What is a circus - history, description, types and interesting facts. Deadly number: how they die in the circus Falling on ice

The circus is loved by all children and many adults without exception. Only boring people who have lost their childish perception of the world, which testifies, first of all, to the youth of the soul, are indifferent to it.

Gymnasts - Brothers Danil and Kirill Kalutsky

Brothers Danil and Kirill Kalutskikh are 4-time record holders of the Guinness Book of Records, multiple record holders of the Book of World Records.

Participation in television project on Channel One "Minute of Glory" brought them fame. In the first season, the brothers reached the finals, and in 2010 they won the international “Minute of Glory” in Russia. The Kalutsky brothers won the Grand Prix of the Bravo-Bravisimo festival in Italy. They also took part in filming on German, Italian, Spanish and Chilean television and in the most prestigious circus in the world “du Soleil”.

Show program: The Kalutsky brothers' performance lasts from 10 to 40 minutes.

The program includes:

Incendiary, dance and acrobatic number;

The most complex acrobatic elements with professional staging, which combines the genres of balancing act, klishnik, rubber, yoga, ground power acrobatics;

An exclusive interactive participatory experience, where the climax of one of the brothers inflates and bursts a heating pad, and the other shows the most difficult push-up imaginable;

Demonstration of unique memory;

Demonstration of tricks listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Do you want a truly spectacular performance to be shown at your event? Then order the circus act “Rubber”. Your guests will remember the flexibility of circus performers and their fantastic abilities for the rest of their lives.

The show is in the style of the legendary "Chinese Circus", famous for its color and complexity of the tricks performed. Bright costumes, props and skill of the actors will allow the viewer to immerse themselves in the cradle of martial arts. A spectacular, spectacular circus act with stunt acrobatics.

Acrobatic couple (Supports)

One of the most striking original circus numbers is a dance with elements of acrobatics (lifts).
Filled with spins, acrobatic pairs and dance sequences between them. Performed to both slow and energetic music. You will be able to see on stage a story (of love, friendship, hatred) that will not leave anyone indifferent.

Equilibrium

If you don’t know how to decorate your holiday, then this original circus act is definitely for you! It will fit perfectly into the format of absolutely any holiday - be it a wedding, corporate event or birthday. Performed by one or two gymnasts on special canes (stands).

Air show

The routine is performed by talented gymnasts whose performances are simply breathtaking.This can be an unusually flexible show on the aerial ring “Girl on the Ring”, an amazing “Spiderman (Spiderman)” on belts with its strength and endurance, a couple with their love story on canvases and many other images chosen by you.

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Circus acts: interesting, exciting and intriguing

Circus acts represent the performance of complex acrobatic and choreographic performances. For a circus performer, this is an opportunity to demonstrate their skills, which are the result of extensive training. For the viewer, circus acts are a colorful performance that sometimes makes you forget about reality and just enjoy the beautiful performance, interesting story and original costumes, sets and special effects.

The fundamental principle of the circus act

Number is the most important component circus performance, its artistic core. Circus acts are the bricks that make up the building of the program. What is a circus act? What are its components? The term "number" arose in the second half of the 19th century. It indicated the order of performance of artists in ballet and opera divertissements. Later, this term migrated to the stage and to the circus, where, in addition to the main meaning (“What number are you going in?”) it also received a different meaning (“What a good number!”).

In the circus they call it a number piece of art, which is a combination of specially selected tricks performed in a certain sequence according to the principle of increasing their complexity and expressiveness. In the artistic community, the word "trick" has a very broad interpretation. However, we should agree on what exactly we mean by this concept. A stunt is a circus act, one of the main expressive means circus art. For example: handstand or somersault in acrobatics, disappearance and unexpected appearance objects, people, animals in the illusion genre, a lion swinging on a swing in the training genre, tears flowing like a fountain from the eyes of a clown in the clownery genre. A trick, as the main element of a performance, always has a beginning and an end, that is, it has completeness of action. Through tricks during the performance, the stage image of the performer is revealed, his professional capabilities and achievements are revealed. But, of course, tricks acquire the power of emotional impact only in combination with other means of expressiveness - the artist’s facial expressions and gestures, his plasticity and performing manner. Great importance for the number as a whole there is a director's decision, musical accompaniment, decoration- in a word, all the components of a circus work. Without this, tricks are deprived of imagery and, therefore, remain outside the scope of art. A clear composition is very important for a performance, thanks to which individual fragments, merging into a single whole, form a complete work with its own dramaturgy. The composition of the act is dictated by artistic expediency. Like the ancient Russian builders and architects, who, when contracting to build a log temple, reserved the right to “cut in height as measure and beauty dictate,” the creators of a circus act also subordinate their work to this wise principle of measure and beauty - the golden rule of all art.

