Circus arts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Circus arts" refers to a body of performing arts featured in, derived from, or inspired by circus productions. Three similar terms are often confused here: circus arts, circus acts, and circus skills. The difference lies in the level of specificity.

• Circus arts is the most general term, referring to all performance forms that relate to the circus (the arts of the circus).
• Circus acts are physical compositions which are performed in the circus, and
• Circus skills are the techniques used to create and choreograph the acts.

There are two main genres of circus arts: traditional, often referred to as "Old Circus Arts" and contemporary, sometime called "Arts de Cirque Nouveaux ". Below is a table comparing several distinct aspects of traditional and contemporary circus arts.

	Traditional Circus Arts	Contemporary Circus Arts
Typical Performance Venues	Touring Big Top Circus, Arena Circus	Theatrical Production, Circus Theatre
Typically Performed By	Circus Families	Conservatory Trained Artists
Typical Acts	Animals, Clowning, Flying Trapeze, Wire Walking	Acrobalance, Aerial Acrobatics, Physical Comedy
Typical Staging Format	circular seating around three or more rings	Auditorium seating in front of proscenium stage
Typical Production Format	Series of spectacle style acts presided over by a master of ceremony	Series of theatrical style acts tied together by a central narrative or theme
Typical Music and Sound	Live band, recorded sound effects	Recorded score and sound effects, sometimes with live accompaniment