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Voici la splendide publication de l’exposition « Place au cirque! » présentée du 13 octobre 2021 au 6 mars 2022 au Musée Pointe-à-Callière qui propose une fabuleuse aventure à travers l’histoire des arts du cirque d’hier et d’aujourd’hui au Québec. Cette passionnante incursion dévoile page après page un sensible hommage aux familles et compagnies de cirque qui ont bâti les esthétiques uniques des arts du cirque québécois qui a conquis les cœurs des spectateurs à travers le monde.

"¡Señores y señoras!, ¡Damas y caballeros! ¡El mayor espectáculo del mundo ha llegado a su ciudad! Estas palabras son el preámbulo de la aparición de algo mágico, que despierta nuestro más tierno recuerdo. Existen pocas disciplinas que susciten en el espectador sentimientos tan universales como los de la risa, la admiración, la angustia, el suspenso, la alegría, el asombro, el miedo, el romance, la luz o la oscuridad. Todo eso... es el circo. Al igual que la música, la pintura o el teatro, el espectáculo circense surge de una necesidad de expresión del ser humano que trasciende los límites, explora el riesgo, la superación personal y las emociones.

The nineteenth century saw the American circus move from a reviled and rejected form of entertainment to the “Greatest Show on Earth.” Circus Life by Micah D. Childress looks at this transition from the perspective of the people who owned and worked in circuses and how they responded to the new incentives that rapid industrialization made possible.
The circus has long been a subject of fascination for many, as evidenced by the millions of Americans that have attended circus performances over many decades since 1870, when the circus established itself as a truly unique entertainment enterprise. Yet the few analyses of the circus that do exist have only examined the circus as its own closed microcosm—the “circus family.” Circus Life, on the other hand, places circus employees in the larger context of the history of US workers and corporate America. Focusing on the circus as a business-entertainment venture, Childress pushes the scholarship on circuses to new depths, examining the performers, managers, and laborers’ lives and how the circus evolved as it grew in popularity over time. Beginning with circuses in the antebellum era, Childress examines changes in circuses as gender balances shifted, industrialization influenced the nature of shows, and customers and crowds became increasingly more middle-class.
As a study in sport and social history, Childress’s account demonstrates how the itinerant nature of the circus drew specific types of workers and performers, and how the circus was internally in constant upheaval due to the changing profile of its patrons and a changing economy. [editor summary]

Two hundred and fifty years after Philip Astley invented the circus it has never been more diverse and captivating, the global success of the spectacular Cirque du Soleil just one testament to its enduring and universal appeal. In Britain alone there are traditional family circuses for kids and arty shows for adults, circuses in tents and circuses in theatres, circuses with animals and circuses without, the Circus of Horrors for clubbers, the comedy-based Circus Hilarious and cabaret-style hybrids on the burlesque circuit - and this form of entertainment is popular around the world.

What all circuses have in common are the extraordinary skills, dedication and lifestyle of those involved - a unique strain of performers who blend the discipline of sports stars with the razzmatazz of showbiz; itinerant entertainers who have often had circus blood in their families for generations; world-class gymnasts who risk death twice daily, serve on the tea stand in between shows and help take down the big top afterwards.

Circus Mania is a journey into this unique world, each chapter an access-all-areas pass to a different circus, talking to the trapeze flyers, clowns, animal trainers and showmen about their lives, work and customs and offering insight into the development of this traditional entertainment from the earliest times.[editor summary]

En scène lève le rideau sur un pan méconnu du monde du spectacle au Québec et offre un panorama inusité de la riche vie artistique québécoise, de ses débuts jusqu’à 1979. Prenez place, laissez-vous divertir par ces artistes professionnels et amateurs. Les multiples formes d’expression de leur talent, que donne à découvrir ce vingt-cinquième et dernier titre de la collection Aux limites de la mémoire, vous ébahiront.

L’auteur a écumé pour vous de nombreux fonds d’archives photographiques, publics et privés, afin de retracer toutes les propositions artistiques offertes dès 1865, en ville comme en région. Vous passerez du cirque ambulant aux prestations acrobatiques, du vaudeville à la magnificence des premières salles de cinéma, des cabarets aux théâtres burlesques, sans oublier les pageants, ces reconstitutions historiques à grand déploiement.

Au fil de votre lecture, vous saisirez les origines et les influences ayant donné naissance à la scène québécoise et à son affirmation identitaire. Peut-être serez-vous étonné par les croisades menées par le clergé, déterminé à endiguer la menace que constituait le divertissement de ses fidèles. [résumé de l'éditeur]

Pour ce titre qui clôt de façon spectaculaire une vingtaine d’années investie dans la mise en valeur du patrimoine photographique du Québec : Bravo! Bis! Hourra! Encore!

In the early 1900s, the circus was one of the most popular forms of entertainment in America, and one of the most popular circus acts was the clown. White-faced clowns in bright costumes made adults and children laugh with their silly antics. When the Great Depression caused many Americans to lose their jobs, Emmett Kelly decided to be a different type of clown—a sad-faced clown who reminded people of their struggles, but still made them laugh. His clown character, Weary Willie, inspired people to keep going during hard times. Because his clown character made people laugh and helped them with their troubles, Emmett Kelly became the most famous clown in the world. [editor summary]

The Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, Florida, was the first institution of its kind in the country to document the rich history of the American circus. It was established in 1948 to honor the memory of circus impresario John Ringling, who moved the winter quarters of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey show to Sarasota in 1927. This new addition to the Scala 'Art Spaces' series illustrates the museum's development over time and highlights many of its most popular artifacts. [editor summary]

The circus is a source of nostalgia for Americans of all ages, either from memories of attending P. T. Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth," or through the colorful evocations in many movies, television programs, and books. Interest in the circus phenomenon is unflagging, yet there have been few publications that look closely at how the circus's European origins were refashioned for an American audience. Lavishly illustrated and carefully researched, this volume explores how American culture, values, demography, and business practices altered the fundamental nature of the European circus, and how, by the end of the 19th century, they had transformed it into a distinctly American pastime.