So, each act is characterized not only by a trick and composition, but also by its ideological and creative tasks, dramaturgy specific to the circus and expressed by circus means, and, finally, the direction of the emotional impact. A topical word spoken by a clown from the arena not only makes you laugh, but also makes you think; air flight evokes heroic and romantic associations; trained animals - a feeling of admiration for a person who managed to tame representatives of the wild. Not all circus acts are equal. Based on their artistic significance Each number is given its own place in the program. The number, which is highlighted on the poster with a special, so-called red line, is called an “attraction” (from the French “attraction” - attraction). This is a particularly interesting and most effective number, occupying central position in the program and designed for increased attention spectators. As a rule, the attraction is the culmination of the program, so the requirements for it are higher than for an ordinary number. The attraction is not characterized by the scale of the props, equipment or participation in it large quantity animals, as well as many assistants, as is sometimes mistakenly believed, but its ideological and artistic value, originality of design, compositional harmony, figurative solution and completeness of every detail. This is precisely where its attractive power lies.

Creating a circus act is a complex process. The main role here belongs to the artist. First, he outlines, based on his performing capabilities, the outline of the future performance. Then he selects tricks and composes an approximate composition that corresponds to the concept of the act. If the artist has directing abilities and artistic taste, then he will be able to put his number. Many of the works included in the golden fund of the Soviet circus were created by the artists themselves.

However, in modern circus All higher value takes on the role of director. It is the director who helps the artist select the most expressive means, find the best staging solution, and identifies the creative and professional capabilities of each participant in the act or attraction.

Sometimes in circus practice it becomes necessary to establish which genre or variety of it the act belongs to. What guidelines should be followed here?

Circus genres differ from each other both in content and form. Let's take acrobatics for example. What is its essence, content? Demonstration of a person’s strength, dexterity, courage, and ability to coordinate complex movements. But the same can be said about gymnastics, athletics, and balancing act routines. This means that the difference between genres is determined not only by their content, but also by the form in which it is expressed. And the form consists of the sum of expressive means characteristic of a particular genre. These include the stunt repertoire, props, equipment, as well as style and performing style.

It is important to clarify exactly what is meant in the circus by the terms “projectile”, “equipment”, “props”.

The apparatus is the simplest device in design, used in gymnastics, acrobatic and tightrope exercises. A series of exercises specially designed for it is performed on each apparatus. Circus equipment, for example, includes: bamboo, frame, horizontal bar, trapeze, rings, cord de shuttle, vertical rope - in gymnastics; feathers, ladders, wire - in balancing act; throw board, trampoline, springboard * - in acrobatics, etc. As a rule, apparatus in the circus are traditional. Naturally, as new ones are invented, their diversity increases more and more. The shape and design of the projectile provide unlimited scope for the inventive thoughts of the artist and director. It is also necessary to take into account the presence of so-called live equipment in the room - horses, elephants, camels, etc. - and methods of working with them. Circus equipment includes:

* (For more information about each of the shells, see the corresponding section.)

a) Special mechanical structures, including a system of electric winches and motors. These structures are suspended under a dome or installed on an arena. They are intended to complicate and enhance the spectacular effect of the artists’ performance. This is achieved through technical features apparatus, rotating, rising, descending, swinging and similar structures.

b) A combination of several equipment and devices used in one performance. For example, an air flight apparatus consists of bridges, trapezoids, bollards *, and a catcher.

* (Stamboard (from German “Stamm” - barrel, “Bord” - edge) is a metal crossbar suspended horizontally by the edges and immovably reinforced with guy wires, from which projectiles and apparatus are suspended.)

By props we mean all kinds of objects, different in nature, size, configuration, material and having a specific purpose in the rooms. The props include a chair played by a clown, a juggler's clubs, a fan in the hands of a tightrope walker on a wire, and loops used when performing exercises by gymnasts, acrobats, and roller runners. Most circus acts are based on the use of apparatus and props, which contribute to the complexity of the act and help to identify the professional capabilities of the artist.

