Words and Pictures – A day at the circus

Circuses have been around since 18th century England, but over the years circuses have had to adapt in order to appeal to a modern day audience.

Although traditional circuses have become fewer in number, this concept has not been forgotten. Instead it is being re-invented with Companies such as The Moscow State Circus who are finding new ways of attracting audiences, by combining contemporary ideas with classic showmanship.

Emma Bottamley takes a look at the Moscow State Circuses new production – Babushkin Sekret to find out what makes people still love going to the circus.

A day at the circus from emma bottamley on Vimeo.

Want to know about Wildlife Rehabilitation? Then watch this

Looking after a wild animal is not an easy process and keeping a wild animal in captivity is often difficult. Whether in a circus, zoo or other environments every wild animal has the same needs.

In the UK, there are a few centres which help rehabilitate animals back into the wild. Wildlife rehabilitation is the treatment of a sick, injured or orphaned wild animal, which requires specialist knowledge until it is healthy, and prepared to be released back into the wild.

Here is a look at one  such wildlife rehabilitation facility –  the RSPCA’s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Cheshire, which has been looking after wildlife casualties since 1994. Every year, the centre treats thousands of animals from north-west England, the north Midlands and north Wales, where they have had up to 6000 admissions a year.

 

Working in the greatest show on earth

Welcome to the greatest show on earth – the circus. But behind the grand big top, the show lights and spectacular acrobats are the people at the heart of the enterprise. The circus has its own world in itself and the people there have a life more exciting than any circus show can hope to achieve.

71-year-old, Mike Austin has been in the circus all life – he is from Circus Ginnett, one of the oldest circus families in Europe, who began in the early 1800’s.

If you’re born into the circus, life is anything but ordinary. He began his career in the circus when he was just 9-years-old, doing a bare back riding act.

He beams, “Growing up in a circus is the best life in the world, you can’t beat it”

Mike Austin’s great-great grandparents started Circus Ginnett in Britain just after the Napoleonic Wars. His ancestors were members of the French Calvary who were captured at the battle of Waterloo and became French prisoners of War. They were brought to England on prison ships. When they were released some of the Ginnett’s stayed in England.

It was Jean Pier Ginnett who started in show business with his Pony and Budgerigar show in Ludgate circus, in London.

Ginnett’s grew to become one of the UK’s largest circuses between the years of 1890 and 1930. They closed down during World War One, when around 200 of their horses were confiscated for the war effort.

The Ginnett’s were also the first ever western circus to visit China.

However In the 1940’s their circus was closed after almost 150 years of Ginnett’s circus. It was Mike Austin himself who re-opened the circus with his wife Jounita in 1989, along with their son and daughter – Nina and Patrick. As Mike and his wife decided to retire, they passed on their knowledge to their children. It is Nina and Patrick who are now keeping the Ginnett tradition alive by running the circus.

Mike Austin now resides in his farm in Kings Lynne, Norfolk, along with the rest of his circus family. Being at his home, surrounded by old black and white pictures of his grandparents circus and framed newspaper cuttings it is clear to see how much the circus is a part of him. He lives breathes and talks the circus.

During his career, Mike has had numerous acts, including bare back riding, a boxing kangaroo, a high wire act and he also performed as a clown.

Working in a circus isn’t an easy life, there are no holidays and they are constantly travelling from place to place. But for Mike this has been part of the excitement, he has travelled all around the world and was even in Vietnam during the War with his boxing Kangaroo act when Saigon fell in 1975.

Growing up in a circus is a very different way of life, continually travelling Mike went to a different school every week in a new town. He was often just given a book to read. He jokes “I’m a very good reader, but a rotten speller.”

His grandparents went to school like he did and so have his children as he strongly believes that, “The circus is the best school in life.”

Mike not only fell in love with the circus life but on the circus. He says the best moment of his life was meeting his wife, Jounita – a trapeze artist and contortionist who belonged to a Hungarian circus family. They have been married for 35 years.

But not all of his memories have been fond ones, his best friend, Gordon Howes, was mauled to death by two lions during a training session in Ireland in 1978.

Mike looks at the floor solemnly as he holds out the tooth from the lion that killed his friend. He describes how Gordon’s three children were watching as the lions attacked him; his last words were ‘take the kids out.’

The use of wild animals has sparked much controversy over the years with animal welfare organisations persistently fighting for a ban. There was public outrage in March last year, when footage showing a Romanian groom beating Britain’s last remaining circus elephant, Anne, was released, at the home of the Bobby Roberts Super Circus.

