What is a circus? Circus art. circus artists

Props: Ordinary pen, light is better.

Show the public a pen. Concentrate on it, invite everyone to look at it, touch it, make sure that it is the most common pen.

Now clench the handle in a fist, as shown in the photo, and hold the wrist of this hand with your free hand, as if you needed it to adjust the cuffs.

Unclench the fist in which you hold the pen. Now your fingers are free, but the pen has not fallen - it seems to be stuck to your palm or floating in the air! (applause)

Execution secret: With the finger of the hand clasped around the wrist, hold the handle. Few people will immediately notice that you show only 4 fingers of the hand lying on the wrist. When you asked the audience to make sure that the pen was the most ordinary one before the trick, you focused the audience's attention on the props. Thus, you motivated them to look for a clue in the features of the subject.

2. Pen in the air - no joke this time!

Props: An ordinary pen, a long-handled spoon (or other suitable object), a long-sleeved shirt or sweater, the cuffs of which fit snugly around the wrists.

Hide the spoon in the sleeve of the hand in which you will hold the pen. Before you start the trick, do the same as in the previous trick: let the audience make sure that the pen is the most ordinary one.

Repeat the previous trick, but then remove the hand that you used to hold the wrist.

Execution secret: No one will guess that you managed to deftly pull the spoon out of your sleeve, and it is she who is holding the pen.

With this trick, you show that the previous one, similar to this one, was just a warm-up, but now a miracle is really happening. The audience will begin to think about more complex ways to make the pen float near your palm, and will not think about such an obvious and easy way, like a fastener hidden in a sleeve.

3. The disappearance of the coin

Props: Pen, coin.

Show the audience a coin in the same way as you did with a pen in the previous magic tricks.

Put the coin in the palm of your hand, take the pen in your other hand and point it to the coin in the palm of your hand.

Make a fist and hide the coin from public view, then wave your other hand as if a pen is Magic wand, touch the pen to the fist with the coin.

Repeat this movement, but at the same time discreetly hide the pen behind your ear when the hand flies up in a magical gesture: then this time you will touch the hand with the coin with the now invisible “magic wand”.

With fast movements, the audience will not notice this. Now slightly tilt the body forward with the side with which the handle is hidden behind the ear, and draw the attention of the audience to an unexpected moment: “Ale-up!” - Take the pen out from behind your ear.

Then turn your body around, extend your hand to the audience, in which there should be a coin, open your fist - op! - and the palm is empty!

Execution secret: It is important to imperceptibly put the pen behind the ear, for this the gestures must be confident, fast, and the second wave of the hand must be completely identical to the first.

When you remove the pen from behind your ear, with this unexpected gesture, you completely divert the attention of the audience from the action of the other hand - while she puts the coin in her pocket.

Scenario of a thematic conversation for students elementary school"Let's talk about magicians."

Matveeva Svetlana Nikolaevna, teacher primary school MBOU secondary school No. 9, Ulyanovsk.
Description of work: I bring to your attention a thematic conversation with primary school students about magicians. The material is included in the series of conversations "Profession - Circus Artist". The conversations in this series can be used as extracurricular activities and classes for schoolchildren, and classroom hours. This material will be useful for elementary school teachers, after-school teachers, kindergarten teachers, kindergarten teachers. health camps and sanatoriums during events. Thematic conversation geared towards younger students school age possibly for preschoolers preparatory groups.
Target: introduction to the profession of a magician.
Tasks:
- clarify children's knowledge about magicians;
- broaden the horizons of younger students;
- develop cognitive interest And Creative skills children;
- to cultivate respect for artists performing in the circus.

