Traditional Circus vs Contemporary Circus - Essay Example

? Traditional Circus vs Contemporary Circus Modern people live in the dynamic and rapidly changing world. It cannot be argued that different changes happen in all spheres of human lives. People need something new and, respectively, they are looking for the new ways of entertainment. Circus has always been a separate place with its own traditions, style and spirit. The audience wanted to see a great performance, to be enchanted by mystery and experience new feelings and emotions watching mysteries of a separate society, which is circus. This type of attitude concerns traditional circus. The origins of contemporary circus (or "cirque nouveau") can be found in 70s. In this circus a separate story is told to the audience in a chain of different small performances, unlike a traditional circus, where no separate story was told. This new movement has not theoretical background and there is no a clear intention to be separated from a traditional circus. The main aim was to position a contemporary circus as a kind of incarnation from a traditional circus. For example, there is no total abandonment of the use of animals during performances, because animals are poor narrative means. In the contemporary circus animals are often used with success. There are different means to amaze the audience in the contemporary circus, because acrobatics, juggling or clown acts are often not unique for the audience and are not very fascinating. In accordance with the artists from one of the contemporary circuses: "Circus in general has its own tradition; but at the Cirque, we try to regroup and or add multiple disciplinary approaches to synergize the creation process. Every time we add a new collection, we have to capture the relationship between the information sources and the usage” (Spencer 2007, p. 23). In the contemporary circus the main emphasis is made on a story told to the audience through a number of different acts of performance instead of separate successive performances of jugglers, clowns or animals. There is more about topic in the modern circus and the spirit of modern times. Thus, the artists of the contemporary circus are able to appeal for the emotions and feelings of the audience by referring to the most critical themes, such as love, friendship, children et cetera. They develop a chain of their actions on the background of one common theme. There are no circus families performing in the contemporary circus, but rather conservatory-trained artists; character-driven acts are conveyed to the audience through a chain of narratives embodied in a series of successive acts of performance. The audience has the ability to sit in front of the stage and get involved in the story told by the contemporary circus. There is no ringmaster in the contemporary circus anymore, because a number of performances are connected by a common theme. Thus, the representatives of the contemporary circus Nanjing I claim: “It seems that the 'cultural signifiers' related to training do not simply 'jump from one body to another' but are embodied through slow, repetitive ongoing application according to a set of cultural values imported from China. The project challenged the attitudes to training of the trainers, students and administrators of Nanjing I and encouraged them to question their cultural assumptions” (Farrel 2008, p. 2). Thus, there is a special atmosphere and environment in the contemporary circus, which depends on the quality and thematic connection among different acts of performance. To reach a wholeness of narration, the artists in the contemporary circus introduce different changes in their performance, music and costumes. This is an evident difference between a traditional circus and the contemporary circus. The modern artists wear simple leotards and there are no traditional costumes for clowns. Human bodies of the modern artists are moving in such enchanting manner that it is really fascinating to watch movements of their strong bodies and not to pay attention to their weird costumes, wigs or any other elements of appearance. The main emphasis is made on movement and music, because it is very interesting to watch an insane power of movements. In accordance with the reactions of the audience after this type of a modern show, the artists are able to perform insane handstands, acts, squeezing body parts through hoops, hula hooping et cetera. They are tossing people through the air and catch them up making the audience cry in one voice. Therefore, these modern performances are full of dynamics and speed, which is appropriate for the contemporaries, who line under conditions of insanely developing world. The evolution of costumes in circus At first, the costumes in 1884 should have been as durable as possible and were invented from the materials, which were available for the artists. The clown costumes consisted of everything that could be sewn together and turn into an amusing clothes. Moreover, the main feature of clowns costumes were their baggy shape and the baggy clothing now associated with clowns. Trapeze artists started to wear leotards with glittery effects. Shirt skirts and skinny leotards for women underlined female sexuality and attracted the audience even more. Men wore from leotards to business suits depending on a kind of image or story to be performed. Thus, a traditional costume in the circus was a means of a certain story told to the audience. A costume in the circus played a cultural role as well, for example, elephant riders would wear Indian clothes. Thus, a traditional circus is a reflection of cultural background of different countries and performs a role of a cultural bridge between different histories. Costumes in the traditional circus are helpful tools for bringing the audience closer to any culture. In the contemporary circus there are no traditional circus costumes. Still, there are some evident tendencies to use glittering materials in the contemporary circus costumes, but this tendency sustains the ability of a human body to perform different movements and special materials of the costumes make these movements even more attracting and fascinating for the audience. The modern circus artists have a great benefit before their predecessors, because a special material for footwear enables them to move more swiftly because of better grip and traction soles. An important role of science and knowledge in the field of physics provide a great help for the modern performers. Consequently, there is a clear transformation of the costume from a dominant factor attracting the audience and telling a story of the artist to a helpful tool for realization of performance potential of the contemporary artists in the circus. References Cunningham, H 2007, "The Circus and Victorian Society," Journal of Social History, vol. 40, p. 1040+. Farrell, R 2008. "Nanjing Project: Chinese Acrobatics, Australian New Circus and Hybrid Intercultural Performance," Australasian Drama Studies, p. 1+. The History of Circus Costumes. [online] Available from: [Accessed June 09, 2012] Spencer, FG 2007, "It's One Big Circus," Information Outlook, October, pp. 22+. Read More