The Belarusian State Circus dates back to the 19th century. Today, high-level professionals work here. The circus poster offers interesting programs.
The pre-war history of the circus
The first stationary circus in Minsk opened in 1884. It was led by the Nikitin brothers. Its building was wooden and accommodated 800 spectators. Circus performances took place in it and performances were shown. The building was located next to several temples. This caused great discontent from the clergy. The governor of the city contributed to the fact that the circus moved to another place. More than once, the troupe had to change their place of residence.
Celebrities often performed in the arena of the Minsk circus: Durovs and Truzzi, Zaikin, Ivan Poddubny and others took.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the circus in Minsk became very popular. The program included clown performances with satirical monologues and dialogues. It was their numbers that the audience liked the most.
Also, the sold-outs provided circus numbers of strongmen and battles of the warriors. On tour to Minsk came artists from different countries.
On the night of June 24, 1941, fascist aircraft raided the city. The bomb hit directly into the circus building. A fire started. Not all animals were saved. The surviving artists and animals were evacuated to Omsk.
Post-war period in the history of the circus
Minsk circus returned from evacuation in 1946. A new wooden building for him was built on the site of the old. It, like the previous one, was designed for 1200 spectators. The new brick building for the circus was built in 1958. The capacity of its hall is 1668 seats.
The area of the room is 7600 square meters. The building is designed to show performances of all genres - from grand air numbers to water extravaganzas.
The Minsk circus was at that time the most beautiful and largest in the Union. The first performance in the new building took place on February 11, 1959. This day is considered to be the official date of birth of the modern circus of the Republic of Belarus. The artistic director of the team was E. Milaev , Honored Artist of the Republic.
The artists in the circus were carefully selected, the best from all over the USSR were selected. The troupe worked with great success and toured the Union.
Circus today
Modern history began in 1997, when the Minsk Circus was renamed the Belarusian State.
Today, the BHC not only demonstrates to the public its performances and goes on tour with them, but also organizes concerts of the world’s arena stars in its arena. Thanks to this, residents and visitors of the city had a unique opportunity to see the best programs with the participation of artists from Bulgaria, Latvia, Russia, Kenya, Ukraine, China, Poland, Hungary and other countries.
The circus in Minsk is the only one in the territory of the former USSR that continues to organize charity shows for veterans of the Great Patriotic War, for the "Chernobyl victims", cadets of the Suvorov Military School, conscripts serving in the armed forces and in the Ministry of Emergencies, as well as for internationalist soldiers.
In September 2008, the circus was closed for reconstruction. It lasted two years. At first there was preparation. Then the main building was reconstructed. At the next stage, a new building was built, which is designed to expand the capabilities of the circus. After repair, the building has changed beyond recognition. Now the circus does not consist of one building, but of three. A new arena for rehearsals has appeared, which will allow several artists to prepare for performances at the same time, a ballet hall, a dining room for employees, a sewing workshop with modern equipment.
The former bomb shelter (basement) has been converted. Now there is a wardrobe and toilet. The conditions in which the animals were kept changed. New stalls, an elevator and even dressing rooms were built for them.
In 2013, the post of director was taken by V.A. Shaban.
Repertoire
The Minsk Circus offers various performances to its young and adult spectators. The cost of tickets varies from 30 to 620 thousand Belarusian rubles.
Show programs of the Minsk Circus:
- "Guinness Extreme Records."
- "Visiting the Monte Carlo Festival."
- "The Fire Queen, or the New Adventures of Kai and Gerda."
- "Masquerade".
- "Constellation".
- "Africa".
- "Ice planet".
- "Mirages of the desert."
- "Star Factory".
- Hippopotamus Show.
- "A magical dream on a winter night."
- "Yucca is looking for a friend."
And many others.
From May 20, 2016, the new show will present to the public a circus in Minsk. Its program includes many interesting numbers. There are gymnasts, acrobats, trained llamas, camels, pigeons, Bordeaux dogs, clowns and a real wizard.
Artists
Minsk Circus shows various shows in its arena. Artists of different genres take part in them.
Minsk Circus Team:
- Klimovich Alyona.
- Nuss Kristina.
- Otieno Benard Rapudo.
- Israfilov Aydin.
- Alexandrov Dmitry.
- Bykhon Vyacheslav.
- Ovcharova Varvara.
- Kazakovs Bogdan and Dmitry.
And other masters of circus art.
Circus decoration
Minsk Circus considers the number "Rose" to be an adornment of its programs. Performed by his aerial gymnast Alyona Kulikova. Another of her performances is popular with the audience - "Lady Bird". The first artist performs in the ring, and the second - in canvases. The gymnast, soaring under the dome of the circus, gives the audience a sense of magic, fairy tales, and captivates them with her beauty and grace.
Alyona Kulikova with her number "Rose" won second place at the International Festival "Circus of Cuba".
With the number "Lady Bird", the artist won prizes in Riga, Kiev and Astana.