Event progress

Teacher: Good afternoon guys! Today we are going to the circus!
(Viewing the video, the beginning of the circus performance).
Teacher: The circus has a wide variety of performers. For all those who have chosen circus art as their profession, this is life, not just a place of work. Circus artists are nomadic people, they are on endless journeys. The work of any circus performer is a mystery to the viewer. Real professionals work easily, naturally and cheerfully. Although circus art lives by traditions, the artist is in constant search for new ideas and technical possibilities, new tricks and plots. Spectators need to delight, surprise and conquer. Not only physical but also creative development- these are the main tasks of a circus performer.
The song performed by Vitas "Circus" sounds.
Teacher: I propose to solve the riddles, and find out which circus performer will be discussed today.
1. Any object in my hands
As if bewitched.
There is a ball, but there isn’t!
Here it is again!
Here and there, then no, then there is!
And now the balls can not be counted!
Look, they're gone!
Where can I get them?!
And very strange,
I'm getting them again...
From your pocket!
2. Wizard, magician and sorcerer,
A favorite of adults and children.
As soon as he waves his wand
And suddenly a miracle will happen. (Magician.)
(A photo of a magician appears on the board.)

Teacher: A magician, indeed, is called a magician, and a magician, and a sorcerer, and an illusionist.

Teacher: Illusionist (magician)- an artist who demonstrates tricks based on certain physical and psychological phenomena and subconscious delusions, in contrast to the manipulative conjurer, whose effect of tricks is based solely on dexterous actions with his hands. Illusionism- a type of performing art that is characterized by the use of sleight of hand, tricks or special equipment to create the illusion of breaking habits physical properties well known items. The name comes from the French word "illusionner" - "mislead".

Teacher: Do you guys know when and where the first illusionists appeared? And we will learn a lot more interesting things about magicians from the presentation.

Sample text:
Traditions from the ancient Egyptian Westcar papyri dating back to 2900 BC, the era of the reign of Pharaoh Cheops, mention magician and trainer Jedi, which could make the lion follow him, and magician Web - Aner, which turned a small wax figure of a crocodile into a living ferocious beast.

Teacher: The art of illusion has its roots in ancient times, when the techniques and techniques for manipulating the consciousness of people began to be used not only to control them (shamans, priests and leaders), but also for entertainment.

Teacher: In the Middle Ages, fairs appeared professional artists- puppeteers, magicians using various mechanisms, card magicians (sharers).

Teacher: IN fiction Magicians were first mentioned in the 16th century. Magician named Boccal de Bergamosk mentioned Teofilo Folengo in his poem Macaronade. In the second half of the 18th century, it gained wide popularity The Turk by Wolfgang von Kempelen, the public was not aware that a strong chess player was hidden in the chess machine. In 1750 Italian Balducci skillfully performed his tricks. John Henry Anderson in the 1830s was the first to show the trick with the appearance of a rabbit from a top hat.

Teacher: IN late XIX century became famous Harry Houdini, who created the ideas of many illusion devices.

Harry Houdini(1874 - 1926) - the famous American illusionist, magician, hypnotist, famous for exposing charlatans and complex tricks with escapes and releases. His parents emigrated to the US when Erich was four years old. Their card tricks Harry publicly showed from the age of 10. Real name Harry Houdini - Erich Weiss. In 1892 he took the pseudonym Houdini, in honor of the French magician Robert-Houdin. Later, the name Harry was added to the surname in honor of Harry Kellar. Initially toured the US with his brother. IN early career Houdini was dominated by numbers on self-liberation from handcuffs and from water tanks.

Teacher: For promotional purposes, he practiced spectacular stunts that could be witnessed by whole crowds of onlookers. So, once he was hung in a bag from the eaves of a skyscraper, but successfully freed himself. On another occasion, he walked through a brick wall in front of many spectators. Toured in Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century, he showed a trick "disappearance of a living elephant".

Teacher: The elephant stood against a black velvet curtain; assistants covered him with a white veil, under which there was another, made of black velvet. At the sign of the illusionist, the white veil was pulled off, and the elephant, covered with a black veil, turned out to be invisible against a black background. With age, staged tricks were given to Houdini more difficult. Even after successful performances, he repeatedly ended up in the hospital. Since 1910, he began acting in films. IN last decade During his career, Houdini published a number of books that revealed the secrets of his craft.

