Differences in Culture and Their Effect on the Circus

An Analysis of the American Circus and the French Cirque Nouveau

Introduction

Many consider the American Big Top to be one of the country’s greatest phenomena. It is an event attended by children and adults nationwide: one that produces awe and amazement in the talent and spectacle produced by people just like ourselves. I was introduced to the circus at a very young age, with my first trip to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Before the show, clowns painted my face to match their own. During the show, the excitement of the flying trapeze and huge elephants drew me in and I was hooked. At a summer camp in my teen years I learned the skills necessary to perform the flying trapeze and the Spanish web, both of which are much more difficult than they appear.

Though the style of the American circus has always excited me, I have also trained in dance since I was young. The beauty and grace of all types of movement requires skill and dedication. Though dance may not have the danger of the flying trapeze, there is a definite excitement in the ability to move one’s body in any way discovered. I have had the opportunity to see many dance shows, but the Cirque du Soleil show Varekai combined the thrill of the circus with the grace and uniqueness of dance. The company, though engaging a commercialized aesthetic approach, was nonetheless my first experience with the idea of cirque nouveau ¹.

The combination of these two interests sparked my desire to learn more about cirque nouveau in France and how and why it was created, and to compare this with the history of the American circus. Both circus styles developed from a specific culture and time period. This paper aims to explore what cultural elements predisposed the development of both styles, as well as what cultural differences led to the individuality of each style.

The American Circus

Though the American circus is most thought of as a development of the late 19th and early 20th century, it was initially a British import that came to America in 1793. John Bill Ricketts was an English trick rider, who came to America and staged many shows in Philadelphia, including one attended by President George Washington. Since the arenas were built from wood, fire was an eminent danger, and Ricketts’ “career ended abruptly when the amphitheaters he’d built in New York and Philadelphia both burned to the ground in 1799” ².

One of the most recognizable features of the circus, the canvas tent, was incorporated into the circus in 1825 by Joshua Purdy Brown. This invention helped the traveling circus greatly by allowing shows to travel even further due to decreased construction costs. It also led to “a more complex division of labor” because “circus owners now needed workers to ride ahead, so that they could advertise the upcoming production” while showmen arrived later to “conduct a morning parade on the day of the circus” ³. This style acted as a prototype for the railroad circuses to come in the near future.

Image Note 1 ⁴

Brown also added another recognizable element to the circus in 1828 with the creation of the animal menagerie. Wild animals were brought to America by sea captains who purchased and traded animals during their trips to Africa and Asia. Animals, such as elephants, leopards and polar bears were usually shown in barns or special houses so that non-paying customers could not sneak a peek at the exotic creatures.

As America grew and expanded, so did the circus industry. Steamboats and railroads allowed the circus to travel even farther distances. In 1825, the Erie Canal was completed and allowed entry into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the home of big circus names, such as P.T. Barnum and the Ringling Brothers. The first transcontinental circus, owned by Dan Castello, was shown in 1869 and typically charged between twenty-five and fifty cents: circus was a popular and affordable entertainment.

Circuses continued to grow towards the end of the 19th century, and in 1872, Barnum, Coup and Castello began to use two big-top rings. This was the first “blue print” ⁵ for the larger scale railroad shows that would arrive at the turn of the 20th century. The number of big tops was not the only thing increasing at the turn of the 20th century; railroad trains were lengthened greatly. In 1910, the Ringling Bros. Circus and the Barnum & Bailey circus used eighty-four railroad cars each. The size of each big-top tent also increased, which added to the spectacle that circuses were able to offer, including larger aerial trapeze acts.

Image Note 2 ⁶

The great size of the railroad circuses at the turn of the 20th century was impressive, but it once again limited the areas that could be reached for shows. The trains mostly stopped in cities and large towns. Smaller wagon circuses continued to visit and perform for rural towns. This continued into the 1900s with many circuses combining to create large-scale companies. In one of the greatest acquisitions of circus history, the Ringling Bros. acquired the “Barnum & Bailey” circus in 1907 after Bailey’s death. The two circuses worked halves of the country independently until 1919 when the two combined to create the “Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.”

