Full Answer
What do you call someone who follows circuses?
Circus Fan: A person devoted to following circuses and studying their history. Often a member of an organization;Circus such as, "Circus Historical Society", "Circus Fans of America", "Circus Model Builder &Owner's Association"or "Windjammers Unlimited". Circus Report: The biweekly trade magazine of the circus industry:
How many people worked in a circus?
A large traveling circus might have 20 people working, a small "mud show" might be a family and a helper or two. They were often too small to support large animals, and their animal acts might amount to as little as a trained dog and pony.
What are some good Circus nicknames?
Iron Jaw: An aerial act in which the performers work suspended by a mouth piece clinched behind their teeth. Itchy Feet: An off the road trouper's urge to get back with it on the road. Jackpot: Circus people talking among themselves, telling stories, (usually tall tales). Joey: A clown. From the famous European clown, Joe Grimaldi.
What is an example of a circus performer?
Example: Circus performers may act as ushers before a performance, butchers may have to hang sidewall around the big top or erect the marquee. ( see Cherry Pie) Circus Fan: A person devoted to following circuses and studying their history.
What is a circus person called?
A ringmaster or ringmistress, or sometimes a ringleader, is a significant performer in many circuses. Most often seen in traditional circuses, the ringmaster is a master of ceremonies that introduces the circus acts to the audience.
What is a group of circus performers called?
You can call a group of performers a troupe. The kids you dance with are your dance troupe, and the jugglers and clowns at your friend's party might be a circus troupe.
Are people working in a circus?
Some circuses stay in one place (like Cirque in Las Vegas), but most are touring companies. Working with a traveling circus is exciting, but the lifestyle requires a real commitment and a certain amount of grit that not everyone has. You don't just work for the circus—you live in the circus, too.
What is the boss of a carnival called?
Ringmaster: The man in charge of a circus performance and announces the acts.
What are the different types of circus performers?
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists.
What's another name for circus?
In this page you can discover 23 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for circus, like: carnival, fair, festival, cabaret, cirque, amphitheater, arena, hippodrome, bazaar, kermis and ring.
What does the ringmaster say at the end of the circus?
"Let's go home and show everyone we are forever more the Greatest Show on Earth!" Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson said to close out the show, leading to a raucous standing ovation.
What is a circus rube?
A call to rally circus members in a fight.
What is an announcer in circus?
Announcer: The person who introduces the acts and numbers to the audience during a circus performance.
What is the meaning of "haul" in circus?
Haul: The move between the circus train and the show lot.
What is a circus fan?
Circus Fan: A person devoted to following circuses and studying their history. Often a member of an organization;Circus such as, "Circus Historical Society", "Circus Fans of America", "Circus Model Builder &Owner's Association"or "Windjammers Unlimited".
What is circus report?
Circus Report: The biweekly trade magazine of the circus industry:
What is a bandwagon?
Bandwagon: A circus parade wagon carrying a circus band. - A bi-monthly magazine published by the Circus Historical Society. Bannerline: The array of colorful banners on each side of a sideshow entrance, depicting enhanced and exaggerated images of the exhibits inside. Barker: A term invented by Hollywood.
What is a freak?
Freak: A human oddity on exhibition in a museum or in a circus or carnival side show.
What was the purpose of the baggage wagons in the circus?
Baggage Wagons: Strongly built wagons on which all the circus equipment, properties, trunks, etc. were loaded. Most of the parade wagons (band and tableau) doubled as baggage wagons on the moves between towns.
What is the circus fan organization?
Circus Fans Association of America — Fan organization established in 1926. Its local clubs are called "tents" and "tops.". Publishes "The White Tops" members' magazine. The loyalty of the Fans is sincerely appreciated by circus performers and is seen as indispensable to the survival of small shows.
What is circus pole?
Circus Pole — Very early mass-produced candy hawked by candy butchers inside the tent. Stick candy, with a hard, brown, brittle outer layer and a soft coconut center. Circus Report — Name of a weekly circus trade magazine. Circus Tape — Adhesive cloth tape used to wrap trapeze bars and other circus equipment.
What was the advance of the circus?
Advance — Teams of employees traveled ahead of the circus route to put up posters and arrange for advertising, often visiting each town several times (four weeks, two weeks and one week before the show.) They often traveled on dedicated "advance cars" or "bill cars," rail cars carried on freight trains, and had just one day at any stop to carry out their assignments. Both the team and its ad campaign were simply called "the advance." "Bill Posters" pasted multi-sheet posters on the outsides of buildings and fences with buckets of flour-and-water paste, long-handled paste brushes, and ladders. "Lithographers" bartered with local merchants, trading passes for the right to place one-sheets, half-sheets, and panels in store windows. The purchased billing stand locations and boards were paid by the use of an “outside bill poster check” to be presented at the ticket wagon on the day of exhibition. The advance team might hire local youths to distribute heralds door-to-door. Beginning in the 1950s, there was a union for bill crews: the International Alliance of Billers, Billposters and Distributors. When a show played towns with a Billposters' local, union-member crews were required, and the paper would be rubber-stamped with a small "union bug" (union logo) indicating that the posters were put up by union members. This practice was often ignored in towns where there was no Billposters' local or where there was not a strong pro-union sentiment. (See "Agent" below)
What is a caring clown?
Caring Clown — Not a traditional circus term. Used by amateurs (and Ringling publicity) to refer to clowns who specialize in hospital visits ("Awwwwww…").
What is a butcher in circus?