For example, any performance by a gymnastics artist under a dome or in an arena is necessarily associated with an apparatus. The performer and the projectile represent, as it were, a single whole. This is the defining feature of the gymnastic genre. Other genres are characterized by an equally close connection between the performer and the props: with rings, balls, clubs, etc. for jugglers; with cannonballs, weights for an athlete; with specially trained animals from a trainer; with cards, balls, handkerchiefs, illusion equipment from the magician; with balls, reels, cubes, canes at the tightrope walker.

Another sign of definition genre affiliation numbers is a specific action. In gymnastics, this is performing exercises on apparatus (or in the hands of a partner who is on the apparatus) and flying from apparatus to apparatus (for example, from trapeze to trapeze) or from apparatus to hands to a catcher. In balancing act - maintaining balance. In athletics - lifting, pushing, throwing heavy objects. In training, it is a demonstration of animals obedient to the will of man. The tricks involve demonstrating the performer’s sleight of hand, “mysterious” transformations and movements of objects. In juggling, the skillful tossing and throwing of several objects. In acrobatics - vaulting, building columns and pyramids by several participants, ground jumps. Clowning involves pantomimic actions that cause laughter, as well as comedic conversation.

To identify the genre of a performance consisting of heterogeneous elements, one should be guided by the dominant element in its stunt repertoire.

Each artist specializes in one genre, striving to achieve the greatest in it. professional results. Tricks of this genre most often occupy the main position in the composition of the act. They should be used to determine its genre.

An analysis of circus acts by genre gives reason to believe that they can be divided into two groups: the first - acts with clear features of the genre and the second - acts consisting of elements of different genres.

It is not difficult to determine the genre of numbers belonging to the first group. But the numbers combined in the second group require more careful consideration.

To what genre, for example, can a clown performing with trained animals be classified - clowning or training? What about "Musical Acrobats" or "Flying Acrobats"?

Here, first of all, you should determine the essence of the number. If all the tricks performed by trained animals help the clown to more vividly, in a fable-like way, reveal the semantic content of a particular scene, reprise, or pantomime, then the use of animals is only a means of expressiveness. Before us is an artist whose main role is a clown (even if he is stronger than a clown as a trainer). By the way, it is no coincidence that the posters read: “Clown-trainer”, and not vice versa. True, some trainers perform with animals in clown costumes, but here the costume is only a tribute to a certain tradition.

What genre should the “Musical Acrobats” act be classified into? As a rule, performances of this kind are created by acrobats who manage to master playing musical instruments. For example, in a head-to-head stand they perform a duet on a concertina, and during a stand of the top one on one hand on the head of the bottom one, both partners play the trumpets, pressing the valves with their free hands. Naturally, talking here about high quality performance of a piece of music is not necessary. The main purpose of the issue is to show musical art, but the ability of artists to play instruments in unusual conditions of a complex acrobatic stunt. Now let’s look at the genre of the “Flying Acrobats” act. If they are “flying,” that means they are flying and, therefore, we are looking at gymnasts. But then why are they called acrobats? Two catchers, standing on equipment installed in the arena opposite each other at a distance of 6 m, throw and catch vaulters * performing tricks adopted in flight. But the flight combinations end with tricks of getting into the arena, which are characteristic of acrobatics (Fig. 3, 4). For example, in a number under the direction of S. Arnautov, the vaulter performed a back somersault from the catcher on the shoulders to the lower one located in the arena, or in a hand-to-hand position towards him, etc. And in the number under the direction of R. Spikhin, the performers’ flights are combined with jumps on a trampoline installed in the arena between both apparatuses. Here the basis of the performance is flight, and some acrobatic elements only enhance spectacular form. Therefore, such a number, which is a type of ground flight, can be with good reason classified as gymnastics.

* (A vaulter (from the French "voltiger" - to flutter) is a gymnast who flies from trapeze to trapeze, or into the hands of a catcher, or from one catcher to another.)

So, all circus genres have certain, only them inherent characteristics and properties. It is they who allow us to distinguish one genre from another.