The twentieth century held many advancements and difficulties for the circus industry. Lavahn Hoh’s “The Circus in America: 1793-1940” explains that there were “enormous social, technological, and economic changes underway, as well as the San Francisco earthquake, the Spanish Influenza, two World Wars, the Great Depression, the first Model T, the National Association for Advancement of Colored People, talking pictures, Charles Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic flight, and so forth” ⁷, all of which impacted the American circus in some way.

Though new methods of transportation were helpful to circus life, the advancement of the talking picture show diminished the uniqueness of the circus and provided another affordable means for Americans to view representations of the exotic. The circus did survive through the 20th century, but movies, television and theatre have become increasingly popular forms of entertainment. Many circuses survived into the 21st century by combining into larger circuses.

Cirque Nouveau

The history of cirque nouveau is much briefer and more recent than that of the traditional American circus. Though many horse trick riders, including Ricketts, who brought the circus to America, were performing in England and other areas of Europe, the ideals and style associated with cirque nouveau were not seen until the 1970s.

Cirque nouveau is a form of performing arts in which a story, or theatrical narrative or theme, is translated through traditional circus acts, including juggling, trapeze, acrobatics, aerial tissue, and trampoline, as well as music, dance, acting and other theatrical elements. Unlike the American circus, which performed in large cities to garner as much attention as possible, the cirque nouveau began as an underground form of entertainment. As its popularity grew, the shows moved into more public space. The canvas tent of the traditional American circus was often left behind in favor of large indoor spaces. According to Alan Riding, an Arts writer for The New York Times, “having the audience sitting on bleachers looking at a stage . . . underscores the theatricality of a show” ⁸.

Video Note 1 ⁹

A reinvestigation of the theatrical surroundings fit to host a circus event is not the only noticeable difference between cirque nouveau and the American circus. The theatrical cirque nouveau shows do not typically use animals in their acts and original musical compositions often replaces generic, or pre-recorded, circus music. In addition, cirque nouveau is often performed in more exotic areas than the traditional American circus, which . Since it was not developed until the 1970s, cirque nouveau troupes often traveled by car and plane. The popularity of the form is increasing in the United States and many previously unfamiliar cirque nouveau companies have performed at the acclaimed Lincoln Center Festival. Las Vegas, Nevada is also currently home to five Cirque du Soleil shows including “LOVE”, a show based on the music of The Beatles, and “O”, an aquatic cirque nouveau performance¹⁰.

Video Note 2 ¹¹

Cirque nouveau has excelled in Europe and Canada. Even the United States is becoming more aware of the art form because of the proliferation of work presented by Cirque du Soleil. Though Cirque du Soleil is probably the most well-known cirque nouveau conglomeration in the world, it was created in Montreal, Quebec. It represents many of the same ideals and stylistic choices of European cirque nouveau because of the strong cultural connections between the Frence and the francophone areas of Canada, including Montreal. Cirque du Soleil can be thought of as “in conversation with” the cirque nouveau movement in France.

Cultural Factors that Affect Circus Development

Money and Funding

As with any artistic expression, the money made, as well as the funding available is very important to the survival of a company. This holds true for both the American circus and cirque nouveau companies, though each relies on one or the other to different degrees. The American circus did not receive federal or state funding and therefore, like the ballet in America, needed wealthy investors for start-up and touring costs. Cirque nouveau, on the other hand, was considered to promote and preserve French culture, and was thus funded by the French Ministry of Culture, along with dance, theatre, music and other aspects of French culture.

The state of finances changed frequently during the long history of the American circus and affected many aspects of its development. In the revolutionary years of the circus, travel was limited due to high costs associated with building circus arenas. For this reason, circus shows were mainly performed in major cities, such as Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, where large audiences and increased ticket sales remained reliable sources of revenue. During this period and into the early 19th century, circuses traveled by horseback, wagon and boat, all of which were somewhat costly for the time.

