The Cambridge Companion to the Circus

Introduction. The circus: reflecting and mediating the world Gillian Arrighi and Jim Davis; Part I. Trans-national Geographies of the Modern Circus: 1. The origins and growth of the modern circus Matthew Wittmann; 2. Reconstruction, railroads, and race: the American circus in the gilded age and progressive era Sakina Hughes; 3. Circus, colonialism and empire: the circus in Australasia and Asia Gillian Arrighi; 4. The criollo circus (circus theatre) in Argentina: the emergence of a unique circus form in connection with the consolidation of the Argentine nation state Julieta Infantino; 5. The past and present of Czech circus Hanuš Jordan and Veronika Štefanová; 6. Catching on: Chinese acrobatics from China to the west in the twenty-first century Rosemary Farrell; Part II. Circus Acts and Aesthetics: 7. The equestrian circus Kim Baston; 8. Animals, circus and war re-enactment: military action to colonial wars Peta Tait; 9. Circus clowns Louise Peacock; 10. Aerial performance: aerial aesthetics Kate Holmes; Part III. Circus: A Constantly Evolving Form: 11. Circus and somatic spectacularity on stage in the variety era Catherine M. Young; 12. Becoming an art form: from 'Nouveau Cirque' to contemporary circus in Europe Agathe Dumont; 13. Risky play and the global rise in youth circus Alisan Funk; 14. Social circus: the rise of an 'inclusive' movement for collective creativity Jennifer Beth Spiegel; Part IV. Circus Studies Scholarship: 15. Methodologies in circus scholarship Charles R. Batson and Karen Fricker; 16. Through the looking glass: multi-disciplinary perspectives in circus Anna-Sophie Jürgens.