Analyzing the numbers “Clown Trainer”, “Musical Acrobats”, “Flying Acrobats”, we noted that they are the result of a fusion of elements of various genres. This is another extremely important property of circus genres - to fuse individual elements into a single artistic work of circus art. Acrobatic jumping from a springboard over obstacles has long been known in the circus. They were especially common at the beginning of the 20th century. A virtuoso performer of such jumps was famous clown Vitaly Lazarenko. His repertoire included topical satirical reprises, agitation-pathetic poetic monologues, slogans, appeals, the execution of which he accompanied with acrobatic jumps. A unique creative fusion emerged: clown-jumper-publicist. The bright artistic form of his performances was achieved by specific means of the circus, contributing to the intelligibility of the political repertoire.

When working on creating new original acts, many talented performers resort to combining elements of various circus genres. For example, artists Violetta and Alexander Kiss combined juggling with antipodean and acrobatics elements in their act. So, Violetta, performing a one-handed handstand on Alexander’s head, rotated the hoop with her other hand, and spun the stick with her feet. At this time, the partner was juggling four sticks and walking through the arena.

Equally interesting is the performance of Lithuanian artists Vita and Zigmund Cherniauskas, which is a fusion of two ancient genres - balancing act and juggling. Standing on freestanding ladders, the artist balances a tall ladder on his forehead, at the top of which his partner rotates eight rings on her outstretched arms. Another double balance trick: sitting on a tall unicycle on a small pedestal, the performer juggles eight rings while balancing a cane on his forehead.

Once upon a time there was a now rare number called “sprung-rope” (from the German “Sprung” - jump). It was built taking into account the springing properties of a rope with shock absorbers. The performer performed all kinds of jumps, pirouettes and so-called sedamas on it, that is, coming to a sitting position. Experienced teacher-director N. Stepanov created for young artists the Solokhins a unique act “Voltigeurs on a throwing projectile”, which was based on the principle of a spring rope. There are three participants in the room - the bottom two and the top. The rope is replaced by a metal crossbar, the ends of which are connected to rubber shock absorbers attached to the barrier. The lower ones hold the crossbar on their shoulders. Their role in this act is extremely complex: they must finely control their throwing projectile, flying over which the top one performs a series of acrobatic jumps.

Innovation is the most characteristic Soviet circus artists. In the 30s, when the task was set to free ourselves from the influence of the Western circus, whose representatives were quite numerous in our programs of those years, the artist Dmitry Zementov, in collaboration with the director and partners at the Leningrad Experimental Workshop of Circus Art, created an original act. This number combined gymnastics on the horizontal bars with jumping on a trampoline. Instead of the traditional three horizontal bars in the arena, Zementov installed four, and of different heights. The artists took off onto the horizontal bars using a trampoline track. It is important to emphasize that in such a combination, both types of different genres had a fruitful mutual influence.

So, what conclusions can be drawn from the examples given? Some genres, when combined with each other, allow you to create original numbers, enriching the palette of the circus. But not all genres can be combined. It is hardly possible to combine, for example, juggling on a horse with tightrope balancing on a wire, or aerial flight with balancing on a perch. And if something like this does occur, then only... in the movies. In the movie "Mr. X", for example, main character, a circus performer, sitting on a trapeze swinging under the dome, plays the violin. But then he “breaks off” and ends up on a horizontal bar installed in the arena, and then, after several revolutions around the bar, he finds himself riding a horse. Comments, as they say, are unnecessary. Film editing and combined filming can demonstrate not such miracles. In circus practice, the matter of combining genres is not so simple.

As a rule, performers suffer creative failure when they try to combine genres mechanically. As an example, we can cite the number of jockeys-riders of the Alexandrov-Serge brothers. One of them, standing on a galloping horse, performed a musical piece on the saxophone, and the other, on a horse running on the opposite side of the arena, accompanied him on the accordion. And although the performers were professional musical instruments and it was obvious to the audience that it was very difficult to play while standing on galloping horses, yet the act was received with coldness. (By the way, it did not last long in this capacity - the artists themselves gave up playing instruments.)

What was the reason for the failure? Maybe it’s because the performers tried to combine alien elements - playing musical instruments and riding horses? But we know examples from the history of the circus when such elements coexisted well. Juggler Victor Ferropi, standing on a running horse, played the mandolin and hit the ball with his head in time to the melody. This trick looked spectacularly impressive, was a success, and most importantly - it was organic overall plan numbers.

