The origin of Cirkus Benneweis goes back to 1887, when Gottfried Binneweitz (1865-1933) obtained a license to perform as "artist and musician" and began to give outdoor circus performances in Denmark. Gottfried was the son of August Wilhelm Binneweitz (1839-1887), a German traveling musician who had moved to Denmark in the second half of the nineteenth century—following the example of many North-German traveling merchants and performers who crossed the border at that time. Entrepreneurial and more ambitious than his father, Gottfried created his performing company first and foremost to improve his family’s social standing: He had married the same year (1887) Marie Bruun (c.1867-1936); his first son, Ferdinand (1888-1945), was born the following year, on September 6, 1888. (Ferdinand is said to have been Gottfried’s elder son, but nothing is known of his siblings, if he had any.)

Ferdinand’s original traveling company was made of himself and his wife, Marie; Marie’s sister, Josefine, who played the barrel organ (although she was reputedly deaf and dumb); and their brother Alexander, who was an acrobat. They had a couple of horses, and a few farm animals that made up the menagerie.

In time, the name Binneweitz changed to Benneweis, perhaps because some local authority had misspelled it on a permit, or perhaps because it sounded better that way. Gottfried’s circus performances did well, and the family troupe began traveling with a small tent, but it would take two more generations before the enterprise Gottfried had created truly became a circus of importance. Ferdinand Benneweis (whose legal name would remain Binneweitz) soon performed in the show as a child acrobat and clown. When he was 27, in 1915, he married 24-year-old Karen Christine Irene Petersen (Nov. 26, 1891-Dec. 5, 1970), a young acrobat who had joined Cirkus Benneweis in 1910. Upon the death of his father in 1933, Ferdinand took over the family circus. Irene could not bear children, but Ferdinand had nonetheless two children, out of wedlock: A daughter, Müsse, whose son, Sonny Benneweis (December 29, 1933-July 8, 1979), made his mark as an excellent elephant trainer; and a son, Manfred Benneweis (October 17, 1929-May 30, 1987), who would become a remarkable and extremely elegant tiger trainer.

(circus "Bennewies" in 1930.)

Eli Benneweis

In 1915, however, Ferdinand and Irene Benneweis had adopted a son of their own, Eli Johan Holte, who was four years old when his mother abandoned him in Gørlev, where the circus performed in July of that year. Eli Benneweis (1911-1993) was born on August 7, 1911 in Kalundborg, Denmark. He was to become one of Europe’s most successful circus entrepreneurs. Eli was trained in all basic circus disciplines within his adoptive family, and specialized in the presentation of horses, whose number had increased over the years. On November 26, 1936 Eli Benneweis married a German foot juggler, Eva Charlotte Susanne Stensch (January 4, 1910-September 11, 1999). When his father, Ferdinand, died on April 10, 1945, Eli inherited Cirkus Benneweis, which he managed first in association with his mother, Eva, for a couple of years. But Eli Benneweis proved a smart and ambitious manager, and he quickly became the sole person in charge. Under his watch, Cirkus Benneweis evolved from a mid-sized traveling circus into Denmark’s—and one of Europe’s—largest and most respected circus, and the Benneweis empire expanded beyond the boundaries of a single traveling circus.

(circus "Benneweis" in 1950.)

Right after WW II, the circus industry experienced an extraordinary boom all over Europe, but animal acts, which had become popular before the war, were still very scarce. One of Eli’s first moves was to reduce the large number of horses the show carried, and replace a good number of them with exotic animals and wild cats that Benneweis could rent out to other circuses. Through engagements of their animal acts in various European circuses, Manfred and Sonny Benneweis became well-known international circus personalities. One of Eli’s most successful associations was with the Italian circus Palmiri. Its director, Egidio Palmiri, didn’t have a large family, and didn’t own animals, which put him in a difficult position with regard to his competition: Major Italian circuses were large family affairs traveling with important menageries; their numerous animal acts (as well as most of their other acts) were presented by various family members. This was the case for the Tognis, the Orfeis, and the Casartellis, but also for smaller circuses. Palmiri struck a deal with Eli Benneweis, and toured the Circo Italo-Danese Palmiri Benneweis in Italy from 1957 to 1965, with hired acts (mostly Italian), and a menagerie base from Cirkus Benneweis.