In later years, the newly built railroads allowed the circus to travel greater distances, but the size of the circus was forced to decrease due to the augmented costs related to this travel. According to Janet M. Davis’ The Circus Age: Culture and Society Under the American Big Top,

railroad travel was financially risky as well: the equipment was expensive, and all railroad-related expenses had to be paid up front. Wagon shows, by contrast, had far fewer expenditures – only the license and lot rental had to be paid before ticket revenues were received. The train crew itself, moreover, represented yet another expense for railroad showmen.¹²

Menageries, sideshows and street parades had to be left behind and “[m]any audiences felt cheated by the early railroad circus and characterized it as an abbreviated amusement that still charged the same price as the bigger overland wagon show.” ¹³ Despite this, circuses still remained quite popular and as the railroad became more efficient and cost-effective, the circuses became increasingly grand.

Image Note 3 ¹⁴

Similar to other aspects of American culture, the Great Depression had drastic effects on circus ticket sales, since much of the audience was deeply affected. Despite decreased revenue, new attractions were brought in an attempt to increase ticket sales. A new gorilla, named Gargantua the Great, proved to be very popular with the remaining Depression-era audiences and he “rescued [a] show from the severe financial bind it found itself in by the end of the Depression years.” ¹⁵ The circus continued to struggle through the time surrounding World War II, and to this day, it has not regained the popularity it once experienced during the 19th and early 20th century.

The French cirque nouveau, like any theatre endeavor, is at least partially dependent on money generated through ticket sales. It is, however, supported by the French government both in funding to circus ensembles, as well as an investment in the education of future circus performers. Whereas the United States government does little to support the advancement of the arts, as Alan Riding states, “the government money poured into theater, music, opera and dance in France every year” has allowed the cirque nouveau performance to excel and flourish¹⁶. Throughout the 1970s and into the 21st century, the French government pushed money into ideas and areas that would promote and preserve French culture.

In an EduFrance article describing the schools supported by the Department of Music, Dance, Theatre and Shows (a division of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication) many circus universities are listed, including the Centre National des Arts du Cirque de Châlons-en-Champagne and the École Nationale des Arts du Cirque de Rosny-sous-Bois. The former is described as

[a]n institution of higher education under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Communication. Grants a State diploma in circus arts (equivalent to 2 years of post-secondary study). Admission based on application followed by 4-month trial period, [program] lasts 3 years. Wide range of circus disciplines, importance of basics: the ring, nomadism, virtuosity. Learning takes place within the apprenticeship tradition, with artists participating in the teaching [program]. ¹⁷

The dedication that the French government provides many of its art forms is unparalleled in the United States. It allows students to be trained in the exquisite and graceful arts of cirque, and then supports the ensembles graduates join or create post-graduation. The French government has shown a sincere interest in preserving its culture and this begs the question: would the American circus still be as popular if it received some type of federal funding or education support?

Training

In the United States, there is the idea of the family-trained circus performer, as well as the somewhat comical idea of “Clown School.” A quick search of Google shows that the “Clown School” idea may be comical, but it’s quite true. The idea of the family-trained circus performer is a bona fide practice. Many of the American circuses were built around the strength of the family circle. Parents passed down their skills, training, or jobs to the younger members of their family.

Some of the most recognizable names, such as the Ringling Brothers, were a family operation and others existed as well. The Sells family included four brothers: Ephraim, William, Lewis and Peter ran a respectable circus that “was sufficiently encouraging to warrant them in undertaking a second tour and, eventually under the title of Sells Bros.’ Circus, their show became on of the leading circuses touring the Midwest.” ¹⁸ The Whitney family ran another family circus. In George Chindahl’s book, Story of the Circus in America, he explains, “[a]mong the acrobats who were with the Whitney show . . . were Charles Whitney’s children, Josie, Leon and Lou. Josie performed on the trapeze, beginning when she was about eight years old.” ¹⁹ Children grew up in the circus and were primed to take over the circus once their parents died.

