We are fortunate, in the capital and throughout the Ile-de-France region, to benefit from an exceptionalheritage, whether in terms of monuments or know-how. In our new series,"Les Gardiens du Patrimoine", we meet the men and women who safeguard this heritage on a daily basis, bringing it to life and making it known, so that it can endure through the centuries. An opportunity to discover their passion and learn more about this veritable treasure, both tangible and intangible.
For this first episode, we met the Bouglione family and especially the two brothers, Joseph and Louis-Sampion, on the occasion of their new show"Spectaculaire", who spoke with unparalleled passion about their life at the Cirque d'Hiver, the capital's last permanent circus, where over 150 years ago the discipline of flying trapeze was born, a real pride and number that is inseparable from the place today.
Joseph Bouglione: My name is Joseph Bouglione, after my grandfather. I'm the sixth generation and artistic director of the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, and my role is to provide artistic direction for the show and hire artists each year for new shows.
Louis Sampion Bouglione: My name is Louis Sampion Bouglione, and I'm in charge of the Cirque d'Hiver museum, the family history, and the image that Cirque d'Hiver represents, i.e. through the program, posters...
J.B. : It was my grandfather who bought Cirque d'Hiver in 1934, and since then the circus and the show have been handed down from generation to generation.
L.S.B.: It's very complicated, but we've been able to go back as far as 1820, when the first Bouglione trainer arrived from Italy. Originally from Turin, he crossed the border and settled permanently in France. From then on, from menagerie to menagerie, he built up a circus, bigger and bigger, and that's how the Bouglione circus was born.
L.S.B.: The story of the Cirque d'Hiver is quite incredible. A director by the name of Louis Dejean, who already had a circus on the Champs-Elysées called the Cirque d'Été, decided to create a winter circus. And with the authorization of the Duc de Morny, Napoleon III's half-brother, he obtained permission to build the Cirque d'Hiver in 1852, which was then called Cirque Napoléon.
Cirque d'Hiver de Paris, one of Europe's oldest circuses
Located near Filles du Calvaires, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, the Cirque d'Hiver is a historic venue with neo-classical architecture. One of the oldest permanent circuses in Europe, it continues to showcase the circus arts to the delight of families. [Read more]
J.B.: In other words, Cirque d'Hiver is the temple of the flying trapeze. Léotard (first name Jules, ed.) invented the flying trapeze, and performed the first flying trapeze act at Cirque d'Hiver itself, which was the inauguration. So for the trapeze artists who come to perform here, for them, it's a myth, because doing your act at Cirque d'Hiver in Paris is something incredible for artists.
What's more, the film"Trapèze"(released in 1956), starring Tony Curtis, was shot right here at the Cirque d'Hiver, with the Bouglione family. In fact, in the film, we see many members of the family who served as extras or performers. So as far as trapeze artists are concerned, it's historical. A trapeze artist has to work at Cirque d'Hiver, and I get a lot of requests, so it's a kind of consecration.
L.S.B.: At the time, there was no such thing as a canvas circus, only hard circuses. It's rather how they came up with the idea of making a canvas circus and taking it on the road, there were only circuses under construction, made of stone or semi-construction, i.e. half wood and canvas. And after that, it was quite complicated to get these circuses dismantled every time, so they went more and more to canvas.
J.B. : It's our life! We were born here, I was born at Cirque d'Hiver, in fact. My parents live on the second floor of the circus, and I spent all my youth there until I was 18. I slept here (the performance hall, editor's note) and this was my playroom. I did my studies at school and, at the same time, I trained in gymnastics, I was a tightrope walker for years, I also learned the trade with horses, with my father who was a horseman. I learned a lot from that.
L.S.B.: For me personally, it's our whole life. I was practically born at the Cirque d'Hiver, I spent my entire youth and childhood here, and it's still going strong. It's a magical, magnificent place, where we're constantly surrounded by artists, the public, everything that it represents, in short, it 's a living spectacle every day.
J.B. : One thing I often think about is"La Piste aux étoiles". It was filmed at the Cirque d'Hiver, and that's why I repeat the music every year, because so many people used to watch that famous show. When I hear and listen to this music by the orchestra, it always gives me a bit of a thrill, because I remember, I was 12-13 years old and I was watching, I must have been sitting somewhere there and I was at all the rehearsals.
L.S.B.: Inside the Cirque d'Hiver, there's a swimming pool that was built in 1933 and inaugurated by Mistinguett. In the 90s, this pool was put back into operation, and once the aquatic show was over, when I often came home in the evening, it was very pleasant to take a towel andgo for a swim in the pool. So, it's a pool that's 13m in diameter and 4m deep, and to have that all to yourself is really nice!
L.S.B.: The flying trapeze was invented at the Cirque d'Hiver - well, at the time, it was the Cirque Napoléon - in 1859, by a young artist by the name of Léotard. It was the first time a performer took to the air, in fact, dropping one trapeze to catch another. So it was really at the Cirque d'Hiver that the flying trapeze was born.