This led to MPs winning a majority vote in parliament to introduce such a ban, but since then no law has yet been implemented. Now only around 37 wild animals remain in British big tops.

The Ginnett’s used to have elephants, lion’s camels, and up to 80 horses in their shows – Mike laughs, “Now I’ve just got down to one pony and a dog.”

It became too difficult to have animals in their shows, Mike has seen his fair share of animal protesters and many councils have banned animal circuses from renting their land.

He says, “The public like to see animals, whatever the animal rights people will tell you. If you say to people what’s your favourite act in the circus, I can guarantee they will say it’s the horses, the lions or the elephants, they won’t say the clowns or the trapeze artists. But if you say to people do you think it’s cruel? Now, you put them on a different foot – they don’t really know how to answer you.”

Even though Ginnett’s no longer uses wild animals in their shows they are a strong believers of animal circuses as Ring Mistress Nina Austin explains, “My family have a big belief of using animals in circuses. Circuses began with a horse act, and the people loved it. It’s missed – it was something you don’t see every day. Just because one person has done something wrong, doesn’t mean we all have. Our animals were our life and we loved them.”

Circuses have been around for generations and are believed to have originated in 18^th century England, by equestrian Phillip Astley, who established the first permanent and travelling circus.

Over the several centuries that the modern-day circus has been alive, owners and performers have had to continuously adapt in order to attract audiences. TV killed live entertainment, and circuses had to find new ways of attracting audiences.

In recent years traditional circuses have become fewer in number and there has been a shift towards big scale productions with companies such as Cirque du Soleil, which focus upon acrobatic skill rather than wild animal acts. Productions like this have re-invented the concept of the circus for a modern era.

But as Mike says it was the circus families who began this tradition and who form the heart and soul of the modern circus.

He says “I’m not a business man I’m just a circus man, I just do it because it’s a way of life. There have been people who have come into circuses and made far bigger success of it than the circus families. But the circus families are the ones that they have learnt from – only they have learnt to do it better.”

With new rules and regulations, Mike has witnessed a change in circuses over the years, for traditional circuses families like his it has become a lot more difficult to keep the business going.

They do not receive any funding or support from the government and the rise in petrol prices means that their transportation costs are a lot higher. Ground rents have also risen in price.

Mike explains, “Last year we broke even. A lot of the circus families have never made good livings out of it – the ones who have made the money are the private people because they’ve looked at it from a different angle. Whereas we tend to think my granddad wouldn’t have done it like that.”

But all of this hasn’t stopped them from carrying on.

As Mike explains, “If I didn’t do it, what am I going to do? I don’t want to do anything else, so you keep doing it. My son doesn’t want to do anything else either.”

For those born into the family businesses, it is clear that the traditions are stronger.

Mike’s daughter Ring Mistress Nina, is determined to keep her father’s legacy alive, she says. “We like one big happy family. We have good days and bad days. But when it’s good it’s the best life in the world.”

Here is a slide show of Circus Ginnett’s christmas show at The Whitehall Garden Centre in Bristol:

http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?group_id=&user_id=&set_id=72157629063696248/show&text=
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

The Moscow State Circus Slide Show

http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?group_id=&user_id=&set_id=72157629386792959/show&text=
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Interview with Shaun Bailey from the APTCA on animal circuses

Here is an interview I did with Shaun Bailey from the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Circus Arts, to find out why he thinks animals should remain in circuses.

Have your say: Is there still a place for traditional circuses in the 21st century?

Circus Timeline

Circuses have changed a considerable amount over the years. Over the several centuries that the modern-day circus has been alive, owners and performers have had to continuously adapt to a changing world in order to survive. But many people do not realise that the concept of the modern circus originated in Britain by Phillip Astley. So here is a look at how it all began.

 Roman times

The history of the circus can be traced back to the Roman times, where a circus was an open air arena used for the exhibition of chariot racing, staged battles and displays featuring animals. Spectators embraced this new form of entertainment and it was the only public spectacle where men and women were not separated. The circus of Rome was thought to be influenced by the Greeks who used chariot racing as a popular form of entertainment. The first circus established in Rome was called Circus Maximus which could seat up to 250,000 people. However After the fall of Rome, Europe lacked an animal circus with only travelling showman left performing at local towns and fairs.

 Medieval Era

Groups of travelling entertainers began moved from village to village performing songs, bringing news and telling stories for townspeople.  In England, these travelling performers were called “gleemen” and eventually became known as “minstrels.”