Butcher — Strolling vendor selling refreshments or souvenirs. Al Stencell said, on the Circus Historical Society forum in 2006, "The food items were sent into the big top in an order. That is dry first. Once people were ready to almost kill you for a drink - then the wet went in. Candy apples didn't go in until the last couple of acts. Reason - it takes too long to eat an apple."
Why is the back yard of the circus dangerous?
First, it can be dangerous, especially for idiots who think it might be cool to sneak into the elephant tent and see them up close. Second, as Bruce Feiler wrote in Under the Big Top, "The only way to survive in the circus was to build a private world of one's own. Circus people … are like tigers: they have a tendency to devour their own. Those who survive do so by living in a tiny cage and only coming out when they have to perform. … [They mind] only their own business and nobody else's. … It's like a day-care center all around this lot. That's why I just retire to my trailer after the show and pull my curtains down."
What is the name of the torch that lights the way at the circus?
Flag, or Flag's Up — The cookhouse is open. Flare — A kerosene torch placed along the route from the railroad loading spur to the circus lot, to light the way during a night haul.
What is circus skills?
Circus skills are a group of disciplines that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking, or variety, vaudeville, or music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-performers as a hobby. Circus schools and instructors use various systems of categorization ...
What are the systems of categorization used in circus schools?
Systems that have attempted to formally organize circus skills into pragmatic teaching groupings include the Gurevich system (the basis of the Russian Circus School's curriculum) and the Hovey Burgess system .
What is the circus?
The circus is fun to visit and draw. Bright colours, noise and spectacle add up to an entertaining mix of skills, humor and excitement.#N#From clowns to trapeze artistes there is something for all - especially children. Many people remember their first visit to the circus and this collection is partly a stick figure homage to those memories.#N#In adult life there are lessons to learn from the circus. Balancing acts, plate-spinning have similarities with busy working lives. How we cope is whether we become a ring-master or backstage worker, clown or juggler, or maybe a high-flying trapeze artist!#N##N##N#This page contains circus acts from A-Z. Main ring performances are covered along with a few sideshow acts which the larger circuses might hold in a separate tent.#N#Without further ado and with a huge sense of anticipation here is your ringmaster for the evening.
What are some examples of circus acts?
To most people's relief the animal based circus act has largely disappeared. An example of an old-time act is the seal balancing a ball. Clever, entertaining and as we eventually decided - the wrong way to treat animals.
What is the most recognisable circus act?
The clowns are the one of the most recognisable of circus acts. A main part of the event they entertain the crowd while the arena is being prepared for other artists. Although the clowns may put on a silly act they are hugely talented performers.
What do jugglers do in the circus?
Jugglers in the circus can do way more than that. Several balls at one time, clubs, hoops, burning sticks, knives - they juggle an extraordinary range of items. Juggling is one of my favourite performance acts. It requires practice, hand-eye coordination and a fun accompanying patter to keep the crowd engaged.
What is a common yoga position?
A common position is a complete back bend where the head of the contortionist ends up between their legs. Some Yoga positions also require flexibility but they are more about achieving an inner peace and tranquility than the performance act of the circus or street contortionist.
What is the big top in circus?
Big Top. The Big Top is a name for the traditional tent used by the travelling circus. They would rent a field from a farmer and build this huge tent where the circus is performed. Inside the Big Top would be the Circus Ring where the acts perform.
What animals were used in circuses?
The traditional circus relied heavily on trained animals for drawing in the crowds. From dogs and horses through to elephants, lions and tigers - show animals were a popular attraction. Gradually people became concerned about animal welfare. There are no animals who naturally do tricks in the wild.
What is the circus called?
With the digitization and Animal Welfare Act, numerous stunts and performances ended. The present-day circus, called nouveau cirque or contemporary circus, is a lot different than what used to happen before. However, we’ll revisit and relive those memories here. We are sure you would like our list of the top things that used to happen in a circus before.
What was the circus like?
The circus was an eclectic blend of infinite creativity. It was a real delight to the eye. It was a carnival where even the kids and the adults enjoyed going to. It was something out of this world back then, and the audience was amazed at the breathtaking performances by the highly skilled artists.
What were the things that happened in the circus before?
Wondering what are the top things that used to happen in a circus before? The bright spotlights, the recurring ringmaster in his red tailcoat with a black bow, the uptempo music, the gorgeously dressed acrobats with stunning performances, the clown with his whimsical sense of humour juggling to perfection in his rainbowed costumed, and the well-disciplined animals performing commendable stunts; all in an amphitheatre with an eye-catching backdrop held in a big top.
How long did circus companies travel?
Circus companies travelled in trains for months and set up tents in various towns where they performed for a few days or weeks. It was held in a vast ground where all you had to do was to step out of your house and enjoy the carnival. While it was one of the things that used to happen in a circus before, with it came the animals, who were often tortured.
What would the circus be like without props?
Without props, the circus would have been monotonous. The heart of the circus was the props used. Almost every artist had a prop of their own. The clown used unicycle and juggled with clubs or balls.
What was the effect of the Uptempo marches in the circus?
The Uptempo marches, waltzes made the heart race faster and would take you to an entirely different mood . It was thrilling, and there would be an adrenaline rush as soon as you entered the tents. Such was the influence of the music back then. However, with changing times, music evolved too. Now it is subtle and varies according to the theme of the show. You would have loved these things that used to happen in a circus before.
What was the parade in the circus?
Parades were a significant part of the circus that took place before the shows. Road long marches with clowns, performers, bands and all the animals held. It was no less than a celebration and was just a glimpse of how a circus would be under the big tops, like a trailer to the movies.