J.B. : There's a lot of work upstream, because you have to travel all over the place to find acts that are suitable for the show. What's more, the acts are booked 3 or 4 years in advance, because there are a lot of shows and cabarets that use circus acts, everywhere during the holiday season. I travel a lot to see the festivals, because in these breeding grounds, in the space of 3-4 days, we can see fifty or sixty numbers worked on, and that allows us to do our market somewhere to hire the artists for the future show.
J.B. : It's an evolution that's taken place year after year, with new techniques, new materials and more suitable teachers. Forty, fifty years ago, we were still doing a double somersault; now we're doing a triple, even a quadruple, and some people are talking about quintuple somersaults! Here we have a young lady from the USA doing a triple somersault. There aren't many women in the world who do a triple somersault at every show. There must be 4 or 5 of them in the world.
However, at the next show, in 2025 or 2026, there will be a troupe of Mexican trapeze artists doing a quadruple somersault at the Cirque d'Hiver, which will be historic, because they'll be the first trapeze artists to perform a quadruple somersault here and succeed. For us, this is an exceptional event in the temple of the flying trapeze.
J.B. : We don't have flying trapeze every year; I change shows because it would be too repetitive, but it's been a few years, I think 4, since we've had trapeze artists. There have been other acts: the Ferris wheel, hoops, aerial fabrics, fixed trapeze, but I take on trapeze artists every two years or so. From now on, it'll be every two years, or maybe next winter, I don't know.
We realized that the public, and we knew this, wants to see the trapeze artists, but sometimes for technical reasons, we can't have flying trapeze artists, because we have other acts that take up space in the dome and we can't hang more than 2 tons on it. We know you like it, and we like it too!
This year, it's a special one, because it's performed by four women, four young ladies. Usually, there's always one woman with two acrobats, but this time it's all women, and they're really doing everything men can do. So it's very special and exceptional.
J.B. : Our generation is in the process of passing on to our children, they're learning the trade, they're following what we do so they can learn and evolve in the circus in our place in future years. After that, one thing you need to know is that in the circus, we don't push our children into this profession. If they want to do it, they do it; if they don't want to do it, they don't do it.If you want to continue your studies and do something else, you can do that. But no, I wanted to do this because it was something incredible among the artists, the lights, the audience.
It's a dream and I see all the kids now who are all thirteen, fourteen, they're there, they're helping out. My son works on the track, there are lots of people who are there from the family who work on the track and they take the role really seriously. It's a real job. The three cousins are there, they help set up the artists' equipment, it's the first job you do when you're old enough to do something in the circus.
We teach them how to get the apparatus into the runway, and this gives them a sense of responsibility. They're there, they're dressed in costume, they get ready, they come beforehand, they check their equipment. For them, it's a really important part and they absolutely want to do it. And their biggest punishment is to say, "You're not coming to the circus tomorrow!
J.B. : It doesn't tell a story, it's a rhythmic show that lasts two hours with an intermission, and the numbers follow one after the other, without too many announcements. It's really fast-paced, with alive orchestra, a singer, an accompanying ballet, and situational comedy. It's a traditional show, but with today's technical means. I listen to the audience to hear what they like to see, to see what they liked best and what they didn't, and with these criteria, I can put the show together.
There's no theme in the shows, it's not like a play, there's no common thread. In other years, I've done it, but I found that it was a bit long, that between numbers, there was a loss of timing. Here, between each number, there are 2 seconds, so it can't go any faster, everything follows on from each other.
Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione unveils its brand new show: "Spectaculaire", to be seen in Paris from October 11, 2024 to March 9, 2025. This unique show celebrates the grand return of the flying trapeze, invented here in 1859, and marks 90 years of the famous Bouglione dynasty at this emblematic circus temple. [Read more]
L.S.B. : Ah, you can find everything here! A great many objects belonging to artists who may or may not have worked at the Cirque d'Hiver, but it's a museum that's rich in documents and costumes, above all. It's one of the Bouglione family's particularities to have been able to preserve, and still preserve, and research the costumes of circus artists.
L.S.B. : I'm a collector from father to son. There are several types of collectors: those who like to keep their collections in boxes or trunks, and collectors who like to enjoy their objects, i.e. put them on display. I'm in that category, so I immediately wanted to create a museum so that everyone could enjoy it, me first, to be able to have all these objects.
L.S.B. : You can't really visit this museum, but by making requests to the Cirque d'Hiver, we organize visits from time to time. We'd love to open it for the Heritage Days, but the problem is that it's a museum that doesn't really meet the standards required to welcome large numbers of people.
L.S.B. : Every first Saturday of the month, Cirque d'Hiver organizes guided tours of all its rooms, with a history of how it works!
Go behind the scenes of the capital's most emblematic circus with a guided tour of the Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione, every first Saturday of the month. You'll find out everything you need to know about the history and little secrets of this not-to-be-missed venue! [Read more]
Location
Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione
110 rue Amelot
75011 Paris 11
Cirque d'Hiver de Paris, one of Europe's oldest circuses
Spectacular: Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione's vibrant new show - our review
Go behind the scenes at Cirque d'Hiver with a guided tour, once a month.