At the peak of its cultural significance, the circus was a sophisticated combination of theater and business, and made effective use of advertising, train travel, and hyperbole. The subjects in The American Circus reflect this complexity, ranging widely from thematic explorations of circus music and elephants to more closely focused studies of objects such as circus toys, souvenirs, and performers' costumes. The book also explores the dark and even nefarious side of the circus, and its associations with marginalized dimensions of American life and culture. With contributions from leading scholars, this stylishly designed volume aims to identify the salient features of an Americanized cultural product and to analyze its appeal for American audiences.

At the turn of the 20th century, the circus was the most popular form of American entertainment, and New York City was the hub of circus-related activity. Featuring superb archival photography, this book documents a wide variety of ephemera, images, and artifacts relating to the history of the circus in the city, from the seminal equestrian displays of the 18th century to the iconic railroad circuses of the late 19th century. Matthew Wittmann offers a thorough history of the circus in New York City, including stories of P. T. Barnum's triumphant entry into the circus business, the famous dwarf General Tom Thumb, and Jumbo, the African elephant that touched off a craze known as "Jumbomania." The histories of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the WPA Circus of the Great Depression, and the Big Apple Circus are testaments to the enduring popularity of this American pastime.

Elephants, lions, tigers and leopards evoked fascination and awe, fear and excitement in the twentieth-century circus. Wild and Dangerous Performances: Animals, Emotions, Circus explores what happened when big cats roared on cue and elephants danced together. Acts in live circus and cinema reveal how humans anthropomorphize animals with their emotions. Trained animals became caught up in scientific precepts from Darwin on emotions and in opposition to animal performance. This history considers acts by Carl Hagenbeck, Frank Bostock, Alfred Court, Clyde Beatty and others in leading international circuses. Descriptions of animal performers were vivid and moving, but completely contradictory. Animals embody a phenomenology of transacted emotions and feelings in culture, recently exemplified by Christian, the lion. Contributing to the growing scholarship in animal studies, this fascinating study has much to offer to anyone interested in circus animal performance, performance history, animal emotions and animal rights and ethics. [editor summary]

At the turn of the 20th century, scores of circuses crisscrossed America. In many towns, Circus Day was a major holiday, right behind Christmas and Fourth of July. Schools and businesses closed as the populace flocked to the circus street parade and, later, to the circus grounds. Their anticipation had been fueled weeks beforehand by the circus's advance squads of billposters, who covered walls and fences for miles around with brilliantly colored, boldly bombastic posters advertising the season's feature attractions. The Amazing American Circus Poster: The Strobridge Lithographing Company catalog uses extant posters to explore the circus and its impact on American culture. It also examines the role of the posters themselves in the evolution of visual communication and consumer advertising, particularly outdoor advertising. [editor summary]

Richly textured and meticulously researched, The Advance Man is an incomparable bridge from the circus past to the present. It is a spellbinding narrative inhabited by strange and seductive characters: Chang and Eng, the Siamese twins who couldn't be engaged in unlike conversations simultaneoulsy; Irvin Feld, the Napoleonic genius who wrested control of the circus from Ringling's heir; the smallest man in the world who continuously stymied the show's most verile man; the naive, young woman who risked too much aspiring to become a model; the Cleveland tycoon and a host of others from extraordinary every-day people to well-known celebrities. [editor summary]

Il semble que le Québec ait engendré plus d'hommes forts que bien d'autres peuples. Né en 1887 dans le comté de Bonaventure, en Gaspésie, Prudent Landry ne présente pas un gabarit très imposant avec ses 53 kilos (117 livres). Mais il ne faut pas se fier aux apparences. Très jeune, son entourage remarque son exceptionnelle force physique. Dès l'âge de 10 ans, il exerce le métier de bûcheron, emploi qu’il quitte en 1905 afin de rejoindre la troupe menée par son idole, l’un des hommes les plus forts au monde à l’époque, le légendaire Louis Cyr.

After years of being out of print, the story behind "The Greatest Show on Earth" is back for new generations to discover. Through the early twentieth century, the Ringling Brothers created a spectacle like no one had ever seen, and one that still wows audiences to this day. Yet what most people do not know is that events behind the scenes rivaled the excitement and intrigue of the center ring.

Originally published in 1960, and told with remarkable honesty by the nephew of the original Ringling brothers, The Circus Kings remains a clear and unexaggerated telling of what the circus was like for those who lived it.

The fun, energy, and hard work integral to the exciting world of the circus is lovingly captured in The Contemporary Circus: Art of the Spectacular, an in depth look at the creative process of today's circuses. Through numerous personal interviews with directors, designers, composers and performers, author Ernest Albrecht provides a unique inside view of the journey through which the most innovative and exciting modern circuses are produced, from the director and production team to the performers, and from designing the circus to setting it to music. Case studies of specific productions by the Big Apple Circus, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, and Cirque du Soleil illuminate the artistic give-and-take necessary in such a collaborative process, proving the circus a true art form, one as artistic as theatre or dance. A variety of performers such as animal trainers, dancers, and clowns discuss their approach to their individual specialties, and the text concludes with an examination of the world's circuses and schools and their methods for training circus artists. A full photo spread of 30 beautiful photos will help inspire and enlighten artists and fans alike.