 16^th century

Minstrels were seen as a threat and laws were passes banning their gypsy life. But performers quickly adapted to this by performing on street corners and holding their shows in permanent locations that were designed for the events.

 17^th century

In the 17^th century Country fairs began to gain popularity throughout England. They became a venue for performers to show off their talent. Acrobats, jugglers, rope dancers, and riding exhibitions became regular fixtures at these country fairs.

 1768

The modern concept of a circus appears to have existed in the late 18th century in England and was created by Philip Astley who established the first permanent and travelling circus. He opened an equestrian riding-school in London where he gave riding lessons and then began performing daring tricks on horseback in the afternoon. His school featured a circular area that he called a ‘circle,’ or a ‘circus,’ which would later be known as the ring. The first performance of a circus is believed to have been held on January, 9, 1768 with Astley being known for a trick horse riding into the ring.

1770

As Astely’s show increased in popularity he began to introduce jugglers, tightrope walkers and clowns and had them perform in between his equestrian acts. He borrowed the idea of a clown from Elizabethan theatre to entertain audiences in between acts. This is what became known as the modern circus.

 1782

The circus became very popular in England and large cities built buildings such as the London Hippodrome to accommodate these types of shows, where wild animals appeared in the ring. Astley opened Paris’s first circus, the Amphithéâtre Anglois, in 1782. That same year, his first competitor arose – former pupil and equestrian Charles Hughes who opened the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy on 4 November 1782.

 1793

Charles Hughes brought his circus show to the Court of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg in Russia. In that same year in April, one of Charles Hugh’s pupils – John Bill Rickets, a British equestrian opened the first circus in the United States in Philadelphia.  

1797

Ricketts established the first Canadian circus in Montreal.

 1802

British equestrian Philip Lailson (who came to the U.S. in 1795), introduced the circus to Mexico in 1802.

 1825

Joshuah Purdy Brown became the first circus entrepreneur to replace the traditional wooden circus building with a canvas tent, which soon became a common feature for circuses by the mid-1830s.

 1835

Hachaliah Bailey exhibited the first African elephant in the United States. Other wild animals were also introduced later and exhibited all over the country, which inspired the menagerie portion of the circus. Following this a group of 135 enterprising farmers and menagerie-owners from Somers created the Zoological Institute, a trust that featured thirteen menageries and three affiliated circuses, which developed a market for travelling-circuses and the menagerie business.

With that, the unique character of the American circus emerged: It was a traveling tent-show coupled with a menagerie and run by businessmen, a very different model from that of European circuses, which for the most part remained under the control of performing families.

 1836

British Equestrian Thomas Cooke, visited the United States and brought back to England the idea of the American circus tent. Around this same time, three important circus innovators, Giuseppe Chiarini (Italian), Jacques Toruniaire (French), and Louis Soullier (French) transported their early travelling circuses to the rest of the world.

 1871

Circuses began to grow in the United States and American William Cameron Coup dramatically changed the concept of the circus when he was the first to introduce circus trains to transport the shows around the country. This practice still continues to this day. He also introduced a second ring.

 1881.

P.T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey formed a partnership and called it Barnum & Bailey Circus known as “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

 1884

The Ringling Brothers—Albert, Otto, Alfred, Charles and John—started their first circus.

Each of the brothers had their own roles within the circus, Alfred was in charge of publicising, Albert chose the acts, Charles produced the show, Otto was the treasurer and John supervised transportation.

By the late 1880’s The Ringling Brothers established itself as one of the largest and best-run circuses in the country and became the major competitors to the Barnum & Bailey Show.

 1898

The Barnum & Bailey “Greatest Show on Earth” travelled on tour throughout Europe, every day until 1902. They travelled at night by trains and set up canvas tents that had a triplicate circus, a zoological exhibition and a freak show. 

 1902

Bailey returned to the U.S in 1902 to find that his market was under serious competition by the popular Ringling Brothers.

1907

A year after Bailey’s death in 1906, the Ringling Brothers bought the Barnum and Bailey Circus and kept the circuses separate for several years.

 1919

After deciding it was too difficult to run the shows independently the remaining Ringling Brothers, Charles and John decided to combine the two circuses and created the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey combined shows.

 The show made its debut at Madison Square Garden in New York on March 29^th, 1919.

