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RULES and
THEORY
Ci~fU.
Voltll;r,
''7!Jel'' lire tl'urhs which /Ire nor for 1111men/ nor 101'/111times. "
VoltlliTe -
1761
A Little Circus History
The electrifying performances of the circus' of old were very different than today. It has evolved from the
early Roman acts of bravery and challenge. The Romans themselves were the greatest audiences holding
daily performances in the Arena, which hosted juggling, tightrope walking and fire eating as well as
gladiators and chariot races. The word "circus" literally means "ring", and was established to set a
boundary for the animals to work within.
After the fall of Rome in 476 A.D., the performers disbanded and scattered throughout the known World for
other places to practice their arts.
"M.Voltaire" - (Francois Marie Arouet)
(1694 - 1778)
Born in Paris, Voltaire was the most influential writer and philosopher of the French Enlightenment. A man
of noble background,
he-was
inclined to aristocracy. He adopted the name Voltaire after his imprisonment in
the Bastille (1717-1718) for writing satiric verse. Jailed again briefly in the Bastille in 1726, he was exiled to
England for three years, then Jived in France and Germany, and returned to Paris in 1772.
Best known for his classical tragedies, he was also a poet and a correspondent of tremendous value.
Voltaire was also known as a fighter for social reform. As a leader of the philosophies, he tried to reform the
hierarchical French Ancient Regime, and the system of criminal justice and taxation.
Voltaire opposed
persecution and rejected materialism in favor of determinism.
He pioneered modern historiography with his
valuable historical works, such as the
History of Charles XII, Agf] of Louis XIV,
and
Essay on Manners.
The
frivolity of the Cirqus had always appealed to his manner, and took on the task of forming his own.
History of the Cirqus Voltaire.
In the most rebellious of times during 1771, one of the authors of the new time was indeed Voltaire, a
scholarly rascal with a vivid tongue and sharp quill. Along with other men of valor, began a movement of
"Enlightenment" based in the scientific revolution of Galileo and Newton from the previous century. They felt
the universe was infinite and that the spirit of man should be free to wander as well.
Voltaire himself then brought together a group of the most talented street performers and philosophers of
modern day France and founded the "Troupe des Voltaire" or Voltaire's Group in 1772. The men would
speak from inside the masterful "ring" and voice their ideas to France and the World through the audience.
This new name, "Cirqus Voltaire" was adopted and first spoken by Voltaire himself during a tense game of
"9 Hole" Bagatelle at the Cafe Procope in Paris. Along with their romantic works of the pen, the Cirqus
talent included jugglers, tiger tamers, high wire fellows, an old lady, and of course the lightning-ball walkers
and throwers. The "Group des Voltaire" had the most marvelous acts, those of electricity, fire and passion,
the same that willed France toward revolution in 1789.