The Circus

• A particular style of circus performance, relating to “traditional” stagings seen in the mid 19th to early/mid 20th century. In the US this is synonymous with tented shows.
• “Going to The Circus” (gut check: would you say this about going to a 7 Fingers show? Cirque du Soleil? Big Apple Circus? Ringling? Absinthe?

circus

• An physical performance artform that uses the body in novel ways.
• A collection of physical performance disciplines used in popular entertainment in the West from the mid-19th to early 20th century. Word grew out of the venue to describe what was seen inside.
• “Circus” as a field in the performing arts is composed of “circus disciplines;” that which a circus performer executes for an audience.
• Gut check: Contemporary circus dramaturgs define circus as: strength, flexibility, risk, and spectacle.

The circus arts / circus disciplines

• Trapeze, juggling, balancing, etc.
• The physical feats that are executed in a circus context.
• The physical feats that long pre-date The Circus that were collected and put into a circus context.

Where it gets a little confusing: lots of people – especially those who revel in the nostalgia of traditional tented shows or grew up in a traditional circus setting – conflate “The Circus” with “circus,” ignoring the fact that it’s a developing, changing artform (with fluctuating definitions and experiences of circus!) Today’s circus arts – and all of theater! – is very different than what was being presented in the Golden Age of The Circus.

During the Golden Age (which we’ll talk about next time!), the circus “imperative” was to show people something new. To be more novel and exciting than the other shows passing through the area. To show family friendly shows as a form of “moral entertainment” with an educational or scientific backbone. The physical disciplines themselves were less important than exciting posters and press, and acts were added, devised, invented, co-opted, etc from season to season without thinking “well, is THIS circus?” (See above the “circus” gut check: strength, flexibility, risk, and spectacle.)

With that in mind, it seems silly to listen to folks who argue that today’s “circus” isn’t “Circus” because… they’re either apples and oranges or the exact same thing. It’s all connected and it’s all still related. That argument is based in “get off my lawn” nostalgia.

All of that said, where did it start? When did it start? Who started it, if anyone?