American Circus Research Paper

Since its inception in 1768 inside Phillip Astley’s 42-foot equestrian ring, the circus show has transformed through many stages before finally landing on the current definition of contemporary circus. A term recently used by many scholars when documenting circus performances happening in the now. It has moved away from its originally intended use to describe circus that is happening now and has instead become a genre to try and confine circus performance. The Ordinary Acrobat for instance uses the term over twenty times throughout the text. Yet when did we move into this new genre for circus performance? Many of the other eras are well defined, like when Duncan Wall writes “I first encountered the circus at a historical low point.” meaning

However it has an interesting role within the contemporary circus, as the aforementioned performances defined as contemporary circus and logged by Crying Out Loud do not utilize elephants in their practices, and very rarely do they use any kind of animal act. Could the loss of this element deemed so important by the titan of traditional circus be a defining factor of what we know the contemporary circus to be? The American Circus, chapter nine written by author Susan Nance explains“ A look at the origins, lifestyles and ultimate disposition of the animals that made the American circus possible actually reveals the full experience, talent and labors of the people who created these complicated but fragile institutions. It is also a fraught and ambivalent tale that exposes the circuses at their most ingenious and glamorous their most hidebound and unimaginative.” Contemporary circus focuses on human creativity and imagination putting control of over ones body as more important than control over beasts. In Circus Bodies, Peta Tait describes “New circus assumes its audience is familiar with the format of traditional live circus, and then takes its artistic inspiration from a cultural idea of circus as identity transgression and grotesque abjection, most apparent in literature and cinema. Early Archaos shows reflected a

It began to gather steam during the 1980’s before settling into the mold we know today as contemporary circus. However it is important to note that a pillar of the contemporary circus is its constant change and that very few of the works being produced today bear much similarity to those that came before them. Contemporary circus is a circus that has evolved with the major changes in society through the 20th century but it does not encompass all circus performances made throughout within the modern time period. We are in a unique limbo where many different genres of circus are being performed through increasingly diversified channels and venues. In many ways contemporary circuses have come to fill the gap originally filled by traditional circuses before they enraptured the mainstream American audience. As contemporary performances are often more risqué and based on narratives or social commentary, a striking difference when looked at against the happy elephants and flashy ringmasters that the mainstream considers to be "the circus". While these contemporary circuses may occupy this position on the fringes of society for now it means that they are poised to become as culturally significant as traditional circuses were during their