 1922
German wire-walker, Karl Wallenda began his own high-wire act with his brother, Herman, Josef Geiger and Helen Kreis, who became known as The Flying Wallendas. They were an internationally known circus act famous for performing death-defying stunts. The Wallendas became headliners with Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus during much of the 1930s and 1940s.

1919

Soviet circuses in Russia were nationalised by Lenin in 1919 and became a popular art form.

 1927

Many performers originally from Western Europe fled to Russia and The State University of Circus and Variety Arts, better known as the Moscow Circus School was established. This was where performers were trained using methods developed from the Soviet gymnastics program which led to the invention of entirely new kinds of original acts.

 1944

On July 6^th, 1944, during an afternoon performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Show, in Hartford, Connecticut, the circus tent caught on fire. The Hartford Circus Fire, was one of the worst fire disasters in the history of the United States. Approximately 7,000 people attended and 167 were killed in the fire.

 1967

Irvin Feld purchased the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey show.

1984

Cirque du Soleil based in Montreal Quebec, was started as part of the celebration for the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s discovery of Canada.

Using no animals in the performance, Cirque du Soleil focuses on a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment. Its absence of animals and theatrical performances is what helped define the notion of the contemporary circus, which still remains today.

 Contemporary Circuses

Circuses have evolved over time. Nowadays circuses have begun to adapt their shows to attract business by creating a range of acts that include both human and animal performers. There has been a rise in animal free circus productions, but despite the shift towards more theatrical productions and an emphasis on human performances rather than animals, traditional circuses still remain including ones that still maintain to use animal performers, such as the infamous Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Check out this timeline on Dipity:

http://www.dipity.com/emmabottamley07/History-of-the-circus/

Moscow State Circus Review

It appears circuses have changed over the years as the spectacle of seeing a wild animal performing under a big top has somewhat lost its appeal.

However when the all-human Moscow State Circus arrived at Birmingham Star City this Christmas it certainly brought the circus back to life with its fantastic new production Babushkin Sekret. Inspired by the Russian legend of The Twelve Chairs, the show follows the story of Valerik a former member of nobility who works as a desk clerk, in his quest to find his family fortune which has been hidden in one of the twelve chairs. Comical Valerick and his side kick Valik become treasure hunters, as they try to track down the lost chairs.

This interesting narrative is what helps cleverly link the whole show together and keeps the audience hooked with a mixture of spectacular acrobatic performances and comic moments. The Moscow State circus illustrate that animals are not always needed to keep audiences entertained as they place the emphasis of their production on displays of human skill, acrobatics and special effects.  

The show was packed full of impressive gymnastic displays and balancing acts, which included Yana Alievia hanging off a revolving ariel Chandelier,  juggling Sherbakovs on the reverse pyramid of St Petersburg, The Doktrov, flying & spiralling in the apex of the big top and even a motor bike on a hire wire with a trapeze act performing underneath the bike.

If that wasn’t enough to keep you on the edge of your seats then hilarious clowns Valik and Valerik kept audiences entertained.

The production had the perfect balance of the old and the new by combining contemporary ideas with classic showmanship. The Audience was laughing the one minute and in awe the next.

Highlights of the show had to be the hilarious trampoline capers of Professor Balakov and the ending of the balancing chairs routine.

The skill of each artist was something to be admired and each performer made it appear so effortless. Imagine skipping with someone else on your shoulders and still smiling at the same time.

The Moscow State Circus is not to be missed it’s a spectacular show for all the family to enjoy. Their tour continues until March this year for information about venue dates please see: http://www.moscowstatecircus.com/tour-dates.asp

MP calls for public support on banning wild animals in circuses

Colchester MP Bob Russell tells of why he thinks there should be a ban of wild animals in circuses in the UK.

The use of wild animals in circuses has been a heated matter sparking much controversy. For several years animal welfare organisations have persistently fought to get a ban in place. Yet no such ban has yet been implemented. Earlier this year this issue was brought to public attention when national outrage was caused when footage was released showing a Romanian groom beating Britain’s last remaining circus elephant Anne at the home of the Bobby Roberts Circus.

From this, MP’s motioned for a debate in parliament in defiance to the government’s proposed new licensing scheme. Midway through the debate a free vote was announced which meant MP’s were allowed to vote on the issue independently rather than with their particular party. This was the first ever debatable vote on banning wild animals in circuses (23rd June 2011) This motion was tabled by Mark Pritchard MP, Jim Fitzpatrick MP and Bob Russell MP – who are long-standing animal welfare campaigners.  

