the tribe into the present day. The Canadian clowning method developed by Richard Pochinko and furthered by his former apprentice, Sue Morrison, combines European and Native American clowning techniques. In this tradition, masks are made of clay while

489-413: A physical performance discipline, partly because tricky subject matter can be dealt with, but also because it requires a high level of risk and play in the performer. In anthropology, the term clown has been extended to comparable jester or fool characters in non-Western cultures. A society in which such clowns have an important position are termed clown societies , and a clown character involved in

652-594: A cage with several big cats in 1833, and is generally considered to be the first wild animal trainer in American circus history. Mabel Stark was a famous female tiger-tamer. Animal rights groups have documented many cases of animal cruelty in the training of performing circus animals. The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contends that animals in circuses are frequently beaten into submission and that physical abuse has always been

815-409: A center ring, and sometimes a stage. The traditional large tents commonly known as "big tops" were introduced in the mid-nineteenth century as touring circuses superseded static venues. These tents eventually became the most common venue. Contemporary circus is performed in a variety of venues including tents, theatres, casinos, cruise ships, and open-air spaces. Many circus performances are still held in

978-454: A change in the law was needed to protect circus animals. Gale told the BBC, "It's undignified and the conditions under which they are kept are woefully inadequate—the cages are too small, the environments they live in are not suitable and many of us believe the time has come for that practice to end." The group reported concerns about boredom and stress, and noted that an independent study by a member of

1141-404: A circle and the building as an amphitheatre; these would later be known as a circus. In 1770, Astley hired acrobats , tightrope walkers , jugglers , and a clown to fill in the pauses between acts. Astley was followed by Andrew Ducrow , whose feats of horsemanship had much to do with establishing the traditions of the circus, which were perpetuated by Hengler's and Sanger 's celebrated shows in

1304-461: A circus is of a Big Top with various acts providing entertainment therein; however, the history of circuses is more complex, with historians disagreeing on its origin, as well as revisions being done about the history due to the changing nature of historical research, and the ongoing circus phenomenon. For many, circus history begins with Englishman Philip Astley , while for others its origins go back much further—to Roman Empire times. In Ancient Rome,

1467-467: A clown is known as clowning or buffoonery , and the term "clown" may be used synonymously with predecessors like jester , joker , buffoon , fool , or harlequin . Clowns have a diverse tradition with significant variations in costume and performance. The most recognisable clowns are those that commonly perform in the circus, characterized by colorful wigs, red noses, and oversized shoes. However, clowns have also played roles in theater and folklore, like

1630-458: A clown might perform other circus roles or skills. Clowns may perform such skills as tightrope , juggling , unicycling , Master of Ceremonies , or ride an animal. Clowns may also "sit in" with the orchestra . Other circus performers may also temporarily stand in for a clown and perform their skills in clown costume. Frameworks are the general outline of an act that clowns use to help them build out an act. Frameworks can be loose, including only

1793-472: A clown to his shows to amuse the spectators between equestrian sequences. American comedian George L. Fox became known for his clown role, directly inspired by Grimaldi, in the 1860s. Tom Belling senior (1843–1900) developed the red clown or Auguste ( Dummer August ) character c. 1870, acting as a foil for the more sophisticated white clown . Belling worked for Circus Renz in Vienna. Belling's costume became

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1956-444: A considerable change in the character of the modern circus. In arenas too large for speech to be easily audible, the traditional comic dialogue of the clown assumed a less prominent place than formerly, while the vastly increased wealth of stage properties relegated to the background the old-fashioned equestrian feats, which were replaced by more ambitious acrobatic performances, and by exhibitions of skill, strength, and daring, requiring

2119-468: A departing circus, collapsed, resulting in minor injuries to many but the death of Fanque's wife. Traveling circus companies also rented the land they set up their structures on sometimes causing damage to the local ecosystems. Three important circus innovators were the Italian Giuseppe Chiarini , and Frenchmen Louis Soullier and Jacques Tourniaire , whose early travelling circuses introduced

2282-446: A foil for the white in circus or pantomime shows to a Bozo -derived standalone character in children's entertainment by the 1980s also gave rise to the evil clown character, with the attraction of clowns for small children being based in their fundamentally threatening or frightening nature. The fear of clowns, particularly circus clowns, has become known by the term "coulrophobia." There are different types of clowns portrayed around

2445-521: A general beginning and ending to the act, leaving it up to the clown's creativity to fill in the rest, or at the other extreme a fully developed script that allows very little room for creativity. Shows are the overall production that a clown is a part of, it may or may not include elements other than clowning, such as in a circus show. In a circus context, clown shows are typically made up of some combination of entrées, side dishes, clown stops, track gags, gags and bits . Clown Stops or interludes are

2608-516: A god driving his chariot from east to west each day, rising from the Oceanus River and setting in the west under the earth. It is unclear as to whether this journey means that he travels through Tartarus . Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistae relates that, at the hour of sunset, Helios climbs into a great cup of solid gold in which he passes from the Hesperides in the farthest west to the land of

2771-507: A great number of details that vary by version, including the identity of Phaethon's mother, the location the story takes place, the role Phaethon's sisters the Heliades play, the motivation behind Phaethon's decision to ask his father for such thing, and even the exact relation between god and mortal. Traditionally, Phaethon was Helios' son by the Oceanid nymph Clymene , or alternatively Rhode or

2934-534: A later generation. In England circuses were often held in purpose-built buildings in large cities, such as the London Hippodrome , which was built as a combination of the circus, the menagerie, and the variety theatre, where wild animals such as lions and elephants from time to time appeared in the ring, and where convulsions of nature such as floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions were produced with an extraordinary wealth of realistic display. Joseph Grimaldi ,

3097-412: A modern audience. In the novel, the eponymous character is a pan-dimensional monster which feeds mainly on children by luring them in the form of a clown, named "Pennywise", and then assuming the shape of whatever the victim fears the most. The character clown adopts an eccentric character of some type, such as a butcher, a baker, a policeman, a housewife or hobo . Prime examples of this type of clown are

3260-510: A more disturbing nature through the use of horror elements and dark humor . The character can be seen as playing on the sense of unease felt by those with coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized by DC Comics character the Joker starting in 1940 and again by Pennywise in Stephen King 's novel It , which introduced the fear of an evil clown to

3423-456: A more natural look. Daredevil stunt acts , freak shows , and sideshow acts are also parts of some circus acts, these activities may include human cannonball , chapeaugraphy , fire eating , breathing , and dancing , knife throwing , magic shows , sword swallowing , or strongman . Famous sideshow performers include Zip the Pinhead and The Doll Family . A popular sideshow attraction from

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3586-606: A new Bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. The Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019 came into effect on 20 January 2020. A bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Wales was introduced in June 2019, and subsequently passed by the Welsh Parliament on 15 July 2020. Over 6,500 responses were made by the people of Wales, to the public consultation on

3749-572: A performance there later that season. In the Americas during the first two decades of the 19th century, the Circus of Pepin and Breschard toured from Montreal to Havana, building circus theatres in many of the cities it visited. Victor Pépin , a native New Yorker, was the first American to operate a major circus in the United States. Later the establishments of Purdy, Welch & Co., and of van Amburgh gave

3912-548: A religious or ritual capacity is known as a ritual clown . Many native tribes have a history of clowning, such as the Pueblo clown of the Kachina culture. A Heyoka is an individual in Lakota and Dakota cultures who lives outside the constraints of normal cultural roles, playing the role of a backwards clown by doing everything in reverse. The Heyoka role is sometimes best filled by

