The circus arts are undoubtedly one of the world’s most widely shared treasures. Fundamentally developed in the West, they draw on many sources. Many techniques have Far Eastern origins, but their dispersion across the world was very fast: the Silk Roads, for example, played a decisive role in the propagation of several acrobatic disciplines in Europe. Rope dancing, acrobatics, balancing and object manipulation have been around for thousands of years, and became circus arts in their own right in the second half of the 18th century.
In the London suburb of Lambeth, a discharged cavalry officer crystallized both aristocratic and acrobatic influences in a circle of grass and dust. By juxtaposing equestrian acrobats and jugglers, he laid the foundations for an original form of entertainment. It was there, between two drum rolls and a jester’s diatribe, carried away by the galloping of the horses and the virtuosity of the acrobats, that circus was born.
Set in a thirteen-meter-diameter ring covered with earth and sawdust for ideal suppleness and elasticity, the show featured equestrian acts, a few acrobatic performances and an initial comic dimension. Trained animals came much later, and circus entertainment underwent a decisive transformation of its codes of representation at the end of the 19th century.
Astley Amphitheatre from ”Microcosm of London” by Rowlandson, 1808.
Housed in comfortable buildings made of wood, stone and steel, jugglers, clowns and acrobats traveled all over Europe. The development of the big top in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century gave the circus independence and freedom. It also became much more popular. Up until then, it had been the exclusive privilege of a certain social elite, but it was now aiming to win over ever wider audiences. It was a time of gigantism in Germany and excess in the United States. From the 1930s onwards, the circus also played an important role in the development of the Soviet Union’s cultural policy, and the opening of the Moscow School of Circus Art was a major event in the implementation of a pedagogical and artistic system unprecedented in the West. It was as decisive a change for the circus arts as the emergence of exoticism fifty years earlier, or the supremacy of the big top as an essential vector of communication, becoming both an aesthetic argument and a playground.
In the early 1970s, circus arts underwent a new revolution, triggered by the political and social upheavals of the late 1960s. In France, the United States, Australia and Scandinavia, many models were called into question, and the circus underwent an extraordinary revival.
The experiments that developed in these different countries were not of the same importance, and some were short-lived, but in the space of two decades, a new understanding of the acrobatic gesture and a new artistic meaning to prowess were to take hold, helping to give the circus arts a major place on the Western cultural scene.
The most ancient techniques, revisited and transcended by several generations of creators, were to acquire artistic autonomy and serve a global purpose. Today, juggling, acrobatics, clowning and flying trapeze are identified as potential disciplines unique to the writing of a show. It is no longer necessarily the juxtaposition of numbers that ensures the quality of a performance, but increasingly a single discipline that expands and becomes the living material of creation.
Fragmented and mutant, the circus is now offered as a shared experience, in terms of techniques, artists and audiences alike. Diverse, ever-changing, it lives.
Below is a non-exhaustive timeline of events that have marked the fabulous history of the circus arts, both nationally and internationally.
1768 – The birth of circus arts in London: thanks to the initiative of Philip Astley, a discharged military emeritus, we witness the first show to combine equestrian acrobatics, acrobatic prowess and comic acts. What’s more, in 1779, he introduced the 13-meter ring, which would become the fundamental component of circuses the world over.
1793 – Circus arts arrive in America. British squire John Bill Ricketts settles in Philadelphia with his troupe. He builds a stable circus and establishes this new form of entertainment in America.
1797 – Circus arts are introduced in Quebec. British squire John Bill Ricketts settles in Montreal for 6 months and establishes the circus arts in Quebec.
1823 – The West & Blanchard circus tours Quebec, showcasing equestrian acrobatics, rope dancing, clown entrances and somersaults.
1825 – American performer Josuah Purdy Brown creates the big top, adapting a tent to the needs of his equestrian and acrobatic show to tour the United States.
1833 – Montrealer Joseph Édouard Guilbault founds the Jardin Guilbault, whose Glaciarium houses a circus school from 1862, welcoming acrobats from Quebec and abroad, as well as several American circuses until 1870.
1860 – Quebec acrobat and clown Louis Durand begins his 35-year career with numerous circuses in the United States., Europe and Asia.