In 1970, Eli Benneweis rented the circus of Copenhagen, near the Tivoli amusement park, that the Schumanns had vacated at the end of the 1969 season, after fifty-three years of exploitation. He produced shows there each summer until 1990, independently from his touring circus, and the old Cirkus Schumann of Copenhagen became known as Cirkus Benneweis. He also had interests in other circus ventures: Cirkus Korona in 1948, Cirkus Belli from 1955 to1957, Circus Buster in 1959, and Circus Barum in Germany from 1963 to 1967. In the 1980s, however, economic conditions were changing in Europe, and Eli Benneweis began to concentrate his attention to the sole Cirkus Benneweis. In 1990, he left the circus of Copenhagen, whose rent had become prohibitive. He traveled extensively, visiting other European circuses, and his silhouette à la Buffalo-Bill and his white Stetson hat became familiar throughout the circus world. He was President of the Danish Circus Directors Association, and, in 1969, he received a special award from the Danish Ministry of Culture in appreciation of his outstanding contribution to Denmark’s circus arts. He had long established his home at the circus’s winter quarters, in Dronningmølle.

Diana Benneweis

The Benneweis Family Today

Eli Benneweis passed away, after a long a painful illness, on December 23, 1993. He was 83 years old. Eli and Eva had an adopted daughter, Diana (born in 1947), who was the biological daughter of Manfred Benneweis. Diana, who had long been the circus’s star equestrienne and a fine animal trainer, inherited the family circus, and has maintained its stellar reputation as Denmark’s premier circus to this day.

Sonny Benneweis married Lis Twelve Jensen (b.1936) on November 12, 1955, with whom he had three children: Kim, born June 12, 1956, who specialized in the presentation of elephants; Michael (known as Miller), born January 20, 1958, who took care of the horse presentations; and Jacqueline (born April 26, 1966). Kim and Miller stayed with the circus until 1995, and then went on to work in other Danish circuses. Kim has since returned to the family circus to help his cousin Diana stage several of Cirkus Benneweis’s new productions. Sonny and Lis Benneweis divorced in the late 1970s. On April 9, 1977, Sonny remarried Nelly Jane (Annette Otto Jensen—June 15, 1934-May 21, 2009), the very popular ringmistress of Cirkus Benneweis from 1971 to 1996, who also took care of the circus’s administrative duties.

(circus "Benneweis" today)

STARE FOTOGRAFIJE "MEDRANA"/OLD "MEDRANO" PICTURES

1980.







1997.

AMERICAN CIRCUS - ENIS TOGNI

Here is some videos of great italian circus "Americano" presented and owned by Togni family...

OBAVIJEST!!

Dragi naši, s obzirom da naš blog redovito prate i oni ljubitelji cirkusa iz drugih zemalja, neki postovi će biti na engleskom..čist' da budemo internacionalni:-)))))
Pozz svima!

THE TOGNI FAMILY

The Togni family is one of the largest Italian circus dynasties still active today. It has produced, over a century, excellent acrobats, animal trainers, and several circus managers, who have created dozens of traveling circuses and have toured in about thirty countries. The Tognis have also always excelled in circus engineering: they are credited with several technical innovations, including the introduction of three of the world's most common big top systems used today: the round cupola (in the 1940s), the "Italian" oblong cupola (in the 1970s), the quatrerpole-free big top (also in the 1970s), and the quarterpole-free "Florilegio" big top (in the 1990s).

