Circus art has been known in the world since ancient times. It is associated with labor processes, religious rites during religious festivals, festivities - battles, the obligatory attributes of which were a demonstration of strength, dexterity, courage. From this later formed what has now become circus art. The first "sedentary" circus in Europe appeared in the 18th century (apart from the ancient Roman one, where bloody battles of gladiators were fought). In 1770, the Englishman Astley built a round wooden building. The circus was intended for horse riding, and therefore had this form. The genre also determined the diameter of the arena - 13 meters. Because a horse running in a circle of smaller diameter inevitably falls. At that time, riders were the main artists in the circus. A little later, acrobats and clowns joined them.
In Russia, until the end of the XIX century, Italians dominated. Posters were full of names Chenizelli, Ferroni, Truzzi. The founders of the Russian circus were the Nikitins brothers. All three were not only great artists, but also builders. In 1873 they opened the first Russian circus in Penza. And although the structure was wooden, it was a great progress. In Belarus, the first performance of a professional circus took place in a booth deployed in the Trinity suburb of Minsk in the summer of 1853. It was the Austrian circus of Karl Guinne. The text of the poster of that time has survived: “We invite the most respectable audience to a grandiose, very noisy and beautiful spectacle of masters of all kinds of body movements. Among them is the deadly trick of Mademoiselle X. In subsequent years, various foreign circus troupes performed occasionally in temporary rooms in Minsk. And only 16 November 1884 (according to the report of the assistant chief of police to the Minsk Provincial Board) in Minsk the first stationary wooden circus in Belarus was opened - the Nikitin Brothers Circus with 800 seats, built by Alexander Bocharov commissioned by Pyotr Nikitin on November 17, the circus was put into operation by the Minsk Provincial Board on June 22, 1941. The famous horseman Ali-bey Kantemirov arrived in Minsk with his exotic horsemen and brought exotic sea lions to Irina Sidorkina. .. And on the night of June 23-24, a bomb fell into the building during a raid by fascist aviation. A terrible fire started. Some of the animals died. Artists who slept in the wagons rushed to save the animals. The horses were taken to a safe place, and the sea lions were driven to Svisloch. But they did not want to go into the water and turned back. In the end, the lions were entangled in a camouflage net taken from the Red Army, and released into the river. The further fate of the animals is unknown, but there were rumors that they were seen in the Dnieper.
Before the occupiers arrived, circus performers together with their families were sent to Moscow. Boris Yefimovich, who got the carts, took care of this. A dangerous trip, under bombing, took two weeks. And they left the white-stone train to Omsk, where on November 7, 1941, the Belarusian Circus gave the first performance for soldiers going to the front.
Read the full story here: http://www.circus.by/ru/history/ At the end of the war, the USSR government decided to build 20 circuses in the country, the first in Minsk. On the 40th anniversary of the BSSR and the Communist Party of Belarus, on January 31, 1959, the first stationary winter circus in Belarus was commissioned. The area of its premises is 7600 square meters. , volume 5700 m3 The circus is designed to show all genres: from water extravaganza, to grand air numbers. This is its distinguishing feature. The building is of historical and cultural value of republican significance (2nd category). An interesting volume of the building is the rotunda, completed by a dome; the main facade is decorated with a multi-columned portico of the Corinthian order. At that time it was the largest and most beautiful circus in the USSR. The first premiere took place on February 11, 1959. This day is the birthday of the modern Belarusian circus
Read the full story here: http://www.circus.by/ru/history/471/ Since September 2008, the Belarusian State Circus was under reconstruction and reopened its doors for long-awaited spectators in December 2010. At first, the building was undergoing preparatory work to begin the overhaul. Then began the reconstruction of the main building and the construction of the extension - a new building designed to expand the capabilities of the future circus. The building has changed beyond recognition. Instead of one, there were 3 buildings. The ticket service has been moved to a separate building. A rehearsal arena with 6 floors was built, allowing more artists to rehearse at the same time. In the same building there is a cafe-dining room for circus employees, a ballet hall of 300 square meters. meters and a fully equipped sewing workshop. Most public spaces migrated to the basement, which used to be a bomb shelter. There are now toilets, a wardrobe. A huge hall also appeared on the floor with large windows that used to be occupied by pigeons. Comfortable conditions have been created for the four-legged inhabitants of the circus. Comfortable stalls, an elevator, and even dressing rooms were built for animals. Inside, the building also changed, although it retained the classic elements of architecture. There were notes of a palace decor, a lot of crystal,
bronzes, gilded stucco molding, bright carpets, wall paintings. On the walls are spectacular bas-reliefs of the sculptor S. Bondarenko. The auditorium is designed in an emerald green palette, there are 3 VIP-boxes.