1881 – The golden age of the American circus begins, as Barnum and his associates standardize the concept of three adjacent rings: the American circus enters its phase of excess.
1889 – Parc Sohmer opens its doors in Montreal, and until 1919, in addition to recreational attractions, will feature many acrobats from all over the world, notably Asia.
1892 – Quebec strongmen Louis Cyr and Horace Barré sign a contract with the American Ringling Brothers Circus. Two years later, they set up their own circus, which performed on Canadian and American stages.
1906 – Inauguration of Dominion Park in Montreal, where acrobatic acts from Quebec and the international scene were presented regularly until 1937.
1908 – Quebec acrobat Léon DuPérré signs a contract with the Ringling Brothers Circus and tours over 100 American cities.
1930 – Troupe Adriano, founded by Adrien Tremblay, organized vaudeville evenings featuring various acrobatic acts throughout Quebec until 1943.
1971 – Creation of Cirque Gatini in Quebec.
1977 – Creation of the prestigious Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris.
1981 – The National Circus School launches in Montreal.
1984 – Creation of Cirque du Soleil.
1993 – Creation of Cirque Éloize.
2002 – Creation of the company The 7 Fingers in Montreal.
2004 – Inauguration of TOHU, the Cité des arts du cirque in Montreal.
2005 – Creation of Cirque Alfonse.
2009 – The Canada Council for the Arts recognizes circus arts as a distinct art form.
2010 – Creation of the Montréal Complètement Cirque international festival, a major circus arts summer event.
1768 – The birth of circus arts in London: thanks to the initiative of Philip Astley, a discharged military emeritus, we witness the first show to combine equestrian acrobatics, acrobatic prowess and comic acts. What’s more, in 1779, he introduced the 13-meter ring, which would become the fundamental component of circuses the world over.
1793 – Circus arts arrive in America. British squire John Bill Ricketts settles in Philadelphia with his troupe. He builds a stable circus and establishes this new form of entertainment in America.
1797 – Circus arts are introduced in Quebec. British squire John Bill Ricketts settles in Montreal for 6 months and establishes the circus arts in Quebec.
1823 – The West & Blanchard circus tours Quebec, showcasing equestrian acrobatics, rope dancing, clown entrances and somersaults.
1825 – American performer Josuah Purdy Brown creates the big top, adapting a tent to the needs of his equestrian and acrobatic show to tour the United States.
1833 – Montrealer Joseph Édouard Guilbault founds the Jardin Guilbault, whose Glaciarium houses a circus school from 1862, welcoming acrobats from Quebec and abroad, as well as several American circuses until 1870.
1860 – Quebec acrobat and clown Louis Durand begins his 35-year career with numerous circuses in the United States., Europe and Asia.
1881 – The golden age of the American circus begins, as Barnum and his associates standardize the concept of three adjacent rings: the American circus enters its phase of excess.
1889 – Parc Sohmer opens its doors in Montreal, and until 1919, in addition to recreational attractions, will feature many acrobats from all over the world, notably Asia.
1892 – Quebec strongmen Louis Cyr and Horace Barré sign a contract with the American Ringling Brothers Circus. Two years later, they set up their own circus, which performed on Canadian and American stages.
1906 – Inauguration of Dominion Park in Montreal, where acrobatic acts from Quebec and the international scene were presented regularly until 1937.
1908 – Quebec acrobat Léon DuPérré signs a contract with the Ringling Brothers Circus and tours over 100 American cities.
1930 – Troupe Adriano, founded by Adrien Tremblay, organized vaudeville evenings featuring various acrobatic acts throughout Quebec until 1943.
1971 – Creation of Cirque Gatini in Quebec.
1977 – Creation of the prestigious Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris.
1981 – The National Circus School launches in Montreal.
1984 – Creation of Cirque du Soleil.
1993 – Creation of Cirque Éloize.
2002 – Creation of the company The 7 Fingers in Montreal.
2004 – Inauguration of TOHU, the Cité des arts du cirque in Montreal.
2005 – Creation of Cirque Alfonse.
2009 – The Canada Council for the Arts recognizes circus arts as a distinct art form.
2010 – Creation of the Montréal Complètement Cirque international festival, a major circus arts summer event.
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