The dynasty was founded by Aristide Togni (1853-1924), a university student who, in the 1870s, ran away and joined the Circo Torinese, a circus company headed by Giovanni De Bianchi, which performed on stage, in theaters. De Bianchi had married Maria de la Garenne (a.k.a. de Lagarein), a Sinti gypsy, who was said to be the granddaughter of a French nobleman who had fled to Italy during the French revolution.

Togni married Giovanni's daughter, Teresa De Bianchi. Together, they created a circus company of their own—which, as legend has it, consisted of a single wagon and a monkey&mdashand headed for the South of Italy. Circa 1880, they had acquired a small, one-pole big top that could house an audience of forty: the first Circo Togni was born. The couple had eight children, and their circus grew quickly, soon performing under a medium-size big top. It became so popular, apparently, that the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, awarded Circo Togni the title of Circo Nazionale in 1919.

CIRCO NAZIONALE TOGNI (1919.-1951.)

Aristide's succession was assured by three of his sons, Ercole (1894-1958), Ugo (1897-1981), and Ferdinando (1900-1990). The circus alternated summer seasons under the big top with winter engagements in some of the most beautiful theatres of Italy. For several years, they toured Sicily and Greece. In the 1930s, the Dopolavoro Fascista (the entertainment office of the Fascist government) supported the Circo Nazional Togni, which it considered a major artistic propaganda tool. The circus began to travel with a menagerie, which included tigers, lions, bears, elephants, and an important collection of horses. Ferdinando became a fine horse trainer and presented beautiful "liberty" horse acts; Ercole was the house clown and a good tumbler; Ugo was a perch-pole acrobat, aerialist, and animal trainer. There were also about twenty talented performers among their daughters and sons, and the company included members of other famous Italian circus families, such as Miletti, Jarz, and Casartelli.

The third Togni generation created the Tognis's three principal signature acts: pyramids on horseback, "jockey," and flying trapeze. By the late 1940s, Darix Togni (Ercole's son, 1922-1976) became, with his lion act, the starof Circo Nazionale Togni. In that act, Darix began to develop his legendary gladiator character. Circo Togni's large, round cupola allowed the presentation of the Tognis's spectacular cross-flying trapeze act, which had no less than two catchers and nine flyers. Among those, Cesare Togni (Ugo's son) accomplished a double "casse-cou" (front somersault) to the catcher, with a return to the bar with a triple pirouette.Although it survived and performed safely during WWII, the Circo Nazional Togni was devastated by a fire in 1951. Ercole, Ugo, and Ferdinando decided that it was time to split their ever-growing family within three separate circuses.

Ercole's children were Darix, Wioris, Wanet, Leda, and Doly. Their new circus took the name of Darix Togni, since Darix was the star of the family with his very popular lion and tiger acts. Darix and his brother Wioris (1923-2004) became excellent circus managers. Their circus had state-of-the art installations and equipment, and some of the finest performers of the time. The great Dutch equestrian Albert Carré joined the circus in the winter with his horse acts. Darix and Wioris organized successful tours in Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt, and Darix became one of the most popular figures in the history of the Italian circus: He was celebrated in newspapers and magazines, he mingled with movie stars, appeared with his big cats in several "peplum" movies, and performed in foreign circuses. In 1959, the Tognis conceived a special tent structure for the first Italian tour of the Moscow Circus. Wioris introduced several important technical improvements to the circus world, such as collapsible seating wagons and the metallic-mesh cage. In 1963, after yet another disastrous fire, Darix and Wioris conceived a revolutionary ten-pole "tension tent," the first ever quarterpole-free big top. By the 1950s, the Tognis had already introduced to the circus business the Anceschi and Canobbio families: they would become the world's leaders in the circus seating and tent imanufacturing, respectively.