Another example. In the early 30s. Maria Rothbert successfully combined balancing act with the performance of a piece of music. At the end of the number, standing on top of the perche, balanced by the one below, she sang a song to her own accompaniment on the accordion, accompanied by an orchestra. Sounding in unusual conditions, “the song gave the act a special charm,” as circus historian Yu. Dmitriev later wrote. Of course, the professional skills and performing culture of the artist were also important, but it was also important that the song organically fit into general composition numbers. This innovation was warmly received by the audience and generated many followers. For example, Nikolai Olkhovikov performed a song while juggling on a running horse, Zoya Kokh - balancing on the boom of the "Giant Semaphore", and Lolita Magomedova - standing on the head of a partner climbing an inclined rope.

Thus, playing music or singing in unusual conditions can enrich the performance. This means that it is important to understand for what creative purpose this or that element is introduced into the fabric of the work. Thus, in the room of the Alexandrov-Serge brothers there was a formal demonstration of mastery of musical instruments, which made the room eclectic. In other cases, musical elements are organically connected with the number, emphasizing its character and enhancing the visual impression. For example, L. and G. Otlivanik combined eccentric juggling with musical eccentricity. The performers juggled balls, which, when they landed on multi-colored squares of the musical table, produced a melody. Bone balls, hitting the plates of a hanger or falling into a recess in hats, also give birth to musical sounds(the objects contain hidden metal plates and musical beeps, selected by voices). The artists performed comic tricks perfectly in accordance with their eccentric images.

The desire to master several genres is a natural phenomenon; it has been established in the circus for a long time. Naturally, this requires versatile training of artists. However, versatility has its limits. After all, even a gifted artist is able to thoroughly master no more than two, rarely three, genres, bringing them to a professional level. If an artist knows how to juggle, say, four objects, performs a back somersault and is able to fix a planche * on the trapeze, this does not mean that he has mastered three genres - juggling, acrobatics and gymnastics.

* (Planche (from the French "planche" - board, flat surface) - in gymnastics horizontal position torso held hanging in the arms. Back plop - the gymnast hangs face down, front plop - face up.)

Not only in the past, but, unfortunately, even today in the arena you can find weak performances consisting of a set of different elements that are not organically connected with each other. Created on the principle of “a little bit of everything,” they often hide the artist’s weak qualifications rather than demonstrate his “versatility.” In the old circus, enterprising directors came up with an advertising name for such acts - “Melange-act” (from the French “Melange” - mixing, “aste” - action). And although specific gravity There were not many such “assortments” in the programs, yet they contributed to the fact that in the professional environment this term to some extent became shameful and gradually disappeared from circus usage.

The mechanical use of individual elements borrowed from other forms of art or sport as means of expression does not enrich the circus and does not bring success. Let's talk about a large group act on motorcycles created by P. Mayatsky. The failure that befell this issue is very instructive. "Motor racing" was born in the 30s. under the influence of physical culture parades, which became especially popular in those years. On four motorcycles, rapidly racing towards different directions Along the track installed in the arena, performers in theatrical costumes of motorcycle racers built acrobatic pyramids and performed various exercises, moving at high speed from one motorcycle to another. In the final, all seven demonstrated a group pyramid on one motorcycle. The number was dynamic professional level The performers are also quite tall, but his life turned out to be short-lived. Moreover, numbers of this type have not become widespread in our programs at all, which is the primary evidence of the value and vitality of this or that artistic innovation. So what's the big deal?

"Motor racing" as a whole was a spectacle of a sporting nature and had little response artistic imagery circus The perception of the performance was also hampered by the noise inherent in motorcycles, the crackling noise from the engines and the exhaust fumes that abundantly filled the circus premises. All this caused negative emotions among the audience.

To summarize the above, we note once again: not all genres can be combined into the composition of a number. In each individual case, a careful “compatibility assessment” is required. This means that when creating an act, you should think about whether the combination of certain elements of different genres is justified in the sense of artistic expediency. In this case, knowing the laws of the trick combination helps.

Deviation from these rules, neglect of the specific techniques of the circus, rejection of its language lead the artist and director to creative failure.