4075-781: A reserve. On 1 February 1992 at the Great American Circus in Palm Bay, Florida , an elephant named Janet (1965 – 1 February 1992) went out of control while giving a ride to a mother, her two children, and three other children. The elephant then stampeded through the circus grounds outside before being shot to death by police. Also, during a Circus International performance in Honolulu, Hawaii , on 20 August 1994, an elephant called Tyke (1974 – 20 August 1994) killed her trainer, Allen Campbell , and severely mauled her groomer, Dallas Beckwith, in front of hundreds of spectators. Tyke then bolted from

4238-444: A ring, usually 13 m (43 ft) in diameter. This dimension was adopted by Astley in the late eighteenth century as the minimum diameter that enabled an acrobatic horse rider to stand upright on a cantering horse to perform their tricks. A shift in form has been credited with a revival of the circus tradition since the late 1970s, when a number of groups began to experiment with new circus formats and aesthetics, typically avoiding

4401-422: A single day. Helios does his best to dissuade him, arguing that sons are not necessarily fit to step into their fathers' shoes. But under pressure of Phaethon and Clymene's begging both, he eventually gives in. As per all other versions of the myth, Phaethon's ride is catastrophic and ends in his death. Hyginus wrote that Phaethon secretly mounted his father's car without said father's knowledge and leave, but with

4564-425: A throne of bright emeralds . In ancient artefacts (such as coins, vases, or reliefs) he is presented as a beautiful, full-faced youth with wavy hair, wearing a crown adorned with the sun's rays. Helios is said to drive a golden chariot drawn by four horses: Pyrois ("The Fiery One", not to be confused with Pyroeis , one of the five naked-eye planets known to ancient Greek and Roman astronomers ), Aeos ("He of

4727-497: A variety of other routines. Juggling is one of the most common acts in a circus; the combination of juggling and gymnastics that includes acts like plate spinning and the rolling globe come under the category equilibristics , along with more classical balance disciplines such as tightwire, slackline and unicycle. Acts like these are some of the most common and the most traditional. Clowns are common to most circuses and are typically skilled in many circus acts; "clowns getting into

4890-415: A wider popularity to the circus in the United States. In 1825, Joshuah Purdy Brown was the first circus owner to use a large canvas tent for the circus performance. Circus pioneer Dan Rice was the most famous pre- Civil War circus clown, popularising such expressions as "The One-Horse Show" and " Hey, Rube! ". The American circus was revolutionised by P. T. Barnum and William Cameron Coup , who launched

5053-623: A wider programme of events; for example, the Cirkusbygningen (The Circus Building) in Copenhagen, Denmark, Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden, or Carré Theatre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an open-ended fashion , typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms . The art of performing as

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5216-541: Is a variation of pink, red, or tan rather than white. Features are exaggerated in size, and are typically red and black in color. The mouth is thickly outlined with white (called the muzzle) as are the eyes. Appropriate to the character, the Auguste can be dressed in either well-fitted garb or a costume that does not fit – oversize or too small, either is appropriate. Bold colors, large prints or patterns, and suspenders often characterize Auguste costumes. The Auguste character-type

5379-468: Is cognate with Latin sol , Sanskrit surya , Old English swegl , Old Norse sól , Welsh haul , Avestan hvar , etc. The Doric and Aeolic form of the name is Ἅλιος , Hálios . In Homeric Greek his name is spelled Ἠέλιος , Ēélios , with the Doric spelling of that being Ἀέλιος , Aélios . In Cretan it was Ἀβέλιος ( Abélios ) or Ἀϝέλιος ( Awélios ). The Greek view of gender

5542-563: Is instructed by the whiteface to correct the Auguste when he is doing something wrong. There are two major types of clowns with whiteface makeup: The classic white clown is derived from the Pierrot character. His makeup is white, usually with facial features such as eyebrows emphasized in black. He is the more intelligent and sophisticated clown, contrasting with the rude or grotesque Auguste types. Francesco Caroli and Glenn "Frosty" Little are examples of this type. The second type of whiteface

5705-540: Is likely Indo-European in origin and is common to both early Greek and Near Eastern religions. Helios is seen as both a personification of the Sun and the fundamental creative power behind it, and as a result is often worshiped as a god of life and creation. His literal "light" is often assorted with a metaphorical vitality, and other ancient texts give him the epithet "gracious" ( ἱλαρός ). The comic playwright Aristophanes describes Helios as "the horse-guider, who fills

5868-537: Is likely Indo-European in origin. Greek solar imagery begins with the gods Helios and Eos, who are brother and sister, and who become in the day-and-night-cycle the day ( hemera ) and the evening ( hespera ), as Eos accompanies Helios in his journey across the skies. At night, he pastures his steeds and travels east in a golden boat. In them evident is the Indo-European grouping of a sun god and his sister, as well as an association with horses. Helen of Troy's name

6031-409: Is often an anarchist, a joker, or a fool. He is clever and has much lower status than the whiteface. Classically the whiteface character instructs the Auguste character to perform his bidding. The Auguste has a hard time performing a given task, which leads to funny situations. Sometimes the Auguste plays the role of an anarchist and purposefully has trouble following the whiteface's directions. Sometimes

6194-708: Is often described as the son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and brother of the goddesses Selene (the Moon) and Eos (the Dawn). Helios' most notable role in Greek mythology is the story of his mortal son Phaethon . In the Homeric epics , his most notable role is the one he plays in the Odyssey , where Odysseus ' men despite his warnings impiously kill and eat Helios's sacred cattle that

6357-413: Is said to have seen and stood witness to everything that happened where his light shone. When Hades abducts Persephone , Helios is the only one to witness it. In Ovid's Fasti , Demeter asks the stars first about Persephone's whereabouts, and it is Helice who advises her to go ask Helios. Demeter is not slow to approach him, and Helios then tells her not to waste time, and seek out for "the queen of

6520-481: Is the buffoonish clown of the Bozo type, known as Comedy or Grotesque Whiteface . This type has grotesquely emphasized features, especially a red nose and red mouth, often with partial (mostly red) hair. In the comedic partnership of Abbott and Costello , Bud Abbot would have been the classic whiteface and Lou Costello the comedy whiteface or Auguste. Traditionally, the whiteface clown uses clown white makeup to cover

6683-503: Is thought to share the same etymology as Helios, and she may express an early alternate personification of the sun among Hellenic peoples. Helen might have originally been considered to be a daughter of the Sun, as she hatched from an egg and was given tree worship, features associated with the Proto-Indo-European Sun Maiden; in surviving Greek tradition however Helen is never said to be Helios' daughter, instead being

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6846-416: Is unclear, but it has been suggested she is saved by some deus ex machina . A number of deities have been proposed for the identity of this possible deus ex machina, with Helios among them. In Ovid's account, Zeus' son Epaphus mocks Phaethon's claim that he is the son of the sun god; his mother Clymene tells Phaethon to go to Helios himself, to ask for confirmation of his paternity. Helios promises him on

7009-402: The circus was a roofless arena for the exhibition of horse and chariot races, equestrian shows, staged battles, gladiatorial combat, and displays of (and fights with) trained animals. The circuses of Rome were similar to the ancient Greek hippodromes , although circuses served varying purposes and differed in design and construction, and for events that involved re-enactments of naval battles,