In the early 1970s, Darix and Wioris produced the lavish Circo nell'Acqua aquatic circus show, which toured Sweden under the management of François Bronett, and starring Katja Schumann. The circus folded its tent after Darix's death, in 1976. Wioris revived occasionally the Darix Togni name for a few years, before establishing himself, in the 1980s, as an Italian pioneer in the sport and concert arena business. He has been succeeded in that business by his son Divier (b.1949). Wioris's other son, Holer (b.1946), launched in the early 1970s a touring motor show, Stunt Cars, and became Italy's most famous stuntman.

Ugo Togni had four daughters, Angly, Wally, Missi, and Lidia, and two sons, Cesare and Oscar. After the family split, they went to the United States in 1952 to perform their flying trapeze act at the Mills Bros. circus. Angly joined the Justino Loyal bareback riding act, and married the acrobat Ugo Bogino. (Their son, Davis, is today acrobatic teacher at the Académie Fratellini, one of France's two state circus colleges). Missi married perch-pole acrobat Romualdo Simili; together they spent two seasons with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey with their perch-pole act. Wally married artist and future circus impresario Leonida Casartelli, generating another important dynasty.

Cesare (1924-2008) and Oscar (b.1929), who had been fascinated by the giant American three-ring circuses, launched the colossal, three-ring Circo Massimo in Rome in 1956, perhaps the largest circus tent ever built in Europe. But they quickly returned to a one-ring format to present a water pantomime, the equipment of which they had purchased from the circus Appolo after it folded its tent. Later, while Oscar started a smaller circus on his own, Cesare created his Circo Cesare Togni, which became, in the 1970s, one of the most popular circuses in Italy. Cesare's children (Elvio, Alex, Italo, and Viviana) excelled as acrobats, aerialists, equestrians, and elephant and horse trainers: They formed one of the most talented "house companies" of the period, and were joined in their shows by first-class guest performers. They liked reviving forgotten classics from the equestrian repertory—or from other specialties, like their remarkable grande batoude tumbling display.

In 1983, Cesare Togni returned to the three-ring format, and toured Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, and Malta, while Oscar briefly operated an Italian tour of Las Vegas Circus Circus, in association with the famous casino-hotel in Las Vegas. Oscar's son, Mike, performed successfully in Las Vegas showrooms a tumbling act with his cousin Ottaviano Simili (the son of Romualdo Simili and Missi Togni), which included chimpanzees. Oscar Togni opened a small Circo Oscar Togni in the 1990s, which had only a brief existence. Today, his sons performed their bareback riding and elephant acts in various European circus. Cesare's sister, Lidia (b.1931), married Riccardo Canestrelli. They formed in the 1970s the three-ring Circo Royal, which closed after just a few years. Her sons, Vinicio and Davide, worked as animal trainers with Firmin Bouglione's Cirque Amar, in France, and eventually created, in the 1980s, their own Circo Lidia Togni, which stands today as one of Europe's largest circuses. It visits Mediterranean countries with top-class equestrian acts, lavish production numbers replete with a batallion of showgirls, and ever-changing productions—such as the two-ring Circus on Ice (2004-2007), the equestrian spectacular Cavallomania (2007), and the Circo Latino Americano (2008-2009).

Ferdinando Togni and "Circo Americano"

After WWII, Ferdinando Togni created one of the Europe's most remarkable circus enterprises of the post-war era with his children Adriana (b.1928), Bruno (1931-1988), Willy (1929-2007), and Enis (b.1933). In 1954, they launched the Circo Ferdinando Togni, which quickly acquired a great reputation for its equestrian presentations and its cage acts with Bruno's lions and Enis's tigers.The circus grew in size, and toured in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, and in the winter of 1959, temporarily merged with Germany's Circus Williams, whose name it took. By 1960, the Tognis started a big three-ring circus called Circo Heros: It was one of Europe's largest circuses, and for a decade, it toured regularly in Italy, Germany, and Holland.