Along with well-established concepts and definitions in the circus there are many and controversial issues, which have not yet become the subject of serious discussion and research. The polemical conversation that arises around them usually does not extend beyond a narrow circle of professionals. The theory of circus art has not yet been sufficiently developed, so what is controversial continues to remain controversial. We consider it appropriate to dwell on some issues that, in our opinion, are of practical interest.

In the circus, the concept of “equestrian genre” has long existed, covering all acts associated with the participation of horses. We are used to this definition: it can be heard in conversations behind the scenes, found in official documents, in reviews. But is this legal?

To understand the essence of the issue, let’s analyze the structure of horse numbers. To do this, first of all, let’s clarify: is there anything in common between the work of a jockey and, say, a horse trainer, between high school riding and juggling on a horse? Nothing except the participation of horses in these acts. But a horse in itself cannot be a sign of an artistic form. And its meaning is not the same for each number. In some cases, the horse is only a moving point of support for the artist demonstrating his creative achievements, in others - an object of trick training. Therefore, a horse that can waltz, walk on its hind legs, and much more, should certainly be placed on a par with “scientific” elephants, dogs, and bears.

What is the basis of the work of a circus jockey? Acrobatic jumps, the execution of which involves the horse running in a circle of the arena. What about a juggler on a horse? Dexterous throwing of objects and, to a minimal extent, horsemanship. So, the main thing is juggling.

From the above examples it follows that different horse numbers should be assigned to different genres. Some are for equestrian acrobatics, others are for training, and still others are for juggling. (These numbers are described in more detail in the relevant sections.)

The concept of “equestrian genre” is devoid of any basis and is used only out of habit. (By the way, for some reason the definition of “camel genre” has not come into use, although we know the numbers of vaulting on camels, acrobatics on camels, trained camels.) Most likely, it arose as a derivative of the term “equestrian circus”, known since that time there were times when programs were almost entirely based on horse performances (a similar kind of performance was shown in 1965 at the Moscow Circus and in France, stage director M. Tuganov), but an equestrian circus is not at all the same thing as the equestrian genre.

Another controversial issue is the definition of the genre of various equilibria numbers (from the Latin “aequlibris” - the art of maintaining balance). What is this - an independent genre or a type of acrobatics? And in fact, in many balancing acts - for example, on a staircase, on ropes, on balls, on a rope, etc. - acrobatics occupy a significant place. And in some types of balancing act there is no acrobatics at all. For example, the sisters R. and K. Korzhenevsky performed balancing act on balls in combination with juggling, artists A. and R. Slavsky performed an eccentric scene on a free wire, O. Popov performed comic juggling on a free wire, A. Hertsog, L. Koshkina, N. Tkachenko demonstrated trick balancing on a matte trapeze (balancing trapeze). So what is balancing act - a type of acrobatics or an independent genre? Starting from the 20th century, elements of acrobatics began to be increasingly introduced into equilibria performances, which were organically combined with balancing and significantly enhanced the expressiveness of the performances. Today we almost never meet balance balancers in their programs who do not use acrobatics or juggling in their routines. However, this does not give reason to cross out the genre of balancing act, one of the oldest and most resilient in the circus art, which has its own clear characteristics.

Let us also focus on such a number as “Power Jugglers”. Sometimes it is classified as a genre of juggling on the grounds that the performers throw and catch cannonballs, weights, and balls. In the circus museum catalogue, dedicated to the exhibition“The Art of the Juggler” (1929), it is said: “By the nature of their work, jugglers are called “craft-jugglers,” that is, strongman jugglers...” Is this true? Is there any reason to classify strongmen who toss cannonballs into the genre of “agile and fast”, or into juggling? After all, power jugglers use techniques of throwing heavy objects only to demonstrate their athletic capabilities, to emphasize professional excellence, and not at all to demonstrate a juggling technique that they do not even master. Athletics is an independent genre, and the term “juggler” in relation to athletes is only a symbol of a certain nature artist's work. Classifying athletes as jugglers is as illogical as considering a tightrope walker on a wire to be a ballerina only on the grounds that during the routine she performs arabesques and splits.

Sometimes the opinion is expressed that the antipodean numbers and the Icarian games, according to the classification of genres, should be classified in the same group, since both the antipode and the lower Icarist, lying on the antipodean pillow, perform approximately the same actions with their feet. But this, in fact, is where their similarity ends. Training techniques, performing tricks and the nature of work in Icarian games and antinode numbers are completely different. An antipodist is essentially a juggler, throwing and balancing objects with his feet. And Icarian games are a unique type of acrobatics.

