domingo, 14 de agosto de 2011

A brief history of the circus

Source: www.maganews.com.br






Entertainment
A brief history of the circus
In the past, traditional circus attractions were simple and mainly attracted younger audiences and people with less money to spend
In the past, the arrival of a traditional circus in a small or mid-sized [1] town got the locals involved. Between the 1950s and 1980s it was common to see a VW van [2] driving through the main streets of a small town, announcing the arrival of the circus. Usually the troupes put up their rings [3] on a large area on the outskirts [4] of town, just outside the center. The shows were simple – clowns [5], trapeze artists, fire-eaters[6], jugglers [7], animal trainers ...The audience was mostly [8] made up of children and working class families. Today, traditional circuses still attract such audiences. But when the biggest circuses in the world, such as Cirque du Soleil or the China National Circus, come to Brazil much of the audience is made up of people with more money to spend, as the tickets are much more expensive.
The circus in ancient civilizations
The Chinese, the Greeks, the Egyptians and even the Romans... According to historians, in many ancient civilizations of two, three or four thousand years ago there were people who were involved in some kind of circus art. In Brazil, the circus became popular in the 19th century as families and troupes came from Europe, bringing with them a wealth of experience and talent in the circus. At the same time, European gypsies [9]  who knew how to tame animals and who were also good illusionists also arrived in the country. The first circus school in Brazil was opened in 1978, in São Paulo. In 1982, in Rio de Janeiro, the National Circus School was opened. National Circus Day is celebrated on March 27, the birthday of the famous clown, Piolin.


Matéria publicada na edição de número 62 da revista Maganews.
Áudio – Aasita Muralikrishna
Foto – T4F / Time for Fun


Vocabularymid-sized town – cidade de médio porte
VW van – kombi
ring –picadeiro
outskirts – periferia / distante do centro
clown – palhaço6 juggler -  malabarista
fire-eater – comedor de fogo

mostly – geralmente / na maioria das vezes
gypsy- cigano

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