Circus
Advertisement for the Barnum & Bailey Cir-
cus, 1900.
Circus related terms
Four similar terms are often confused
• Circus is a production or show.
• Circus arts are the performance forms
that relate to the circus (the arts of the
circus).
• Circus acts are physical compositions
which are performed in the circus.
• Circus skills are the techniques used to
create and choreograph the acts.
A circus is commonly a travelling company
of performers that may include acrobats,
clowns, trained animals, trapeze acts, hoop-
ers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists
and other stunt-oriented artists. The word
also describes the performance that they
give, which is usually a series of acts that are
choreographed to music. A circus is held in
an oval or circular arena called a ring with
tiered seating around its edge; in the case of
travelling circuses this location is most often
a large tent called the big top.
History of the circus
Origin of the circus
In Ancient Rome the circus was a building for
the exhibition of horse and chariot races,
equestrian shows, staged battles, displays
featuring trained animals, jugglers and ac-
robats. The circus of Rome is thought to have
been influenced by the Greeks, with chariot
racing and the exhibition of animals as tradi-
tional attractions. The Roman circus con-
sisted of tiers of seats running parallel with
the sides of the course, and forming a cres-
cent around one of the ends. The lower seats
were reserved for persons of rank; there
were also various state boxes, e.g. for the
giver of the games and his friends. In Ancient
Rome the circus was the only public spec-
tacle at which men and women were not sep-
arated. The Latin word circus comes from the
Greek word kirkos meaning “circle or
ring”.[1]
The first circus in Rome was the Circus
Maximus, in the valley between the Palatine
and Aventine hills. Next in importance to the
Circus Maximus in Rome were the Circus
Flaminius and the Circus Neronis, from the
notoriety which it obtained through the Cir-
censian pleasures of Nero.