This is
an illustrated study of water shows in entertainment around the
world:
- aqua shows with divers and
swimmers in baths, cabarets, theatres and in the open air;
- in touring circuses
ingeniously travelling the equipment to transform a 13 metre
circus ring into a water arena twice a day;
- in European circus buildings,
specially built over 100 years ago, for example in Britain,
France, Ukraine and Russia; and
- most recently, in new
purpose-built aqua arenas in Las Vegas, where technical and
artistic barriers are being pushed back with awe-inspiring
productions - Cirque du Soleil's 'O' and Franco Dragone's 'Le
Reve'.
Britain is unique in possessing two
surviving circus buildings which both regularly feature water
spectacles, and included are comments from today's producers there:
- Laci Endresz - at Blackpool
Tower Circus (open every year since 1894); and
- Peter Jay - at Great Yarmouth
Hippodrome (open since 1903).
Peter's contribution is the chapter
on water spectacles from his autobiograpy, Jaywalking, due in 2007.
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