CIRCUS MAGIC: AN ABC PROJECT

1. CIRCUS MAGIC: AN ABC PROJECT AMANDA HALL AND STEPHANIE NASH

2. A- Acrobatics Acrobat comes from the Greek word Akros (high) and bat (walking). Examples include: High-wire, tight-rope walking, and trapeze work. Requires balance, agility, and coordination. A performance art practiced as a sport. Started in the West around 2000 BC. Depicted in the Minoan Art with people balancing on Bulls in what may have been a religious act.

3. Breathing FireB creating a large flame by spraying, with one's breath, a flammable liquid upon an open flame. The flame is usually held an arm's length away and the spray should be both powerful and misty. This art is said to have originated in India.

4. CLOWNS: C • Clowns are comic performers, stereotypically characterized by their colored wigs, makeup, costumes, and large footwear. • Clowns acknowledge their audience. The clown's humor today is often visual and includes many elements of physical comedy or slapstick humor. • Clowning is a form of entertainment that has appeared in some manner in virtually every culture. In most cultures the clown is a ritual character associated with a circus festival or rites of passage.

5. Performances were typically held in open-air arenas, such as race tracks or municipal parks, and in localities that were small and remote. D Dog and pony show was a term used in the US in the late-19th and early-20th centuries to refer to small traveling circuses that toured through small towns and rural areas. The name derives from the typical use of performing dogs and ponies as the main attractions of the events.

6. Jumbo, a circus elephant, has entered the English language as a synonym for "large". ELEPHANTS Elephants are mammals, and the largest land animals alive today. Elephants are symbols of wisdom in Asian cultures, and are famed for their memory and high intelligence.

7. FIRE BREATHINGAND DANCING Some of these disciplines are related to juggling or baton twirling and there is also a connection with fire dancing and rhythmic gymnastics. Fire dancing is often performed to music. Fire dancing has been a traditional part of cultures from around the world, fire performance includes visual and stylistic elements from many traditions.

8. G-GLOBE ROLLING • The Rolling Globe is a circus skill where the performer balances atop a large sphere, often taller than the performer. • Various gymnastic or juggling stunts are performed, while the performer moves and controls the position of the ball with the feet and/or hands.

9. HUMAN CANNONBALL-H • The human cannonball is a performance in which a person (the "cannonball") is ejected from a specially designed cannon. • The force is provided not by gunpowder, but by either a spring or jet of compressed air. • In a circus performance, gunpowder may be used to provide visual and auditory effects, but this is unrelated to the force of the launch.

10. If you were in the circus….. What Would YOU Be??

11. J-Juggling Juggling is a form of object manipulation. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, where the juggler throws objects through the air. Jugglers often refer to the objects they juggle as props, the most popular being balls, beanbags, rings, clubs, or bouncing balls. Some performers use "dangerous" objects such as chainsaws knives and fire torches, although when done by a trained performer using the proper equipment this usually is far less dangerous than it appears.

12. KNIFE THROWING K Knife throwing as entertainment is part of a group of performance arts sometimes known as the impalement arts. Knife throwing is an art, sport, or variously an entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapons thrown, and a target.

13. LION TAMINGL Lion taming is the practice of taming lions, either for protection, whereby the practice was probably created, or, more commonly, entertainment, particularly in the circus. The term is also often used for the taming and display of other big cats such as tigers, leopards and cougars. Lion taming is used as a stereotypical dangerous occupation due to the obvious risks of toying with powerful instinctive carnivores. Lion taming is performed in zoos across the world.

14. MAGIC SHOWS • Magic is a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of impossible or supernatural natures. • Artists uses illusion an tricks • An artist who performs magic is called a magician. Magicians are also referred to by names reflecting the type of magical effects they typically perform, such as prestidigitators, conjurors, illusionists, mentalists, ventriloquists, and escape artists, etc.