7172-713: The Bartholomew Fair in London during the Middle Ages . The origin of the modern circus has been attributed to Philip Astley , who was born 1742 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England. He became a cavalry officer who set up the first modern amphitheatre for the display of horse riding tricks in Lambeth, London, on 4 April 1768. Astley did not originate trick horse riding, nor was he first to introduce acts such as acrobats and clowns to

7335-500: The Bozo character in the 1960s. Willard Scott , who had played Bozo during 1959–1962, performed as the mascot in 1963 television spots. The McDonald's trademark application for the character dates to 1967. Based on the Bozo template, the US custom of birthday clown, private contractors who offer to perform as clowns at children's parties, developed in the 1960s to 1970s. The strong association of

7498-506: The Fifth Dynasty of Egypt , around 2400 BC. Unlike court jesters , clowns have traditionally served a socio-religious and psychological role, and traditionally the roles of priest and clown have been held by the same persons. Peter Berger writes, "It seems plausible that folly and fools, like religion and magic, meet some deeply rooted needs in human society." For this reason, clowning is often considered an important part of training as

7661-728: The Pickle Family Circus , founded in San Francisco in 1975; Ra-Ra Zoo in 1984 in London ; Nofit State Circus in 1984 from Wales ; Cirque du Soleil , founded in Quebec in 1984; Cirque Plume and Archaos from France in 1984 and 1986 respectively. More recent examples include: Cirque Éloize (founded in Quebec in 1993); Sweden's Cirkus Cirkör (1995); Teatro ZinZanni (founded in Seattle in 1998);

7824-607: The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University "found no evidence that circuses contribute to education or conservation."; however, in 2007, a different working group under the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs , having reviewed information from experts representing both the circus industry and animal welfare, found an absence of "scientific evidence sufficient to demonstrate that travelling circuses are not compatible with meeting

7987-466: The court jesters of the Middle Ages and the jesters and ritual clowns of various indigenous cultures . Their performances can elicit a range of emotions, from humor and laughter to fear and discomfort, reflecting complex societal and psychological dimensions. Through the centuries, clowns have continued to play significant roles in society, evolving alongside changing cultural norms and artistic expressions. The most ancient clowns have been found in

8150-468: The isthmus of Corinth . Helios' journey on a chariot during the day and travel with a boat in the ocean at night possibly reflects the Egyptian sun god Ra sailing across the skies in a barque to be reborn at dawn each morning anew; additionally, both gods, being associated with the sun, were seen as the "Eye of Heaven". Helios is the son of Hyperion and Theia , or Euryphaessa, or Basileia, and

8313-488: The ( Bozo -derived) clown character with children's entertainment as it has developed since the 1960s also gave rise to Clown Care or hospital clowning in children's hospitals by the mid-1980s. Clowns of America International (established 1984) and World Clown Association (established 1987) are associations of semi-professionals and professional performers. The shift of the Auguste or red clown character from his role as

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8476-605: The 13th century, through medieval and renaissance jesters, minstrels and troubadours to the late 18th century and the time of Astley. The first circus in the city of Rome was the Circus Maximus , in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills. It was constructed during the monarchy and, at first, built completely from wood. After being rebuilt several times, the final version of the Circus Maximus could seat 250,000 people; it

8639-435: The 17th century, inspired by Arlecchino and the commedia dell'arte. It was here that Clown came into use as the given name of a stock character. Originally a foil for Harlequin's slyness and adroit nature, Clown was a buffoon or bumpkin fool who resembled less a jester than a comical idiot. He was a lower class character dressed in tattered servants' garb. The now-classical features of the clown character were developed in

8802-677: The 1920s to 1930s. The English word clown was borrowed, along with the circus clown act, by many other languages, such as French clown , Russian (and other Slavic languages) кло́ун, Greek κλόουν, Danish/Norwegian klovn , Romanian clovn etc. Italian retains Pagliaccio , a Commedia dell'arte zanni character, and derivations of the Italian term are found in other Romance languages, such as French Paillasse , Spanish payaso , Catalan/Galician pallasso , Portuguese palhaço , Greek παλιάτσος, Turkish palyaço , German Pajass (via French) Yiddish פּאַיאַץ ( payats ), Russian пая́ц, Romanian paiață . In

8965-649: The 1970s in Australia, Canada, France, the West Coast of the United States, and the United Kingdom. New Circus combines traditional circus skills and theatrical techniques to convey a story or theme. Compared with the traditional circus, this genre of circus tends to focus more attention on the overall aesthetic impact, on character and story development, and on the use of lighting design , original music, and costume design to convey thematic or narrative content. Music used in

9128-406: The American circus is the hobo , tramp or bum clown. There are subtle differences in the American character clown types. The primary differences among these clown types is attitude . According to American circus expert Hovey Burgess , they are: The World Clown Association is a worldwide organization for clowns, jugglers, magicians, and face painters. It holds an annual convention, mainly in

9291-425: The Auguste is confused or is foolish and makes errors less deliberately. The contra-auguste plays the role of the mediator between the white clown and the Auguste character. He has a lower status than the white clown but a higher status than the Auguste. He aspires to be more like the white clown and often mimics everything the white clown does to try to gain approval. If there is a contra-auguste character, he often

9454-456: The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show On Earth, where it toured from 1897 to 1902, impressing other circus owners with its large scale, its touring techniques (including the tent and circus train), and its combination of circus acts, a zoological exhibition, and a freak show. This format was adopted by European circuses at the turn of the 20th century. The influence of the American circus brought about

9617-471: The Dawn"), Aethon ("Blazing"), and Phlegon ("Burning"). In a Mithraic invocation, Helios's appearance is given as thus: A god is then summoned. He is described as "a youth, fair to behold, with fiery hair, clothed in a white tunic and a scarlet cloak and wearing a fiery crown." He is named as "Helios, lord of heaven and earth, god of gods." As mentioned above, the imagery surrounding a chariot-driving solar deity

9780-454: The English public, but he was the first to create a space where all these acts were brought together to perform a show. Astley rode in a circle rather than a straight line as his rivals did, and thus chanced on the format of performing in a circle. Astley performed stunts in a 42 ft diameter ring, which is the standard size used by circuses ever since. Astley referred to the performance arena as

9943-570: The Ethiops, with whom he passes the dark hours. According to Athenaeus, Mimnermus said that in the night Helios travels eastwards with the use of a bed (also created by Hephaestus) in which he sleeps, rather than a cup, as attested in the Titanomachy in the 8th century BCE. Aeschylus describes the sunset as such: "There [is] the sacred wave, and the coralled bed of the Erythræan Sea , and [there]

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10106-702: The Italian Antonio Franconi in 1793. In 1826, the first circus took place under a canvas big top. The Englishman John Bill Ricketts brought the first modern circus to the United States. He began his theatrical career with Hughes Royal Circus in London in the 1780s, and travelled from England in 1792 to establish his first circus in Philadelphia . The first circus building in the US opened on 3 April 1793 in Philadelphia, where Ricketts gave America's first complete circus performance. George Washington attended

10269-432: The London comic stage that harlequinade Clowns became known as "Joey", and both the nickname and Grimaldi's whiteface make-up design are still used by other clowns. The comedy that clowns perform is usually in the role of a fool whose everyday actions and tasks become extraordinary—and for whom the ridiculous, for a short while, becomes ordinary. This style of comedy has a long history in many countries and cultures across

10432-486: The Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have locally restricted or banned the use of animals in entertainment. In response to a growing popular concern about the use of animals in entertainment, animal-free circuses are becoming more common around