Teacher: Henry Roltair(1853 - 1910) rode a bicycle around the stage, gradually rising into the air, later he did this trick in a car with a driver. Turns out it's a magic spell "Sim - Sala - Bim" which was first spoken Danish illusionist Dante(1883 - 1955) taken from a Danish children's poem. "Orange tree"- one of the most famous tricks of the XIX century. French Jean - Etienne Robert - Houdin before the eyes of the audience, he poured earth into a pot, threw grain and watered several times. A sprout appeared in the pot, it turned into a green bush, and then covered with oranges.

Teacher: The magician treated them to the audience. He cut the last orange, and two mechanical butterflies fluttered out and flew around the stage.

Teacher: Illusionists usually use special technical devices, as well as manipulation techniques, that is, sleight of hand. They demonstrate the appearance and disappearance of objects, people (the principle of a black office), the transformation of some objects into others. The psychological manipulation of attention, its distraction with the help of assistants, repetitive distracting movements, as well as phenomena based on optical illusion are widely used.

Alexander Herman 19th century

Teacher: In the 20th century, illusionists work in the circus, on the stage, and the art of illusionism is taught. Artists create a show built on complex physical effects, using electromagnets, microwave radiation, etc.

Teacher: And now, guys, I will ask you to complete the task - color the magician. We will work individually.
(Held individual work with kids).

Teacher: Guys, what kind of illusionists and conjurers do you know?
(Children's answers follow.)
Teacher: I suggest watching a presentation about them.
(View presentation with teacher's comments).
Sample text:
Emil Teodorovich Kio(1894 - 1965) - real name Hirschfeld - Renard- circus illusionist, National artist, founder of the famous dynasty of illusionists, creator of illusion performances, designer of circus equipment.
(A photograph appears on the board.)

Teacher: At first he worked in the theater of miniatures, then moved to the circus. Returning from Poland to Russia in the early 1920s, he performed as an illusionist on variety stages. Since 1932, he was one of the first to perform in circuses with illusion equipment in an open arena. He used ballet, stage play, communication with auditorium. In some numbers he introduced elements of satire. Created and modernized a number of illusion tricks, later used by other magicians. Toured abroad (Romania, Great Britain, Denmark, Japan).

Teacher: David Copperfield- the famous American illusionist, hypnotist, known for spectacular illusions.

Teacher: David Copperfield started performing magic tricks professionally at the age of 12 in hometown Metuchen, New Jersey. At the same time, he joined the American Society of Magicians. At the age of 16, he taught students the art of magic at the university.

Teacher: At the age of 17, he simultaneously studied at the university and played leading role in the musical "The Magician" in Chicago. At this time, the pseudonym David Copperfield was created, before that he performed under the pseudonym Davino.

Teacher: Soon David dropped out of university, rented an apartment in New York for a year, while looking for work for himself as an illusionist. At the age of 18 he was invited to television, hosted the program "Magic of David Copperfield". In 1979 he played minor role in the movie Terror Train. And he became more famous. He began to appear on television. Performed large, grandiose illusions, and the first of them was the disappearance of the aircraft. Then David performed the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty, which took place in the presence of the public, and many other tricks.

Teacher: Hmayak Harutyun Hakobyan- stage, film, circus artist, illusionist.

Teacher: Born in 1956. He could transform into anyone: a fakir, Baba Yaga, an illusionist, a director. The son of the famous circus illusionist Harutyun Hakobyan. WITH early childhood two passions fought in Amayaka: the dream of becoming an artist or a performer.

Teacher: Being the host of the program " Good night, kids!", Hakobyan delighted the kids with his tricks.

Teacher: He played 35 roles in films, traveled with his original numbers in 59 countries. Laureate 5 international awards, winner of a special prize for plastic surgery. Honored Artist of Russia. Hmayak Hakobyan- This whole era.

Teacher: Brothers Safronov - Ilya, Sergey and Andrey Safronov- Russian illusionists, actors and presenters. Born in Moscow. They gained fame thanks to the Battle of Psychics project and a spectacular illusion show.

Teacher: Ilya in the group holds the positions of director and performer, Sergey - stunt director and performer, Andrey - screenwriter and performer. The Safronov brothers have acting and directing education. How illusionists have been working since 2002. For the first time, their work was opened to the whole country by the host of the program “What? Where? When?" Boris Kryuk.