The majority of MP’s voted in favour for a complete ban and it looked like the government were going to implement one. However since this nothing has changed, the government have instead opted for a new licensing scheme. So what is happening now with the campaign? Will there be a ban in the future?

The Big Top Debate spoke to MP Bob Russell to find out what is going on.

What is happening with campaign?

The campaign goes on and I very much regret as I see it that the government are not following the will of parliament which was made quite clear that there should be a complete ban of exotic animals in circuses. I regret that the coalition government feels less than enthusiastic to take this issue forward. So as it happens I am tabling a parliamentary question to ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs to find out where we are with the legislation.

Why is the government opposed to a ban?

Well they say that there are legal complications and that it is European court action that is pending which means that the UK cannot make a decision. But I think this is just an excuse, there is cross party support and I have personally been against the use of live animals in circuses for over 40 years.

Do you think there will be a complete ban of wild animals in circuses in the future?

Yes, I think it is only a matter of time, it is regrettable that it is taking this long. The House of Commons on a cross party vote has declared its wish for a ban and now want we want to see is the coalition government to deliver on the will of parliament. At the moment they are dragging their feet but I am tabling a parlimentry question and I am sure others will pressing the government fraction.

How would encourage the public to get involved in this issue?

I would urge anyone to contact their local MP and ask parliament to put pressure on Defra or go directly to the Prime Minister or even go to your local council to sign a motion that will get sent to the government. I think people need to raise public awareness and determination so that the government cannot just push this issue away. I think people like myself need to continually keep this issue alive.

Animal welfare organisations have been campaigning for years for a ban but nothing has changed yet, what more can be done?

I think it is just a matter of time but I am concerned that time is getting elongated – this should have been banned in the last century. We are in the 21^st century where we really should have a ban by now and that barbarity towards animals should not be viewed as a spectacle of entertainment.

Is there a future for animal circuses?

Once, the spectacle of seeing a lion, tiger or an elephant performing under a big top in a circus was a common thing. Nowadays the popularity of circuses is declining and there is only an estimated 37 wild animals remaining in British circuses. Despite many animal welfare organisations calling for a ban of wild animals in circuses, there is no current law in the UK to stop circuses using animals in their shows. But if there was to be a ban in place, what would the future of circuses be? Is there any point in circuses without animals? Here is a look at the history of the circus.

Circus History

The history of the circus can be traced back to the Roman times, where a circus was an open air arena used for the exhibition of chariot racing, staged battles and displays featuring animals. Spectators embraced this new form of entertainment and it was the only public spectacle where men and women were not separated. The circus of Rome was thought to be influenced by the Greeks who used chariot racing as a popular form of entertainment. The first circus established in Rome was called Circus Maximus which could seat up to 250,000 people. However After the fall of Rome, Europe lacked an animal circus with only travelling showman left performing at local towns and fairs.

Development

The modern concept of a circus appears to have existed in the late 18^th century in England and was created by Philip Astley who established the first permanent and travelling circus.  The first performance of a circus is believed to have been held on January, 9, 1768 with Astley being known for a trick horse riding into the ring. He later added jugglers, tightrope walkers, clowns and performing dogs into his shows to create the modern circus.

The circus became very popular in England and large cities built buildings such as the London Hippodrome to accommodate these types of shows, where wild animals appeared in the ring. Astley opened Paris’s first circus, the Amphithéâtre Anglois, in 1782. That same year, his first competitor arose – equestrian Charles Hughes who opened the Royal Circus on 4 November 1782.

Circuses began to grow in the United States and American William Cameron Coup dramatically changed the concept of the circus when he was the first to introduce circus trains to transport the shows around the country. This practice still continues to this day.

In 1836, British Equestrian Thomas Cooke, visited the United States and brought back to England the idea of the American circus tent. Around this same time, three important circus innovators, Giuseppe Chiarini (Italian), Jacques Toruniaire (French), and Louis Soullier (French) transported their early travelling circuses to the rest of the world.

Contemporary Circuses

Circuses have evolved over time. In the 1960’s and 70’s circuses began to face harsh criticism as animal rights became a topic for concern.  Nowadays circuses have begun to adapt their shows to attract business by creating a range of acts that include both human and animal performers. There has been a rise in animal free circus productions such as the very successful Cirque Du Soleil and the Moscow State Circus. Could these types of contemporary productions be the future of circuses?

But despite the shift towards more theatrical productions and an emphasis on human performances rather than animals, traditional circuses still remain including ones that still maintain to use animal performers, such as the infamous Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus and the Great British Circus.