“WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT A CIRCUS MUST HAVE" -- Marvin Spindler

“WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT A CIRCUS MUST HAVE" -- Marvin Spindler
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Sunday, August 05, 2007

Sunday Morning Out of the Past: New Lingo for the “New Circus”

From 2007... This was fun! How I miss names no longer there, a heyday for circus blogging?  I wish I had done something with hula hoops and Shrine clowns. I still may.


Circus Ballet?  Fringe Circus?  Acro Dynamics?  Shakespeare Over Sawdust? Gypsies on Parole?  Whatever you wish to call today's "alternative" big tops, desperately needed are new up-to-date terms to describe and legitimatize  the rapid advances (or self-immolations)  in an entertainment formerly known as "circus."  Here are a few suggestions:

Fabric” is a term the Circus Smirkus kids, a lively bunch, toss around, I guess to describe the act of working what a Sarasota insider calls “ the bed sheets.” I think this precious act evolved from the old web routine.

Here’s how that same Sarasota smarty described the setting for last year’s Ringless Bros. Circus: “A parking lot.”

Following are my own earnest efforts to recast circus terminology in a more modern spotlight, acceptable to fussy spectators of unmessy, blood-free stuff:

Equestrian Foreplay: Today’s nouveau horse trainers (excuse that inelegant expression) at shows like Cavalia make a point to prove a loving, wholly egalitarian relationship to their ring partners.

Menage Adagio: A threesome intricately related in a series of movements denoting esthetic horniness.

Astro Marionettes: Wire walkers (please pardon that crude term) rigged to lifelines work the safest area of the arena or tent.

PETA Pachyderm: The "new circus" elephant that does nothing. At last, the Ringling chorus girls do it all. Next stage: the Bulls present the Broads.

Bozo Break: A time-consuming audience participation gag designed to save management the cost of hiring real circus acts. (aka: A Larible)

Plank Vaulting: what they do at Circus Eloise, adapting the old pole vaulting routine into something much safer and wider, thus allowing for a great number of amateurs to make the delicate cut.

Hyper-Posturing. Typically, these are the sidebar characters at a Cirque du Soleil show who cavort gloriously during high points of an act in progress. They make a point rarely to look directly at the audience.

The list no doubt will grow as “new circus” developments merit precious news euphemisms. Tune back here later. As I walk the FDA-approved sawdust of a safe new circus, I may be struck by additional euphemistic epiphanies.

And yours?

First posted August 5, 2007

6 comments:

Pat Cashin said...

"Bozo Break" = BRILLIANT!!!

This one really does need to be added to the lexicon.

Do you have a new term for the Shrine clowns?

~P

Anonymous said...

and what about a term for the hula hoop act?

Showbiz David said...

Well, praise coming from a pro clown is something, cause I thought some jesters might be offended!

OrMaggie77 said...

..HaHa Mr.Pat..David I love the "Bed Sheets" one, must be from The Col..

Showbiz David said...

yeah, hula hoop, good idea. I got to get to work on that one.

john herriott said...

I read your blog at times with a crtical aspect, but enjoy it nevertheless. However your new Lingo blog is just great. You hit the nail on the head with each one. I loved it. Hope to see you enhance on it and also more comments. Thanks, you made my morning search very pleasant. John herriott