Teacher: Illusion show of Brothers Safronov- the first big solo program in Moscow. The Safronovs showed their exclusive tricks and performed real miracles. The country has never seen such a show!

Teacher: I invite everyone to see Darling cartoon about the adventures of Funtik the pig and his friends. A cartoon about the fact that kindness and magic always win over greed and deceit.
(Followed by watching the cartoon).
Teacher: Everyone sometimes wants to imagine themselves in the place of a wizard.

Teacher: Focuses- this is not only an interesting pastime, it is also a useful and developing activity. It teaches patience, concentration, attention and sociability. David Copperfield since childhood, he read all the literature on tricks that he could find, and this helped him become the greatest illusionist in the world. Exciting stunts, incredible transformations and mysterious disappearances will help us plunge headlong into the world of magic.
Next, the teacher introduces the children to the exhibition of books and sets for magicians.

Every child knows what a circus is - it's laughter, fun, clowns, smart animals, magicians and dexterous acrobats. But rarely any of the adults can explain what are the features of the circus as an art form. After all, we most often present it as a fascinating spectacle, a show. But in fact, circus artists spend their whole lives mastering not only skill, but also art - the ability to convey emotion and evoke aesthetic feelings in the audience.

The appearance of the circus

The name "circus" comes from the Roman oval platforms where various folk holidays, competitions, shows were shown. In those days, the Romans loved to watch people competing in strength, dexterity, and various skills. And so it appeared special kind spectacle, which today is called the circus. But the way we know and love him, he became only in the 18th century. In Paris, a special round building was built to show the art of horse riding and acrobatic studies. Later, the Italians picked up on this idea and added numbers with animals and mimes to the program. What is a circus, in Russia they will learn at the end of the 18th century. In 1764, an English equestrian visited Moscow on tour, and this show marked the beginning of the opening of several stationary circuses at once. By the middle of the 19th century, such sites were built in many Russian cities. Gradually, the scope of the show expanded, traditional programs were formed and circus professions were formed. The modern circus is a complex synthesis of the entertainment industry, art, management and technology.

Circus as an art form

Researchers see the origins of the circus in ancient competitions in strength and dexterity. It was formed as a way to demonstrate special skills that often did not have practical application. Specialists who characterize the circus as an art, first of all, pay attention to the lack of any effectiveness in the actions of the artists. They do not compete, winning prizes, but they allow you to see the possibilities of a person and experience aesthetic pleasure at the same time. The main expressive means of circus art is a trick, it is designed to evoke emotions in the audience: laughter, surprise, fear, delight. All this makes the circus related to other species. performing arts: theatre, cinema. In the arena, a person shows the ability of nature to metamorphosis, only the object of these transformations is not stone, clay or paint, but the person himself. He creates according to the laws of eccentrics, demonstrating the highest Basic aesthetic categories circus arts are: reprise, trick, number, super task, eccentricity.

Circus device

Special art requires a special space. The circus is not just a round building, but a complex structure with numerous possibilities. The circus arena is the heart of the venue. Traditionally, it is round in shape, about 13 meters in diameter. The seats of the spectators rise from the stage like an amphitheater. In modern, stationary circuses, there are often several arenas for different types representations: equestrian, illusion, light, ice, water. But the arena is only the visible part of the circus. Behind the scenes are many office space: dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, places for keeping animals, dressing rooms. Also big role technical services play in the design of the theatre: lighting, fixing equipment, decorations, curtains - all this serves to ensure that the viewer sees an unusual and complex performance.