10595-504: The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to an end in 2014 when The Humane Society of the United States and a number of other animal rights groups paid a $ 16 million settlement to Feld Entertainment; however, the circus closed in May 2017 after a 146-year run when it experienced a steep decline in ticket sales a year after it discontinued its elephant act and sent its pachyderms to

10758-586: The Soviet gymnastics programme. When the Moscow State Circus company began international tours in the 1950s, its levels of originality and artistic skill were widely applauded. Circuses from China, drawing on Chinese traditions of acrobatics , like the Chinese State Circus are also popular touring acts. New Circus (originally known as cirque nouveau ) is a performing arts movement that originated in

10921-473: The Sun abandoning humanity. According to a fragment of Archilochus , it is Zeus who blocks Helios and makes him disappear from the sky. In one of his paeans , the lyric poet Pindar describes a solar eclipse as the Sun's light being hidden from the world, a bad omen of destruction and doom: Beam of the sun! What have you contrived, observant one, mother of eyes, highest star, in concealing yourself in broad daylight? Why have you made helpless men's strength and

11084-760: The United States, bringing with him a circus tent. At this time, itinerant circuses that could be fitted-up quickly were becoming popular in Britain. William Batty 's circus, for example, between 1838 and 1840, travelled from Newcastle to Edinburgh and then to Portsmouth and Southampton. Pablo Fanque , who is noteworthy as Britain's only black circus proprietor and who operated one of the most celebrated travelling circuses in Victorian England, erected temporary structures for his limited engagements or retrofitted existing structures. One such structure in Leeds, which Fanque assumed from

11247-467: The United States. Clowns of America International is a Minnesota-based non-profit clown arts membership organization which aims "to share, educate, and act as a gathering place for serious minded amateurs, semiprofessionals, and professional clowns". Clowns International is a British clowning organisation dating back to the 1940s. It is responsible for the Clown Egg Register . In the circus,

11410-541: The West African Circus Baobab (late 1990s); and Montreal's Les 7 doigts de la main (founded in 2002). The genre includes other circus troupes such as the Vermont-based Circus Smirkus (founded in 1987 by Rob Mermin ) and Le Cirque Imaginaire (later renamed Le Cirque Invisible, both founded and directed by Victoria Chaplin , daughter of Charlie Chaplin ). The most conspicuous success story in

11573-426: The absurd fashions of the day, comic impressions, and ribald songs." — The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary , Smithsonian . The circus clown tradition developed out of earlier comedic roles in theatre or Varieté shows during the 19th to mid 20th centuries. This recognizable character features outlandish costumes, distinctive makeup, colorful wigs, exaggerated footwear, and colorful clothing, with

11736-562: The act" is a very familiar theme in any circus. Famous circus clowns have included Austin Miles , the Fratellini Family , Rusty Russell, Emmett Kelly , Grock , and Bill Irwin . The title clown refers to the role functions and performance skills, not simply to the image of red nose and exaggerated facepaint that was popularised through 20th Century mass media. While many clowns still perform in this styling, there are also many clowns who adopt

11899-542: The aid of his sisters the Heliades who yoked the horses. In all retellings, Helios recovers the reins in time, thus saving the earth. Another consistent detail across versions are that Phaethon's sisters the Heliades mourn him by the Eridanus and are turned into black poplar trees, who shed tears of amber . According to Quintus Smyrnaeus , it was Helios who turned them into trees, for their honour to Phaethon. In one version of

12062-535: The appeal of the other gods, as well as Zeus' threats. He then takes his anger out on his four horses, whipping them in fury for causing his son's death. Nonnus of Panopolis presented a slightly different version of the myth, narrated by Hermes; according to him, Helios met and fell in love with Clymene, the daughter of the Ocean , and the two soon got married with her father's blessing. When he grows up, fascinated with his father's job, he asks him to drive his chariot for

12225-565: The arena and ran through the streets of Kakaako for more than thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died. In December 2018, New Jersey became the first state in the U.S. to ban circuses, carnivals and fairs from featuring elephants, tigers, and other exotic animals. In 1998 in the United Kingdom, a parliamentary working group chaired by MP Roger Gale studied living conditions and treatment of animals in UK circuses. All members of this group agreed that

12388-428: The brief appearances of clowns in a circus while the props and rigging are changed. These are typically made up of a few gags or several bits . Clown stops will always have a beginning, a middle, and an end to them, invariably culminating in a blow-off. These are also called reprises or run-ins by many, and in today's circus they are an art form in themselves. Originally they were bits of business usually parodying

12551-571: The broad categories of juggling, equilibristics, acrobatics, aerial and clowning. These disciplines can be honed into individual acts, which can be performed independently and marketed to many different prospective circus employers, and also used for devising solo or collaborative work created specifically for a single project. Common acts include a variety of acrobatics , gymnastics (including tumbling and trampoline ), aerial acts (such as trapeze , aerial silk , corde lisse , Lyra or Ariel hoop , circus hammok ), contortion , stilt-walking , and

12714-718: The case, brought against Feld Entertainment International by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals et al., the Court ruled that evidence against the circus company was "not credible with regard to the allegations". In lieu of a USDA hearing, Feld Entertainment Inc . (parent of Ringling Bros.) agreed to pay an unprecedented $ 270,000 fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act that allegedly occurred between June 2007 and August 2011. A 14-year litigation against

12877-575: The circus to Latin America, Australia, Southeast Asia, China, South Africa, and Russia. Soullier was the first circus owner to introduce Chinese acrobatics to the European circus when he returned from his travels in 1866, and Tourniaire was the first to introduce the performing art to Ranga, where it became extremely popular. After an 1881 merger with James Anthony Bailey and James L. Hutchinson's circus and Barnum's death in 1891, his circus travelled to Europe as

13040-430: The circus traditionally takes place within a ring; large circuses may have multiple rings, like the six-ringed Moscow State Circus . A circus often travels with its own band, whose instrumentation in the United States has traditionally included brass instruments , drums, glockenspiel , and sometimes the distinctive sound of the calliope . Performers have been traditionally referred to as artistes, although in recent years

13203-484: The circus tramps Otto Griebling and Emmett Kelly . Red Skelton , Harold Lloyd , Buster Keaton , Charlie Chaplin , Rowan Atkinson and Sacha Baron Cohen would all fit the definition of a character clown. The character clown makeup is a comic slant on the standard human face. Their makeup starts with a flesh tone base and may make use of anything from glasses, mustaches and beards to freckles, warts, big ears or strange haircuts. The most prevalent character clown in

13366-498: The circus was flooded with water; however, the Roman circus buildings were not circular but rectangular with semi circular ends. The lower seats were reserved for persons of rank; there were also various state boxes for the giver of the games and his friends. The circus was the only public spectacle at which men and women were not separated. Some circus historians such as George Speaight have stated "these performances may have taken place in

13529-546: The cities Ialysos , Camiros and Lindos on the island, named after themselves; thus Rhodes came to belong to him and his line, with the autochthonous peoples of Rhodes claiming descend from the Heliadae. The most well known story about Helios is the one involving his son Phaethon , who asked him to drive his chariot for a single day. Although all versions agree that Phaethon convinced Helios to give him his chariot, and that he failed in his task with disastrous results, there are

13692-461: The creator's eyes are closed. A mask is made for each direction of the medicine wheel . During this process, the clown creates a personal mythology that explores their personal experiences. "Grimaldi was the first recognizable ancestor of the modern clown, sort of the Homo erectus of clown evolution. Before him, a clown may have worn make-up, but it was usually just a bit of rouge on the cheeks to heighten

