The Cambridge Companion to the Circus (Cambridge Companions to Theatre and Performance)

The Cambridge Companion to the Circus provides a complete guide for students, scholars, teachers, researchers, and practitioners who are seeking perspectives on the foundations and evolution of the modern circus, the contemporary extent of circus studies, and the specialised literature available to support further enquiries. The volume brings together an international group of established and emerging scholars working across the multi-disciplinary domain of circus studies to present a clear overview of the specialised histories, aesthetics and distinctive performances of the modern circus. In sixteen commissioned essays, it covers the origins in commercial equestrian performance during the late-eighteenth century to contemporary inflections of circus arts in major international festivals, educational environments, and social justice settings. Frontmatter Contents Figures Contributors Acknowledgements Timeline Introduction The Circus: Reflecting and Mediating the World PART I Transnational Geographies oft he Modern Circus 1 The Origins and Growth of the Modern Circus 2 Reconstruction, Railroads, and Race 3 Circus, Colonialism, and Empire 4 The Criollo Circus (Circus Theatre) in Argentina 5 The Past and Present of Czech Circus 6 Catching On: Chinese Acrobatics from China to the West in the Twenty-First Century PART II Circus Acts and Aesthetics 7 The Equestrian Circus 8 Animals, Circus, and War Re-enactment 9 Circus Clowns 10 Aerial Performance: Aerial Aesthetics PART III Circus A Comtantly Evolving Form 11 Circus and Somatic Spectacularity on Stage in the Variety Era 12 Becoming an Art Form: From ‘Nouveau Cirque’ to Contemporary Circus in Europe 13 Risky Play and the Global Rise in Youth Circus 14 Social Circus PART IV Circus Studies Scholarship 15 Methodologies in Circus Scholarship 16 Through the Looking Glass Bibliography Index "In 2018 we marked the 250th anniversary of the founding of the modern circus, an event traced to the entrepreneurial initiatives of Philip Astley (1742-1814). Astley enclosed a circle of ground on the south side of the Thames in 1768 where he exhibited his unusual equestrian skills for a paying public. The circus's specialised history in different parts of the globe reveals that for just over two hundred and fifty years this hybrid entertainment, with its own codes of physical and comic performance, visuality, and business management, has developed and diversified through multiple cycles of reinvention. Oscillating through phases of illegitimacy on the fringes of society and validation for its aesthetic and entertainment appeal, the circus's restless evolution has always been influenced by unique confluences of the political environment, artistic heritage, and aesthetic trends particular to its geographic context"-- Provided by publisher An Authoritative Introduction To The Specialised Histories Of The Modern Circus, Its Unique Aesthetics, And Its Contemporary Manifestations And Scholarship, From Its Origins In Commercial Equestrian Performance, To Contemporary Inflections Of Circus Arts In Major International Festivals, Educational Environments, And Social Justice Settings.