Circus professions

Hearing the question "what is a circus", we remember people different professions. Each of them requires special skills and abilities from the artist and is special art, with its own laws, secrets and traditions. The classic circus program includes performances by various artists, they can be classified according to the main expressive means and materials. So, there are people working with animals - these are trainers, with human body- jugglers, tightrope walkers, gymnasts, tightrope walkers. There are also special professions that are at the intersection of skill and technology - these are illusionists. The highest level in the circus professional hierarchy is occupied by clowns, who combine acting game, pantomime, buffoonery. But circus performers cannot work without theater workers who take on the provision of various services and assistants.

jugglers

As the name of the profession already implies, jugglers first appeared in France. This word literally means "joker". Initially, people of this profession sang songs, danced in market squares and fairs. But as an activity, juggling appeared in ancient Egypt. Deft manipulations with many objects fascinated the audience, causing surprise and admiration. Rare today circus show does without these artists, their performances have become obligatory element circus art. In their numbers, jugglers surprise the audience by throwing a lot of different items, and also use balancing act, comic and acrobatic elements to complicate the trick. Juggling can be paired and solo, artists not only throw and catch objects, they can rotate them at the same time, alternate rhythmically, throwing them to a partner. The juggling rhythm makes the spectators keep their eyes on the flying objects, and the dexterity of the artist makes them feel delighted.

tightrope walkers

Another artist, without whom it is impossible to imagine a circus performance, is a tightrope walker. This genre of circus art is built on the ability of a person to maintain balance on unstable surfaces. Traditionally, tightrope walkers performed various body movements on ropes, balls, and cylinders. Often the artist combines the ability to keep balance with acrobatic, comic actions, as well as juggling. Also in Ancient China performances by tightrope walkers were very popular. In many cultures of the world, folk amusements were often accompanied by tightrope walkers. There are such variants of this genre as performances on a ball, on a wire, on reels, on stairs, on a trapeze (matte-trape), on unicycles.

Illusionists

Magicians or illusionists are representatives of a profession that has glorified circus art. The basis of the genre was sleight of hand. Artists who knew how to perform magical manipulations with various objects, such as cards, were obligatory participants in medieval fairs. Modern illusionists, in addition to the ability to make amazing movements with their hands, use various technical tricks to mislead the audience. Among the magicians there are real world celebrities whose names are passed down from generation to generation. Such illusionists include Harry Houdini, Alessandro Cagliostro, the Keo family, Uri Geller,

Clownery

Ask any child what a circus is and you will get the answer: they are clowns. The masters working in this role have become a real symbol of the circus, performances are impossible without them. The beginning of the profession was laid in the institution of buffoonery, because jesters were at the court of all royal persons. Their task was not only to amuse, but also to ridicule vices, while the jester, the clown, could tell the truth to anyone. The art of the clown is often built not on humor, but on irony, buffoonery and the grotesque. The exaggerated manner of playing goes back to the traditions of farce performances at fairs. The clown should not only laugh, but also mock, but at the same time his performance should not be cruel or offensive. Often clowns perform in pairs, where the roles are clearly distributed. In the Italian theater, these roles were assigned to Pierrot and Harlequin, in the Russian tradition they are Red (cunning and rogue) and White (important prim gentleman) clowns. There are constant conflicts between them. funny scenes, which fill the gaps in the view. In the circus world, it is believed that clowns are the artistic elite. Often they include in their performances elements of juggling, acrobatics, animal training, pantomime. Among them are real greatest actors. by the most famous clowns are M. N. Rumyantsev (Pencil), V. Polunin, Yu. Nikulin and M. Shuidin, who worked in pairs, L. Engibarov, O. Popov. Any circus show can save the clown that appears in the arena whenever there is a pause in the program.

Circus - the only place on earth, where you will be deceived, and you will rejoice, admire and laugh good-naturedly. This happens when an illusionist appears in the arena to the sound of mysterious melodies.

Illusion art, illusionism, - circus genre, which is built on focus. Every person knows from childhood: a trick is a trick that an illusionist magician shows to the audience, and it is based on optical illusion, the ability to divert the attention of the public at the right time with any movements, active gestures, or a look and a cue. Moreover, the focus is so reliable, truthful that we, sitting in auditorium, watching the manipulations of the circus magician, we conscientiously puzzle over: how did he create a miracle? Maybe he really is endowed supernatural power and the inhuman ability to create another from one, to move people and objects to any point he pleases?