13855-529: The daughter of Zeus . It has been suggested that the Phoenicians brought over the cult of their patron god Baal among others (such as Astarte ) to Corinth , who was then continued to be worshipped under the native name/god Helios, similarly to how Astarte was worshipped as Aphrodite , and the Phoenician Melqart was adopted as the sea-god Melicertes / Palaemon , who also had a significant cult in

14018-406: The division of portions again, but Helios refused the offer, for he had seen a new land emerging from the deep of the sea; a rich, productive land for humans and good for cattle too. Helios asked for this island to be given to him, and Zeus agreed to it, with Lachesis (one of the three Fates ) raising her hands to confirm the oath. Alternatively in another tradition, it was Helios himself who made

14181-690: The draft Bill, 97% of which supported the ban. The use of wild animals in travelling circuses has been banned in Scotland. The Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (Scotland) Act 2018 came into force on 28 May 2018. There are nationwide bans on using some if not all animals in circuses in Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico,

14344-524: The early 1800s by Joseph Grimaldi , who played Clown in Charles Dibdin's 1800 pantomime Peter Wilkins: or Harlequin in the Flying World at Sadler's Wells Theatre , where Grimaldi built the character up into the central figure of the harlequinade. The circus clown developed in the 19th century. The modern circus derives from Philip Astley 's London riding school, which opened in 1768. Astley added

14507-529: The early 19th century was the flea circus , where fleas were attached to props and viewed through a Fresnel lens . A variety of animals have historically been used in acts. While the types of animals used vary from circus to circus, big cats (namely lions , tigers , and leopards ), foxes , wolves , polecats , minks , weasels , camels , llamas , elephants , zebras , horses , donkeys , birds (like parrots and doves ), sea lions , bears , monkeys , and domestic animals such as cats and dogs are

14670-548: The early 20th century, with the disappearance of the rustic simpleton or village idiot character of everyday experience, North American circuses developed characters such as the tramp or hobo . Examples include Marceline Orbes , who performed at the Hippodrome Theater (1905), Charlie Chaplin 's The Tramp (1914), and Emmett Kelly 's Weary Willie based on hobos of the Depression era. Another influential tramp character

14833-511: The early modern commedia dell'arte , which were themselves directly based on the rustic fool characters of ancient Greek and Roman theatre . Rustic buffoon characters in Classical Greek theater were known as sklêro-paiktês (from paizein : to play (like a child) ) or deikeliktas , besides other generic terms for rustic or peasant . In Roman theater, a term for clown was fossor , literally digger; labourer . The English word clown

14996-449: The ears, under the chin and on their legs with metal tipped prods, called bullhooks. Feld stated that these practices are necessary to protect circus workers. Feld also acknowledged that an elephant trainer was reprimanded for using an electric shock device, known as a hot shot or electric prod, on an elephant, which Feld also stated was appropriate practice. Feld denied that any of these practices harm elephants. In its January 2010 verdict on

15159-425: The earth in his course. Doric Greek retained Proto-Greek long *ā as α , while Attic changed it in most cases, including in this word, to η . Cratylus and the etymologies Plato gives are contradicted by modern scholarship. From helios comes the modern English prefix helio- , meaning "pertaining to the Sun", used in compounds word such as heliocentrism , aphelion , heliotropium , heliophobia (fear of

15322-429: The employment of immense numbers of performers, and often of complicated and expensive machinery. From the late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, travelling circuses were a major form of spectator entertainment in the US and attracted huge attention whenever they arrived in a city. After World War II, the popularity of the circus declined as new forms of entertainment (such as television) arrived and

15485-491: The entire face and neck, leaving none of the underlying natural skin visible. In the European whiteface makeup, the ears are painted red. Whiteface makeup was originally designed by Joseph Grimaldi in 1801. He began by painting a white base over his face, neck and chest before adding red triangles on the cheeks, thick eyebrows and large red lips set in a mischievous grin. Grimaldi's design is used by many modern clowns. According to Grimaldi's biographer Andrew McConnell Stott, it

15648-409: The equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus." Performances developed significantly over the next 50 years, with large-scale theatrical battle reenactments becoming a significant feature. The format in which a ringmaster introduces a variety of choreographed acts set to music, often termed "traditional" or "classical" circus, developed in the latter part of

15811-437: The fact that he was among the most ancient. From his lineage, Helios might be described as a second generation Titan. He is associated with harmony and order, both literally in the sense of the movement of celestial bodies and metaphorically in the sense of bringing order to society. Helios is usually depicted as a handsome young man crowned with the shining aureole of the Sun, which traditionally had twelve rays, symbolising

15974-742: The first European country to ban any animal from performing in any circus in its territory in February 2012, following a campaign by Animal Defenders International and the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF). On 6 June 2015, the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe adopted a position paper in which it recommends the prohibition of the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. Despite the contemporary circus' shift toward more theatrical techniques and its emphasis on human rather than animal performance, traditional circus companies still exist alongside

16137-689: The first mainstream clown , had his first major role as Little Clown in the pantomime The Triumph of Mirth; or, Harlequin's Wedding in 1781. The Royal Circus was opened in London on 4 November 1782 by Charles Dibdin (who coined the term "circus"), aided by his partner Charles Hughes, an equestrian performer. In 1782, Astley established the Amphithéâtre Anglais in Paris, the first purpose-built circus in France, followed by 18 other permanent circuses in cities throughout Europe. Astley leased his Parisian circus to

16300-400: The god kept at Thrinacia , his sacred island. Once informed of their misdeed, Helios in wrath asks Zeus to punish those who wronged him, and Zeus agreeing strikes their ship with a thunderbolt, killing everyone, except for Odysseus himself, the only one who had not harmed the cattle, and was allowed to live. Due to his position as the sun, he was believed to be an all-seeing witness, and thus

16463-462: The golden cup which he used to sail across the sea every night, from the west to the east because he found Heracles' actions immensely bold. In the versions delivered by Apollodorus and Pherecydes, Heracles was only about to shoot Helios, but according to Panyassis , he did shoot and wounded the god. Solar eclipses were phaenomena of fear as well as wonder in Ancient Greece, and were seen as

16626-571: The graduating class of the French circus school Le Centre National des Arts du Cirque (CNAC), directed by Joseph Nadj. In contrast to New Circus, Contemporary Circus (as a genre) tends to avoid linear narrative in favour of more suggestive, interdisciplinary approaches to abstract concepts. This includes a strong trend for developing new apparatus and movement languages based on the capacities, experience and interests of individual performers, rather than finding new ways to present traditional repertoire. Beyond

16789-500: The great arenas that were called 'circuses' by the Romans, but it is a mistake to equate these places, or the entertainments presented there, with the modern circus". Others have argued that the lineage of the circus does go back to the Roman circuses and a chronology of circus-related entertainment can be traced to Roman times, continued by the Hippodrome of Constantinople that operated until

16952-454: The inventor of the medium, Newcastle-under-Lyme born Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1768, Astley, a skilled equestrian, began performing exhibitions of trick horse riding in an open field called Ha'penny Hatch on the south side of the Thames River , England. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers, and a clown to fill in the pauses between

