FEATURES OF DEVELOPMENT UKRAINIAN CIRCUS ART: XIX – EARLY XX

Abstract

Article is devoted to the artistic processes that took place in Ukrainian circus space late XIX – early XX century, marked features of development Ukrainian circus on stage under consideration, clarified the impact of foreign and domestic owners of circuses on the further development of circus art in Ukraine.

For modern Ukraine characteristic process becomes a significant increase of interest to the study of domestic creative heritage in various fields of artistic culture, particularly the rapid development of Ukrainian circus art and lack of investigation of national circus history, making actual searches in the genesis of Ukrainian circus art at different stages of its development.

Source of information about Ukrainian circus XIX century are monographs by R. Slavskyi "Vitaly Lazarenko" (1980) and "Nikitin Brothers" (1987), O. Talanov "Durov Brothers" (1971), J. Greenwald "Russian bogatyr Ivan Piddubny", D. Zhukov "Ivan Piddubny" (1975). In works by S. Makarov "Circus theatralization" (2010), N. Matveev "Boris Manzhelli" (1983), P. Tarahno "Clown`s Life" (1963) provided the reconstruction of circus pantomimes, which were shown on Ukrainian arenas in the period since the end of XIX – early XX; the information of the development of individual circus genres, analysis of Beskorovayny, Zlobin, Drotyankin, Vyalshin, Truzzi, Sura circuses` work etc. Valuable research is devoted to the history of the circus in individual cities of Ukraine (works by M. Rybakov "Kyiv Circus: the people, the events, the fate" (1995), J. Ryabinkin "Odessa Circus" (1979), N. Shcherbakova "Kharkov Circus" (1983)).

The source of information about domestic circus of this period is periodical publications: "Divertissement", "Soviet Circus", "Soviet music and circus", "Stage and arena."

Despite the fact that some aspects of the development of Ukrainian circus XIX – beginning of XX were considered in this research field of artistic culture, there is currently no work devoted entirely to the study of major artistic processes, which inherent to domestic circus indicated period. Thus, the aim of the article: to determine the characteristics of development of the circus in Ukraine (XIX – beginning of XX).

By the beginning of the XVIII century elements of circus art could only be found in the performance of skomorokhs, because in Ukraine there was no permanent circus. Due to the decrease of state and church pressure clowning was reborning in folk festivities, booths, and in the early XIX century traveling circuses and menageries appeared.

Significant contribution to development of the circus business in Ukraine made representatives of families the Godefroids, the Truzzis and the Surs, whose activity made it possible the familiarization the Ukrainian audience with the best of European circus arts.

At the end of the XIX – beginning of XX century in Ukraine were opened new establishments: J. Godfrey`s show booth (1857), Vittorio Circus (1862) A. Pankratov and I. Bondarenko`s Circus (1865) in Odessa, Bergonie`s Circus (1875) and "Horse Palace" (1903) of P. Krutikov in Kiev, circus Mussoorie (1911) in Kharkiv etc. Besides stationary, on the territory of the Russian Empire, and particularly in Ukraine, there were about 100 traveling circus (the most popular were entreprises of Salamonsky, Sur, Welle, Chinisello, Godfrua and Nikitin Brothers).

Creative crisis of circus art has led to the convergence of circus and variety. This process, on the one hand, promote the absorption of the specifics of the circus, on the other hand, circus performers, adapting to the conditions of variety site had to find some form of contact with the public, to develop new tricks and strengthening element of dramatization circus number.

Summing up the above, I’d like to emphasize that in the article it is impossible to consider in detail the specificity of development of circus art in Ukraine (XIX – beginning of XX century), and therefore remain relevant further research and serious study of a certain stage of Ukrainian circus history.