Illusion art has two kinds: manipulation and illusionism. Both types presuppose the virtuoso ability of the artist to create an illusion, a deception in front of the audience. The difference is only in the methods, techniques, that help technical means through which this illusion is achieved. Without special equipment, illusionism will burst like soap ball. And the manipulator can get by with the props that he hid in the recesses of his costume ...

Illusion art has its roots in time immemorial and stretch in our days from Ancient Syria, ancient egypt, Byzantium, Assyro-Babylonia, and the first magicians-illusionists were, oddly enough, serious, smart people- priests.

“How to capture the imagination of believing citizens? How to create a miracle so that, believing in it, more and more more people in a hurry to the temples? Such questions were put before themselves by the priests and in the end they were successfully solved. The amazed people could observe the sudden appearance under the vaults of the temples of the statues of the gods, the fire on the altar, and much more.

IN Ancient Greece the art of showing various tricks (it was then called thaumaturgy) entered every home. Thaumaturges - performers of tricks - amused the guests and owners of a particular house during the holidays, for which artists were specially invited.

At the end XVIII-early XIX centuries, the era of illusion automata began. Entire performances were based on the use of intricately invented mechanisms, and what was not offered for viewing to an ingenuous spectator! In 1759, a certain Pyotr Dumolin invented the "mechanical weaver". The famous Russian inventor Pyotr Kulibin, using the devices he invented, staged grandiose illusion spectacles, the fame of which was as miraculous miracles. The mind of the illusionists worked tirelessly.

They demonstrated both “mechanical cabinets” and mechanical puppets. The common people could only gasp and marvel.

At the beginning of the 20th century, performances became especially beloved and popular among the audience, during which the artists quickly, in front of the audience, easily freed themselves from ropes and chains, got out of tightly closed chests ... The magician-illusionist of our time David Copperfield continues with great enthusiasm (now the truth has subsided) this tradition and demonstrated to the whole world how easily he is released from ropes, chains, a locked box, falling into the deadly mouth of Niagara Falls ...

In every self-respecting town of the 20th century, Indian fakirs, Egyptian magicians, and Chinese wizards appeared. Their numbers on circus arenas shrouded in a veil of mystery and mystery, and the names on these theater posters attracted with their unusualness, quirkiness - Ali, Linga-Sing, To-Rama.

The circus of the present times has created new names, presented the audience with new illusionists, conjurers, such as Y. Averino, Kio, Cleo Dorotti, I. Symbolokov, E. Tarasova, A. Furmanov, A. Shag, and many others.

Kio... When the audience hears this name, their hearts stop in anticipation of miracles.

The ancestor of the Kio family of circus illusionists was Emil Teodorovich Kio (his real name was Hirshfeld-Renard, 1894-1965). In his youth, he worked as a simple actor at the Theater of Miniatures in Moscow, then as a uniformist, bereytor, administrator at the A. Ciniselli circus in Poland.

In 1921, Emil Teodorovich purchased special equipment from the Berlin firm of Konradi-Horster and began performing as an illusionist on the stage. His first numbers were "Rejuvenation", "Lightning Man". In the circus, the Kio illusionist began his career in 1932.

Kio appeared before the audience in an unusual guise: in a turban, to the sounds of oriental music, he constantly changed costumes, behind him, like trains, secrets stretched. He was surrounded by assistants - according to the poster, 75 people!

Emil Teodorovich never rested on his success. He was constantly coming up with new numbers, constantly looking for new tricks to bewitch and surprise the audience. In 1961, Keogh received gold medal International Artistic Lodge (England).

The father's "deceitful" profession was continued by his sons - Emil Emilievich (1938) and Igor Emilievich (1944). As the greatest magicians of the arena and stage, the whole world knows them.

And yet, when an illusionist enters the circus arena and you watch dozens of doves fly out of his sleeves, and an inexhaustible stream of multi-colored scarves stretches out of his hat, when before your eyes a lion turns into a conductor of a circus orchestra, and fountains of water begin to beat from the arena like geysers, at least for a second, but you believe that there is no deception, no illusion. There is a miracle, without the sensation of which it is impossible to live!