Beginning in November 1963, to counteract a European tour of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey (whose disastrous tour never went that far south), the Tognis and Carola Williams joined forces with Spanish producers Arturo Castilla and Manuel Feijóo, and presented a mammoth version of Circo Americano—a Castilla-Feijóo show operating in Spain since 1949—in Italian sport arenas. The Castilla-Togni-Williams "Americano" edition boosted a group of 25 elephants, three rings of liberty horses, and a stellar cast that somehow dwarfed the American giant. In 1964 the Tognis toured under the banner of Circus Knie in Italy, and often changed their name afterwards, merging again their show with Carola Williams's (under the name Circo di Berlino), or with Castilla's (under the name Circo di Madrid). After switching the names Heros and Americano all through the 1960s, the Ferdinando Togni family stuck definitely with Circo Americano in 1975.

Meanwhile, the family participated in other important ventures: an Italian tour of the Moscow Circus (1969); their own lavish production, Circo de Mexico (1970-71), in Italy and Yugoslavia; the Disney on Parade show (1972); the Enis Togni Circus in Great Britain with Mary Chipperfield (1972); the Billy Smart's Circus in Italy (1975); and pop-music concert tours under the big top. But Circo Americano (sometimes retitled American Circus), with its sumptuous three-ring productions and all-star casts, established itself as the family's flagship, and by far the largest European traveling circus. Willy Togni presented one of the world's largest elephant groups, and Bruno reigned over 80 horses, while Enis took care of the business side of the organization. In 1976, Americano's big top and equipment were chosen to host the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo, and its artistic staff to run the show. For 12 years, Enis, Willy and Bruno Togni acted respectively as managing, technical and performance directors of the Festival. In the 1970s, Circo Americano began to visit regularly Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, and Yugoslavia, with spectacular advertising campaigns and considerable success. A new generation gradually appeared, taking over animal acts and equestrian presentations. In the late 1970s, the legendary flying trapeze catcher Lee Stath created for the Togni juniors a double-catcher flying act, the Togni-Marilees, featuring the great American flyer, Don Martinez.

The new star of the family was Enis' son, Flavio (b.1960): His elephant and horse presentations won him three Silver Clowns at the Festival of Monte Carlo. For the 1991 and 1992 seasons, the entire Circo Americano was booked by Kenneth Feld and brought to the United States, where the Togni family acts starred in the new Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey production. In 2008, Flavio started creating animal acts (tigers and elephants) for major European circuses (Arlette Gruss and the Cirque d'Hiver-Bouglione in France, or Cirkus Maximum in Sweden). Willy's sons, Marco and Loris, left the circus (after a remarkable career as flyers) in the 1990s, and became successful illusionists. Bruno's son, Andrea, is a remarkable aerialist and the Director of the Accademia del Circo, the Italian circus school in Verona. Adriana's daughter, Cristina, is an excellent horse trainer. Enis's other son, Daniele is in charge of the management of Circo Americano, which is still touring Europe and remains a major player in the business.

The Darix Togni legacy: "Florilegio"

Livio, Corrado, Davio Nevia, and Danila were the children of Darix Togni. While Danila married performer Renzo Larible, her brothers launched the Jumbo Super Circus in 1974: a gigantic operation inspired by the French Cirque Pinder of the 1950s (from which they acquired the fabled street parade vehicles). In 1978, they reduced the size of their circus and renamed it I Figli di Darix Togni (Darix Togni's Sons), before it became the new Circo Darix Togni in 1986, making the name famous in Greece and Turkey as well. In April 1990, in Paris' Bois de Boulogne, Livio Togni (b.1950) and his brothers inaugurated Il Florilegio di Darix Togni: A new concept that played on the nostalgia for old family circuses, with a revolutionary big top architecture and an one of the largest menageries of the period. Corrado (b.1953) revealed himself as a remarkable clown, while Davio (b.1959) presented unusual animals acts, including a leopard riding a rhinoceros.

