Research Circus & Street Art
The early history of circus is not well documented, and only a few classic texts tell of the reality of those early years.
Recently more people have become interested in the history of circus from its roots to the present day, and all the world-wide variations and related traditions.
Libraries and online resources
Reg Bolton's virtual library - at The Circus Shop.
www.regbolton.org/circus_library/library_index.htm
Wikipedia's Circus entry
Intute
a page of circus-related links
"The Arts and Humanities service of Intute offers an easy-to-use and powerful tool for discovering the best Internet resources for education and research in Creative Arts and Humanities"
Learn Direct (Careers Advice)
has a Circus Performer entry, with some good links.
British Circus Biography Project
The late John Turner's fascinating website: The Dictionary of British Circus Biography Project. [Two Centuries of Circus People]. http://www.circusbiography.co.uk
You might also enjoy the more intereactive contributions in the Forum:
Two Centuries of British Circus People Discussion Forum
Circus Net
For (mostly) European Circus, check out the International Circus and Documentation Center based in Belgium, and maybe bookmark it or subscribe to their newsletter.
www.circusnet.info/cirque/index.php
Online Forum and Newsletter
Circus News - US-based. NB: their forums are not moderated and do sometimes contain spam
Academic Studies
(theses, articles, books, biographies etc)
Circus as Modernity
We recently received an email from Kate Smith, doing research for a book called "Circus as Modernity" and you can find her email text in the Message Board
For people who like the more abstract approach to Circus, check out the book Rings of Desire: Circus History and Representation by Helen Stoddart
We recently received some interesting links to work done with the help of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia - in PDF format:
A piece by Debbie Hyder (2003 Churchill Fellow) "To achieve personal development from an international perspective can't be attained in Australia by participating in an international unicycle convention in Japan, and circus workshops in Germany, England and the United States."
Another from Penelope Lowther (2004 Churchill Fellow) "To research and train with various organisations in the USA and Canada that specialise in using Creative Arts Therapy, Circus, Puppetry and Drama as a therapeutic process for disadvantaged communities; to create social and political change, and to encourage self-empowerment, self-esteem, self-determination and creative expression."
One from Dr. David Munro (2004 Churchill Fellow)
"To examine the role of physiotherapy in Circus Arts in reducing the risk of injury, improving workplace practices and maximising performance skills."
Thanks to Owen Gaynor (2002 Churchill Fellow) for these links. His own Fellowship Report "Youth circus: Exploring the production process behind performances" can be found linked on the Research Youth Circus page or directly here
For updates and corrections, please contact toby@circusarts.org.uk