Though some French circuses may be based around the family circle, training is done mainly at the universities, rather than the family circus. The cirque nouveau companies receive money that helps with the administration and structure of creating and running a circus ensemble, but one needs to have serious training before joining a cirque nouveau ensemble and the French government also funds many circus universities, like the one described earlier. These universities, however, are not optional. According to another article about cirque nouveau by Alan Riding:

“You can't just run away and join the circus in France these days. First you have to go to school, one of some 500 circus schools of varying degrees of excellence that have sprung up across the land to serve the nouveau cirque, or new circus, movement. Then, with whatever skills you have honed, you go looking for a job in one of 300 circuses currently operating.” ²⁰

It is an intense educational process, much like going to college in the United States. Instead of training to be a doctor by studying chemistry, biology and physics, a cirque nouveau performer trains by studying an object-based act, some type of acrobatics or performance act such as trapeze or aerial tissue, and a musical instrument. The music for cirque nouveau is often composed specifically for the show and performed by the circus performers.

Video Note 3 ²¹

Graduation from one of the circus universities allows one then to audition for and train with a cirque nouveau ensemble. Cirque nouveau performers may also be trained in the dramaturgical process once they join an ensemble. In an article about the company Les Colporteurs, Riding describes their dramaturgical process. One of the founders, Mr. Rigot says,

“We did a sort of storyboard, picking out key words and images. We then asked everyone to write poems around them. And from these poems, we began to improvise. At first, it didn't produce much, but slowly, day by day, things emerged. Eventually, everything belonged to everyone.” ²²

In this way, France is continually perpetuating an interest in the circus arts by funding universities and circus ensembles that will train the future performers who hold part of French culture in their bodies.

Animals and Their Trade

Animal acts are one of the most memorable in the American circus, but they are noticeably absent from cirque nouveau. Their history in the American circus is quite long, but it played a specific role that was unneeded in modern French society. Many exotic animals such as camels, polar bears and leopards came to America between 1721 and 1768. Most impressive was the elephant that “first landed at New York City in 1796 on Captain Jacob Crowninsheild’s ship, America, from Bengal.” ²³ All were originally used in the American circus as a way of presenting images of the exotic world to the people of the United States. The animals attracted large crowds because they were new and unusual. This worked particularly well during the Great Depression. As long as circuses could maintain an exotic animal, it would be helpful in bringing audiences to the circus.

Video Note 4 ²⁴

By the time the cirque nouveau movement became popular, different forms of entertainment (including television and film) had already presented the idea of wild animals to the European audience. In addition, Europeans were and still are able to see animals up close at area zoos, which also decreased the excitement surrounding the exotic animals that had been so appealing to the American circus audience of the Depression era. The animals were no longer unfamiliar and “even when [cirque nouveau] includes trapeze, tightrope, trampoline and acrobatics, inventiveness is favored over daring.” ²⁵ Acts using animals were unnecessary in garnering the attraction of audiences and unfitting with the ideals of the cirque nouveau. They were therefore left out of the cirque nouveau aesthetic and training.

Conclusion

It is quite evident that the American culture and French culture led to the creation of two very different circuses. The American circus is characterized by its canvas big top, daring acts, and use of animals, while the cirque nouveau is much more theatrical and supported heavily both in funding and education by the French government. Though it is impossible to prove, since the French cirque nouveau has been around for a much shorter time period, it does seem plausible that the cirque nouveau will eventually remain more popular and capable of withstanding time because it has the support not only of the French government, but also of the French people who place a high esteem on the arts in their culture. As with the case of exotic animals, Americans often become easily bored by whatever is not new, and often allow huge icons of cultural performance, such as the American circus to wither in popularity.

Footnotes

Including Textual, Image, and Video Footnotes