Their revolutionary big top became the most widely copied circus structure in the world. Il Florilegio was un unmitigated success in Italy, France, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Luxemburg, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, and Turkey for more than a decade, often attended by royalty and celebrities. Then, in 2002, Livio Togni was elected to the Italian Senate, and left the circus. Since 2006, the family operates three circus units: Il Florilegio – Amar in Algeria, a two-ring circus with a circus-on-ice part managed by Livio Togni's sons, Max and Steve; another unit named Darix Togni, managed by Davio Togni, which has successfully performed for two consecutive years (2007 and 2008) in Teheran, Iran; and a third unit which is occasionally used during the winter in Italy or France.

INTERVIEW - MOIRA ORFEI I VALERIO CHIESA

Interveiw sa kraljicom cirkusa i njezinim imitatorom Valeriom Chiesom snimljen u prikolici Moire Orfei, prilikom boravka njezinog velikog cirkusa u Pizi!

ARTISTI CIRKUSA "MEDRANO" KOD PAPE

Evo jednog isječka u kojem artisti cirkusa "Medrano" gostuju kod Pape Benedikta XIV. Inače, svake godine artisti talijanskih cirkusa dolaze kod Pape i na taj način zabavljaju prisutne uz Papin blagoslov za što uspješniju cirkusku godinu..Ova tradicija potječe od Pape Ivana Pavla II. i na sreću, nastavlja se i u budućnosti...

GRAN CIRCO MUNDIAL

Ovoga puta idemo do Španjolske u najveći i najpopularniji španjolski cirkus "GRAN CIRCO MUNDIAL"..Ovaj odličan cirkus ima dugu povijest svoga postojanja i definitivno spada u jednu od najznačajnijih cirkuskih institucija u Europi. Na žalost svih koji ne žive blizu Španjolske, cirkus "Mundial" putuje smo po Španjolskoj i susjednim otocima, tako da ga nećemo imati prilke vidjeti u nama, bližim europskim zemljama..Croatia circus fans ima i snimku programa iz 1995. godine na DVD-u, pa sve koje zanima i koji bi htjeli imati snimku programa ovog odličnog cirkusa, neka pošalje mail na mario7886@gmail.com..Program traje 1 sat i 30 minuta i cijena DVD-a je 60 kn..
2000. godine ovaj cirkus je pogodila strašna i neutješiva vijest..Jose Maria Gonzales Junior, odličan dreser slonova i konja, a inače sin vlasnika cirkusa, poginuo je u strašnoj prometnoj nesreći u Španjolskoj..Svi oni koji imaju doticaja sa svijetom cirkusa u nevjerici su primili ovu strašnu vijest.Njegov odlazak je svakako nenadomjestiv gubitak u cirkuskom svijetu i profesiji dresiranja ovih prekrasnih životinja...

MAKETE CIRKUSA / CIRCUS MODELS

Ako ste se pitali odakle potječe riječ LJUBITELJ CIRKUSA, onda će vam iz slijedećih fotografija sve postati jasno..Mi smo ovakva remek-djela vidjeli sto puta,a vi ako niste imali priliku još do sada, CROATIA CIRCUS FANS vam donosi prekrasne fotografije cirkusa "u malom". Puno truda, slobodnog vremena, strpljenja, rada, novaca i prije svega OGROMNE LJUBAVI prema cirkusu, donosi ovakve rezultate..Ovdje ćete vidjeti poznate svjetske cirkuse u svom umanjenom obliku koje su godinama stvarali oni koji cirkus i cirkusku umjetnost doživljavaju na poseban način..BRAVO NA OVIM PREKRASNIM MAKETAMA!!!

PHILIPE ROS CIRCUS



GRAND CIRCUS


CIRCUS " CARDIN"



CIRCUS " BENNEWEIS"



CIRCUS "PINDER"


CIRCUS " SARRASSANI"


CIRCUS "DERRY"




CIRCUS "FANNY"