17115-528: The island rise from the sea when he caused the water which had overflowed it to disappear. He named it Rhodes, after his lover Rhode (the daughter of Poseidon and Aphrodite or Amphitrite ), and it became the god's sacred island, where he was honoured above all other gods. With Rhode Helios sired seven sons, known as the Heliadae ("sons of the Sun"), who became the first rulers of the island, as well as one daughter, Electryone . Three of their grandsons founded

17278-444: The keeping of animals for circuses. A survey confirmed that on average, wild animals spend around 99 to 91 percent of their time in cages, wagons, or enclosure due to transportation. This causes a huge amount of distress to animals and leads to excessive amounts of drooling. City ordinances banning performances by wild animals have been enacted in San Francisco (2015), Los Angeles (2017), and New York City (2017). Greece became

17441-571: The land and create a new race of men from the beginning? Some lists, cited by Hyginus, of the names of horses that pulled Helios' chariot, are as follows. Scholarship acknowledges that, despite differences between the lists, the names of the horses always seem to refer to fire, flame, light and other luminous qualities. Hyginus writes that according to Homer, the horses' names are Abraxas and Therbeeo; but Homer makes no mention of horses or chariot. Alexander of Aetolia , cited in Athenaeus, related that

17604-750: The light of the Sun, by ordering Helios not to rise for those three days. Satirical author Lucian of Samosata dramatized this myth in one of his Dialogues of the Gods . While Heracles was travelling to Erytheia to retrieve the cattle of Geryon for his tenth labour, he crossed the Libyan desert and was so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow at Helios, the Sun. Almost immediately, Heracles realized his mistake and apologized profusely ( Pherecydes wrote that Heracles stretched his arrow at him menacingly, but Helios ordered him to stop, and Heracles in fear desisted ); In turn and equally courteous, Helios granted Heracles

17767-487: The luxuriant marsh of the Ethiopians, situated near the ocean, glitters like polished brass; where daily in the soft and tepid stream, the all-seeing Sun bathes his undying self, and refreshes his weary steeds." Athenaeus adds that "Helios gained a portion of toil for all his days", as there is no rest for either him or his horses. Although the chariot is usually said to be the work of Hephaestus , Hyginus states that it

17930-426: The magical herb grew on the island Thrinacia , which was sacred to Helios, and served as a remedy against fatigue for the sun god's horses. Aeschrion of Samos informed that it was known as the "dog's-tooth" and was believed to have been sown by Cronus. According to Pindar, when the gods divided the earth among them, Helios was absent, and thus he got no lot of land. He complained to Zeus about it, who offered to do

18093-626: The method for training circus animals. It is also alleged that the animals are kept in cages that are too small and are given very little opportunity to walk around outside of their enclosure, thereby violating their right to freedom. According to PETA, although the US Animal Welfare Act does not permit any sort of punishment that puts the animals in discomfort, trainers will still go against this law and use such things as electric rods and bullhooks . According to PETA, during an undercover investigation of Carson & Barnes Circus, video footage

18256-526: The mischievous and brutish foil for the more sophisticated Harlequin, who became more of a romantic character. The most influential such pair in Victorian England were the Payne Brothers, active during the 1860s and 1870s. The white clown , or clown blanc in French, is a sophisticated character, as opposed to the clumsy Auguste. The two types are also distinguished as the sad clown (blanc) and happy clown (Auguste). The Auguste face base makeup color

18419-493: The more well-known clown stunts are: squirting flower; the too-many-clowns-coming-out-of-a-tiny-car stunt; doing just about anything with a rubber chicken , tripping over one's own feet (or an air pocket or imaginary blemish in the floor), or riding any number of ridiculous vehicles or clown bicycles . Individual prop stunts are generally considered individual bits. Helios Helios figures prominently in several works of Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, in which he

18582-436: The most common. The earliest involvement of animals in circus was just the display of exotic creatures in a menagerie . Going as far back as the early eighteenth century, exotic animals were transported to North America for display, and menageries were a popular form of entertainment. The first true animals acts in the circus were equestrian acts. Soon elephants and big cats were displayed as well. Isaac A. Van Amburgh entered

18745-490: The myth, Helios conveyed his dead son to the stars, as a constellation (the Auriga ). But, Goddess, give up for good your great lamentation. You must not nurse in vain insatiable anger. Among the gods Aidoneus is not an unsuitable bridegroom, Commander-of-Many and Zeus's own brother of the same stock. As for honor, he got his third at the world's first division and dwells with those whose rule has fallen to his lot. Helios

18908-683: The name "contemporary circus." This labelling can cause confusion based upon the other use of the phrase contemporary circus to mean "circus of today." For this reason, some commentators have begun using the term "21st Century Circus" to encompass all the various styles available in the present day. 21st Century Circus continues to develop new variations on the circus tradition while absorbing new skills, techniques, and stylistic influences from other art forms and technological developments. For aesthetic or economic reasons, 21st Century Circus productions may often be staged in theaters rather than in large outdoor tents. First attested in English fourteenth century,

19071-463: The new circus genre has been that of Cirque du Soleil , the Canadian circus company whose estimated annual revenue exceeds US$ 810 million in 2009, and whose cirque nouveau shows have been seen by nearly 90 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents. The genre of contemporary circus is largely considered to have begun in 1995 with 'Le Cri du Caméléon', an ensemble performance from

19234-698: The new movement. Numerous circuses continue to maintain animal performers, including UniverSoul Circus and the Big Apple Circus from the United States, Circus Krone from Munich, Circus Royale and Lennon Bros Circus from Australia, Vazquez Hermanos Circus , Circo Atayde Hermanos, and Hermanos Mayaror Circus from Mexico, and Moira Orfei Circus from Italy, to name just a few. In some towns, there are circus buildings where regular performances are held. The best known are: In other countries, purpose-built circus buildings still exist which are no longer used as circuses, or are used for circus only occasionally among

19397-524: The newborn goddess' sight. In the Iliad Hera who supports the Greeks, makes him set earlier than usual against his will during battle, and later still during the same war, after his sister Eos's son Memnon was killed, she made him downcast, causing his light to fade, so she could be able to freely steal her son's body undetected by the armies, as he consoled his sister in her grief over Memnon's death. It

19560-444: The nineteenth century and remained the dominant format until the 1970s. As styles of performance have developed since the time of Astley, so too have the types of venue where these circuses have performed. The earliest modern circuses were performed in open-air structures with limited covered seating. From the late eighteenth to late nineteenth century, custom-made circus buildings (often wooden) were built with various types of seating,

19723-469: The only brother of the goddesses Eos and Selene. If the order of mention of the three siblings is meant to be taken as their birth order, then out of the four authors that give him and his sisters a birth order, two make him the oldest child, one the middle, and the other the youngest. Helios was not among the regular and more prominent deities, rather he was a more shadowy member of the Olympian circle, despite

19886-474: The otherwise unknown Prote. In one version of the story, Phaethon is Helios' grandson, rather than son, through the boy's father Clymenus . In this version, Phaethon's mother is an Oceanid nymph named Merope. In Euripides' lost play Phaethon , surviving only in twelve fragments, Phaethon is the product of an illicit liaison between his mother Clymene (who is now married to Merops , the king of Aethiopia ) and Helios, though she claimed that her lawful husband

20049-446: The path of wisdom, by rushing down a dark highway? Do you drive a stranger course than before? In the name of Zeus, swift driver of horses, I beg you, turn the universal omen, lady, into some painless prosperity for Thebes ... Do you bring a sign of some war or wasting of crops or a mass of snow beyond telling or ruinous strife or emptying of the sea on land or frost on the earth or a rainy summer flowing with raging water, or will you flood