Undoubtedly, the first attempts to demonstrate simple antipodean tricks were made by ancient jugglers, and from them the technique of throwing a person with their legs was borrowed by acrobats. The history of the development of circus art convinces us of this.

Juggling dates back thousands of years, but Icarian games appeared only at the end of the 18th century. And, finally, the most important thing is that the antipodean operates with objects, and the lower icarist throws up a person who must have special acrobatic training to facilitate the performance of stunt elements. And without the actions of the top, clearly coordinated with the actions of the bottom, the latter simply will not be able to perform its functions.

In addition to those noted above, there are a number of other controversial issues regarding the types of differences in circus acts. We will dwell on them in more detail in the appropriate sections.

You can do any circus act. There is nothing inaccessible to you! Remember, for example, such an amazing number - balancers on perches. One performer holds a perche, a huge aluminum barbell, on his forehead. His partner climbs the barbell to the very top and does gymnastic exercises there, and at this time the “bottom”, holding the barbell on his forehead, bends, sits down, lies down, turns and straightens again.

What kind of relationship and interdependence of partners should there be in such a number! After all, you won’t actually climb onto your partner’s head! You are standing on the floor in front of him, but you are standing as if you were on top of the perch and as if your partner was holding this perch on his forehead. The slightest inaccuracy, loss of balance, and your partner will not be able to hold the punch! Work!

Can you show me trained horses? Certainly! And you don't need to get down on all fours to do this - let your horses run on two legs as if they knew how to do it!

Everyone’s task: come up with several circus acts at home, practice them and show them to us.

Circus show

Work on individual circus acts can culminate in a mass exercise - a circus performance, with an orchestra on imaginary instruments, with first-class attractions and, of course, with an audience - what is a circus performance without applause? We also definitely need uniform specialists to prepare the arena for each performance.

The performance begins. The orchestra is thundering. The Ringmaster announces the numbers:

Brothers Kurochkin! Icarian Games!

Sisters of Zanzibar! Top class riding! Equestrian ballet revue!

Trained dogs!

Sawing through a box with a living artist Emma Vavilonskaya!..

Acrobats on a trampoline!.. A juggler on a motorcycle!.. Acrobats with a flip board!.. An eccentric on a wire!.. Aerialists!.. Balancers on balls!.. Flying on an arrow!.. An equilibrist on reels!.. A group of Himalayans bears!.. Original genre!..

Power acrobats!.. Musical eccentrics!.. Roller skaters!.. Aerialists!.. Jumpers!.. Football monkeys!.. There are sea lions and bathers in the pool!..

Unscrewed head

In the play-fairy tale “An Ordinary Miracle” by Evgeniy Schwartz, a cheerful and kind wizard performs miracles in a surprisingly simple way: “Walking, you know, through the forest, I see: a young bear, still a teenager. Head with a forehead, smart eyes. We talked, word for word, I liked him I picked a nut branch and made a magic wand out of it - one, two, three...” And what did he do? Just a little - turned a bear into a man!

Let's perform ordinary miracles! Well, let's say, play a trick on a friend: while he is sleeping, unscrew his head and hide it in the room. Let him look when he wakes up!

Two students go out onto the playground. One lies down on the bench and falls asleep. Another begins to “unscrew” his head.

Twist it carefully, otherwise he will wake up. What, is it difficult to give in, is the thread rusty? Watch whether his breathing is calm, whether his eyelids are trembling.

Finally the head is unscrewed, and the student carries the imaginary head to the corner of the room and hides it. Then he wakes up his friend: “Get up, it’s time to go to class!”

What happens when you wake up? Do you see anything? Nothing! True, your head woke up along with you, but it lies in such darkness that it can’t see anything. Feel your shoulders, neck with your hands... but your head is not there! Of course, these are your friend's jokes. He's always joking... But he ran away. You'll have to blindly search for the head throughout the room. Search!

The friend silently sneaks into the corner, takes the head and slips it to the owner.

Is she or isn't she? Check, maybe it’s someone else’s? Feel your imaginary head. Do you recognize your nose, your hair? It's okay, screw it in place!

When practicing exercises on miracles with students, you need to strive to find the logic and sequence of miraculous actions in them.