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Ordinary Acrobat: A Journey Into The Wondrous World Of The Circus, Past And Present (2013)

by Duncan Wall(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1299238734 (ISBN13: 9781299238732)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Vintage Books

review 1: This is a fascinating book. The author became intrigued by the circus as a college student on a visit to Paris. He was able to secure a Fulbright fellowship to return for an in-depth study. His way of going about this was to enroll in a preparatory school for the prestigious national French circus school. In addition to a great deal of research on the history and personalities of the circus, he chronicles his experiences with juggling, flying, and clowning on his way to becoming an “ordinary acrobat. My favorite line: “the trapeze is not a metaphor, the trapeze is real.” Nevertheless, for most of us, the trapeze is a metaphor and the book provides a glimpse into the archetypal attraction of the circus.
review 2: This book is a gift to lovers of the... more circus, or circophiles, of which I am most certainly one. Author Duncan Wall got a Fullbright fellowship to study at France's National School for the Circus Arts and wrote about his experiences, the history of circus, and the (improving) state of contemporary circus. If you love circus, read this book. And if not, go see some contemporary circus pronto. History - practitioners of circus arts predate the Christian Era, and were part of the games of Rome. After being sacked, performers took to the road for many tough centuries, none worse than the fifteenth and the plague as outsiders were banned. Lucky performers became part of ruling courts, until fairgrounds provided a venue in the 16th century. Philip Astley is the "father of the circus", first brought together horsemanship (the reason the circus is in a ring), tumbling, clowning in his outdoor amphitheater in 1769. The overlap with the industrial revolution and the mixing of social classes in an unprecedented way could be clearly seen in the audience of a circus. Also benefitted from move to cities and need for urban entertainment. Founder of first American circus John Bill Ricketts in 1793, his competitor Joshua Brown was first to use a tent, which enabled circus to make it to smaller towns. PT Barnum came to circus late in life, made his money via his American Museum in NYC where people could experience all kinds of wonders of the world (pre-movies, pre-television), and freaks. Every famous freak of the mid 1800s was employed by Barnum at some point. As American circuses grew to massive size, the closeness and physical intimacy was lost for spectacle and sensory overload, particularly in clowning, where storytelling gave way to the clown car. Golden age of juggling 1880-1920. Cinquevalli a star around 1900, Enrico Rastelli famous in 1920s and thought of as best juggler ever, who threw more and bigger objects higher and faster - 10 balls (or 8 while skipping a rope), for example. Jérôme Thomas current legend. Trapeze invented by Jules Leotard in 1859 (to think, he is more famous for bodywear!), brought more risk to the circus. Became a god for 10 yrs, died at 28 from smallpox. Not much time spent on animals in circus, but know this: lion tamers like a lion who is farting a lot - it smells hideous but they know the animal is well fed!Modern circus is not simply entertainment, it is art. It is not just a series of skillful displays, it's a vehicle for personal expression. The act is not competitive, your real act is who you are. The circus was and can be the ultimate popular art, where people of all classes and races gather. It gave way to television, which pulls people down and isolates them. Popular art should bring people together, unify them and pull them upward. It should engender civic discussion, inspire and enlighten. less

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