20212-487: The performance aspect of circus, is the Social Circus field, catalysed by Reg Bolton. Social Circus engages communities through circus practice and activity to provide health and well-being benefits. A traditional circus performance is often led by a ringmaster who has a role similar to a Master of Ceremonies . The ringmaster presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the show moving. The activity of

20375-463: The plain of the earth with exceeding bright beams, a mighty deity among gods and mortals." One passage recorded in the Greek Magical Papyri says of Helios, "the earth flourished when you shone forth and made the plants fruitful when you laughed and brought to life the living creatures when you permitted." He is said to have helped create animals out of primeval mud. Helios was envisioned as

20538-423: The preceding act. If for instance there had been a tightrope walker the reprise would involve two chairs with a piece of rope between and the clown trying to imitate the artiste by trying to walk between them, with the resulting falls and cascades bringing laughter from the audience. Today, interludes are far more complex, and in many modern shows the clowning is a thread that links the whole show together. Among

20701-451: The production is often composed exclusively for that production, and aesthetic influences are drawn as much from contemporary culture as from circus history. Animal acts rarely appear in new circus, in contrast to traditional circus, where animal acts have often been a significant part of the entertainment. Early pioneers of the new circus genre included: Circus Oz , forged in Australia in 1977 from SoapBox Circus (1976) and New Circus (1973);

20864-580: The public with innovative new approaches to the circus form itself. In 1919, Lenin , head of Soviet Russia , expressed a wish for the circus to become "the people's art-form", with facilities and status on par with theatre, opera and ballet. The USSR nationalised Russian circuses. In 1927, the State University of Circus and Variety Arts , better known as the Moscow Circus School , was established; performers were trained using methods developed from

21027-415: The public's tastes changed. From the 1960s onward, circuses attracted growing criticism from animal rights activists. Many circuses went out of business or were forced to merge with other circus companies. Nonetheless, a good number of travelling circuses are still active in various parts of the world, ranging from small family enterprises to three-ring extravaganzas. Other companies found new ways to draw in

21190-538: The river Styx any gift that he might ask as a proof of paternity; Phaethon asks for the privilege to drive Helios' chariot for a single day. Although Helios warns his son of how dangerous and disastrous this would be, he is nevertheless unable to change Phaethon's mind or revoke his promise. Phaethon takes the reins, and the earth burns when he travels too low, and freezes when he takes the chariot too high. Zeus strikes Phaethon with lightning, killing him. Helios refuses to resume his job, but he returns to his task and duty at

21353-411: The sense of them being florid, funny drunks or rustic yokels. Grimaldi, however, suited up in bizarre, colorful costumes, stark white face paint punctuated by spots of bright red on his cheeks and topped with a blue mohawk. He was a master of physical comedy—he leapt in the air, stood on his head, fought himself in hilarious fisticuffs that had audiences rolling in the aisles—as well as of satire lampooning

21516-415: The seven Pleiades keep thy steadfast way." And then— "This said, his son undaunted snatched the reins, Then smote the winged coursers' sides: they bound Forth on the void and cavernous vault of air. His father mounts another steed, and rides With warning voice guiding his son. 'Drive there! Turn, turn thy car this way." If this messenger did witness the flight himself, it is possible there

21679-428: The skies, trying to give him instructions on how to drive the chariot while he rides on a spare horse named Sirius, as someone, perhaps a paedagogus informs Clymene of Phaethon's fate, who is probably accompanied by slave women: Take, for instance, that passage in which Helios, in handing the reins to his son, says— "Drive on, but shun the burning Libyan tract; The hot dry air will let thine axle down: Toward

21842-535: The style generally being designed to entertain large audiences. The first mainstream clown role was portrayed by Joseph Grimaldi (who also created the traditional whiteface make-up design). In the early 1800s, he expanded the role of Clown in the harlequinade that formed part of British pantomimes , notably at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden theatres. He became so dominant on

22005-463: The sun) and heliolatry ("sun-worship"). Helios most likely is Proto-Indo-European in origin. Walter Burkert wrote that "... Helios, the sun god, and Eos - Aurora , the goddess of the dawn , are of impeccable Indo-European lineage both in etymology and in their status as gods" and might have played a role in Proto-Indo-European poetry. The imagery surrounding a chariot-driving solar deity

22168-491: The template for the modern stock character of circus or children's clown, based on a lower class or hobo character, with red nose, white makeup around the eyes and mouth, and oversized clothes and shoes. The clown character as developed by the late 19th century is reflected in Ruggero Leoncavallo 's 1892 opera Pagliacci ( Clowns ). Belling's Auguste character was further popularized by Nicolai Poliakoff 's Coco in

22331-524: The term artists has also come into regular use. To some performers from multi-generational circus families, the term artiste is still preferred as it is considered to confer higher status than artist. Conversely, some performers from the circus school training route taken by many of the newer generations prefer the term artist as it is considered to be less pretentious than artiste. The physical and creative skills that circus artist/es perform are known as disciplines, and are often grouped for training purposes into

22494-528: The third world". In another myth, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but she cheated on him with his brother Ares , god of war. In Book Eight of the Odyssey , the blind singer Demodocus describes how the illicit lovers committed adultery, until one day Helios caught them in the act, and immediately informed Aphrodite's husband Hephaestus. Upon learning that, Hephaestus forged a net so thin it could hardly be seen, in order to ensnare them. He then announced that he

22657-467: The travelling P. T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie & Circus , the first freak show , in the 1870s. Coup also introduced the first multiple-ring circuses, and was also the first circus entrepreneur to use circus trains to transport the circus between towns. By the 1830s, sideshows were also being established alongside travelling circuses. In 1838, the equestrian Thomas Taplin Cooke returned to England from

22820-422: The twelve months of the year. Beyond his Homeric Hymn, not many texts describe his physical appearance; Euripides describes him as χρυσωπός (khrysо̄pós) meaning "golden-eyed/faced" or "beaming like gold", Mesomedes of Crete writes that he has golden hair, and Apollonius Rhodius that he has light-emitting, golden eyes. According to Augustan poet Ovid , he dressed in tyrian purple robes and sat on

22983-520: The use of animals to focus exclusively on human artistry. Circus companies and artistes within this movement, often termed "new circus" or "cirque nouveau," have tended to favor a theatrical approach, combining character-driven circus acts with original music in a broad variety of styles to convey complex themes or stories. Since the 1990s, a more avant-garde approach to presenting traditional circus techniques or "disciplines" in ways that align more closely to performance art, dance or visual arts has been given

23146-522: The welfare needs of any type of non-domesticated animal presently being used in the United Kingdom." According to that group's report, published in October 2007, "there appears to be little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals kept in travelling circuses is any better or any worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments." A ban prohibiting the use of wild animals in circuses in England

23309-505: The welfare of circus animals in 2008. The following issues, among others, were found: Based on these findings, the researchers called for more stringent regulation regarding the welfare of circus animals. In 2012, the Dutch government announced a ban on the use of wild circus animals. In testimony in U.S. District Court in 2009, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus CEO Kenneth Feld acknowledged that circus elephants are struck behind

23472-459: The word ἀολλίζεσθαι , aollízesthai , "coming together" during the daytime, or perhaps from ἀλεαίνειν , aleaínein , "warming". Plato in his dialogue Cratylus suggested several etymologies for the word, proposing among others a connection, via the Doric form of the word halios , to the words ἁλίζειν , halízein , meaning collecting men when he rises, or from the phrase ἀεὶ εἱλεῖν , aeí heileín , "ever turning" because he always turns