15. NOMADIC The circus is a constantly moving event. The people live as nomads with no permanent residences, always on the road. Since they are always traveling, the circus workers are a very close community dependent on one another. This is how they live their lives all year.

16. ORIGIN In ancient Rome, the circus was a show of chariot races, horse riding, battles, and other acrobatic and animal involved performances. The 1st circus in Rome was the Circus Maximus. There was a lot of Greek influence in the original circuses.

17. The circus would not exist without the outrageous talents of performers. These performers do impossible things that the common person would never dare to do. They entertain audiences over and over with their perfected skills and brave skits. PERFORMERS

18. The circus in the past was more centered around fancy horse riding. Standing up on a galloping horse is an example of a major feat and entertaining sight that performers have done for audiences. Equestrian riding was a foundation for the modern circus today, widely popular before the War of 1812 when the circus developed a new style. E-Questrian

19. RINGMASTER The performance itself is conducted by a ringmaster, traditionally dressed in colorful top hat and tails, who uses a whistle to signal the start of each new act. A live circus band follows the Ringmaster’s introduction

20. SCHOOLING Children whose parents work in the circus are sometimes forced to travel along place to place with their families. These children cannot go to the same school all year, so many are educated by their parents or other circus workers. The parents teach their children corresponding to schools curriculum.

21. Many circuses are performed, “under the big top.” Huge tents are pitched that cover all three-rings of the circus floor and the tents are transported from show to show. During set up on the day before or day of a show, these tents are quickly pitched. This was commonly done before there were indoor arenas. TENTS

22. The unicycle is a one wheeled bicycle commonly used in circus acts. Balance is crucial when riding a unicycle and the circus is a sure place to see some great balancing acts. Sometimes the unicycle is even ridden across a tightrope. What a thrilling sight! UNICYCLE

23. Circus members have a language of their own. Here are some examples of circus lingo commonly used and their meanings: VOCABULARY Backyard- The area behind the big top where props, animals, and performers are readied for the performance. Doniker- Toilet. Floss- Cotton candy. Risley- An acrobatic act in which one person juggles another on his/her feet. Straw House- A sold-out performance. Towny- Anyone not traveling with a circus.

24. WIRE ACTS There are three types of wire acts: The high wire- walking on thicker wire 20 or more feet up in the air, usually with a safety net at the bottom. A pole is used for balance. The tightwire (tightrope)- walking on thinner wire tightly strung that is lower to the ground. Juggling is sometimes done while performing on the tightwire. The slack wire (slack rope)- similar to tightwire but more loosely strung wire. Sometimes performers on the slack wire do two things at once.

25. X~ eXciting! eXhilarating! eXtraordinary! People come to the circus for thrills, chills, and laughs. Targeted for children of all ages, there is something for everyone to enjoy. The performers are truly talented and audiences watch in awe of their abilities.

26. Yearlong Job • Circus workers are on the road usually for 11 months out of the year. They work everyday setting up, traveling, or performing. They often work long hours and only get days off usually during the few weeks around Christmas so they can prepare for the new year.

27. Zoo Animals There are a variety of animals that perform in the circus. These animals are trained and tamed and usually exotic, not your usual pet but rare animals found in zoos. The circus workers care for and train these animals. Animals are an important element to the circus.

28. WORKS CITED • (2001). Wikipedia. Retrieved February 10, 2008, from www.wikipedia.com. • Murray, M (1956). Circus! From Rome to Ringling. Appleton-Century-Crofts : New York. • Day, Cathy. (2004). The Circus in Winter. Orlando: Harcourt Books Inc. • Microsoft Clipart • Graphics 2000. Circusweb! Circus Present and Past. [Online] Available http://www.circusweb.com, February 15, 2008 • March, Tom. Acrobats, Animals, Clowns, Jugglers, and More! [Online] Available http://www.dowslane.org/circus.html, February 15, 2008 • Wikimedia Foundation. Circus- Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. [Online] Available http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus, February 15, 2008