The Circus :: essays research papers

A fair is an arena for acrobatic exhibitions and animal shows. Usually invoice and surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators, a funfair may be in the generate air but is usually housed in a perpetual building or sheltered by a tent. The terminal figure genus Circus is also applied to the performance itself and to the troupe of performers. The entertainment offered at a circus generally consists of displays of horsemanship exhibitions by gymnasts, aerialists, wild-animal trainers, and performing animals and comic roleplay by clowns.The first modern circus was staged in capital of the fall in Kingdom in 1768 by Philip Astley, a former sergeant major in the English cavalry, who performed as a trick rider. Beginning with a get down to Paris in 1772, Astley introduced the circus in cities throughout continental atomic number 63 and was responsible for establishing permanent circuses in a number of European countries as well as in England. A circus was first presented in Russi a in 1793 at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. By the early 19th century several permanently based circuses were locate in many larger European cities. In addition, small travelling shows moved from town to town in caravans of covered wagons in which the performers lived. The travelling shows were usually simple affairs, featuring a fiddler or two, a juggler, a ropedancer, and a few acrobats. In the early circuses such performers gave their shows in open spaces and took up a collection for pay later, the performers used an enclosed rural area and began to charge admission. By contrast, the permanently-based circuses of Europe staged elaborate shows. In the preliminary part of the 19th century a main feature of the permanent circus program was the presentation of dramas that included displays of horsemanship.The circus was introduced in the United States by John Bill Ricketts, an English equestrian who opened a show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1792 and staged subseque nt circuses in impertinent York City and Boston, Massachusetts. President George Washington reportedly attended a Ricketts circus and sold the company a horse in 1797. The Ricketts circus remained in existence, with several name changes, through the first decade of the 19th century. whatever of the outstanding companies in the early history of American circuses were the Mount Pitt circus and the troupes of the American animal tamer Isaac Van Amburgh, the American chemist and artificer Gilbert Spaulding, and the American clown Dan Rice.Throughout the 19th century the circus evolved in programming and