23635-596: The word "circus" derives from Latin circus , which is the romanization of the Greek κίρκος ( kirkos ), itself a metathesis of the Homeric Greek κρίκος ( krikos ), meaning "circle" or "ring." In the book De Spectaculis , early Christian writer Tertullian claimed that the first circus games were staged by the goddess Circe in honor of her father Helios , the Sun God. The modern and commonly held idea of

23798-526: The world. In 2009, Bolivia passed legislation banning the use of any animals, wild or domestic, in circuses. The law states that circuses "constitute an act of cruelty." Circus operators had one year from the bill's passage on 1 July 2009 to comply. In 2018 in Germany, an accident with an elephant during a circus performance prompted calls to ban animal performances in circuses. PETA called the German politicians to outlaw

23961-416: The world. Some writers have argued that due to the widespread use of such comedy and its long history it is a need that is part of the human condition. The modern clowning school of comedy in the 21st century diverged from white-face clown tradition, with more of an emphasis on personal vulnerability and heightened sexuality. The clown character developed out of the zanni rustic fool characters of

24124-567: The world. They include The classical pairing of the White Clown with Auguste in modern tradition has a precedent in the pairing of Pierrot and Harlequin in the Commedia dell'arte . Originally, Harlequin's role was that of a light-hearted, nimble and astute servant, paired with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot. In the 18th-century English Harlequinade , Harlequin was now paired with Clown. As developed by Joseph Grimaldi around 1800, Clown became

24287-432: Was Helios himself who built it. His chariot is described as golden, or occasionally "rosy", and pulled by four white horses. The Horae , goddesses of the seasons, are part of his retinue and help him yoke his chariot. His sister Eos is said to have not only opened the gates for Helios, but would often accompany him as well. In the extreme east and west were said to be people who tended to his horses, for whom summer

24450-516: Was also a passage where he described Helios taking control over the bolting horses in the same manner as Lucretius described. Phaethon inevitably dies; a fragment near the end of the play has Clymene order the slave girls hide Phaethon's still-smouldering body from Merops, and laments Helios' role in her son's death, saying he destroyed him and her both. Near the end of the play it seems that Merops, having found out about Clymene's affair and Phaethon's true parentage, tries to kill her; her eventual fate

24613-493: Was also present in their language. Ancient Greek had three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter), so when an object or a concept was personified as a deity, it inherited the gender of the relevant noun; helios is a masculine noun, so the god embodying it is also by necessity male. The female offspring of Helios were called Heliades , the male Heliadae . The author of the Suda lexicon tried to etymologically connect ἥλιος to

24776-836: Was built of stone and measured 400m in length and 90m in width. Next in importance were the Circus Flaminius and the Circus Neronis , from the notoriety which it obtained through the Circensian pleasures of Nero. A fourth circus was constructed by Maxentius ; its ruins have helped archaeologists reconstruct the Roman circus. For some time after the fall of the Western Roman Empire , large circus buildings fell out of use as centres of mass entertainment. Instead, itinerant performers, animal trainers, and showmen travelled between towns throughout Europe, performing at local fairs, such as

24939-500: Was captured showing animal care director Tim Frisco training endangered Asian elephants with electrical shock prods and instructing other trainers to "beat the elephants with a bullhook as hard as they can and sink the sharp metal hook into the elephant's flesh and twist it until they scream in pain". On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, Wageningen University conducted an investigation into

25102-589: Was due to be passed in 2015, but Conservative MP Christopher Chope repeatedly blocked the bill under the reasoning that "The EU Membership Costs and Benefits bill should have been called by the clerk before the circuses bill, so I raised a point of order". He explained that the circus bill was "at the bottom of the list" for discussion. The Animal Defenders International non-profit group dubbed this "a huge embarrassment for Britain that 30 other nations have taken action before us on this simple and popular measure". On 1 May 2019 Environmental Secretary Michael Gove announced

25265-596: Was first recorded c. 1560 (as clowne, cloyne ) in the generic meaning rustic, boor, peasant . The origin of the word is uncertain, perhaps from a Scandinavian word cognate with clumsy . It is in this sense that Clown is used as the name of fool characters in Shakespeare's Othello and The Winter's Tale . The sense of clown as referring to a professional or habitual fool or jester developed soon after 1600, based on Elizabethan rustic fool characters such as Shakespeare's. The harlequinade developed in England in

25428-491: Was leaving for Lemnos . Upon hearing that, Ares went to Aphrodite and the two lovers coupled. Once again Helios informed Hephaestus, who came into the room and trapped them in the net. He then called the other gods to witness the humiliating sight. Much later versions add a young man to the story, a warrior named Alectryon , tasked by Ares to stand guard should anyone approach. But Alectryon fell asleep, allowing Helios to discover

25591-424: Was often invoked in oaths. He also played a significant part in ancient magic and spells. In art he is usually depicted as a beardless youth in a chiton holding a whip and driving his quadriga , accompanied by various other celestial gods such as Selene , Eos , or the stars. In ancient times he was worshipped in several places of ancient Greece, though his major cult centers were the island of Rhodes , of which he

25754-466: Was one of the most important theatrical designs of the 1800s. America's first great whiteface clown was stage star George "G.L." Fox . Inspired by Grimaldi, Fox popularised the Humpty Dumpty stories throughout the U.S. in the 1860s. The scary clown, also known as the evil clown or killer clown, is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in

25917-485: Was patron god, Corinth and the greater Corinthia region. The Colossus of Rhodes , a gigantic statue of the god, adorned the port of Rhodes until it was destroyed in an earthquake, thereupon it was not built again. The Greek noun ἥλιος ( GEN ἡλίου , DAT ἡλίῳ , ACC ἥλιον , VOC ἥλιε ) (from earlier ἁϝέλιος /hāwelios/) is the inherited word for the Sun from Proto-Indo-European * seh₂u-el which

26080-408: Was perpetual and fruitful. On several instances in mythology the normal solar schedule is disrupted; he was ordered not to rise for three days during the conception of Heracles , and made the winter days longer in order to look upon Leucothoe . Athena 's birth was a sight so impressive that Helios halted his steeds and stayed still in the sky for a long while, as heaven and earth both trembling at

26243-563: Was played by Otto Griebling during the 1930s to 1950s. Red Skelton 's Dodo the Clown in The Clown (1953), depicts the circus clown as a tragicomic stock character, "a funny man with a drinking problem". In the United States, Bozo the Clown was an influential Auguste character since the late 1950s. The Bozo Show premiered in 1960 and appeared nationally on cable television in 1978. McDonald's derived its mascot clown, Ronald McDonald , from

26406-400: Was said that summer days are longer due to Helios often stopping his chariot mid-air to watch from above nymphs dancing during the summer, and sometimes he is late to rise because he lingers with his consort. If the other gods wish so, Helios can be hastened on his daily course when they wish it to be night. When Zeus desired to sleep with Alcmene , he made one night last threefold, hiding

26569-425: Was the father of her all her children. Clymene reveals the truth to her son, and urges him to travel east to get confirmation from his father after she informs him that Helios promised to grant their child any wish when he slept with her. Although reluctant at first, Phaethon is convinced and sets on to find his birth father. In a surviving fragment from the play, Helios accompanies his son in his ill-fated journey in

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