We know the Pinder, Zavatta and Bouglione families. Their names have become labels when they do not sign the nobler letters of the dynasties. While Alexis Gruss, whose ancestors started in 1854, died on Saturday April 6, his company, with the strength of his children and grandchildren, maintains the bar of equestrian virtuosity high. “For us, working together has a particularity: telepathy is keenunderlines Firmin Gruss, director. We use the same formulas, we have the same spirit, and that creates a unique communion. And, in difficult times, it gives extra energy. »
This family phenomenon constituting the traditional arts of the track also unfolds in the contemporary world. From March 13 to April 21, the Spring festival, scheduled in 70 locations in Normandy, highlights some of these tribes. The Circus Ronaldo, piloted by the clown Danny Ronaldo, sixth generation Ronaldo, cousin with the burlesque performances of Alain Reynaud, who performs with his wife and their two children, “fell in when they were little”.
“The family channel is that of the traditional circus, while it is the schools that train contemporary artistsremember Yveline Rapeau, director of Spring. There is nevertheless a minority of troupes today whose shows are rooted in the family by opening new aesthetic avenues. »
Clear your path
At the head of Circus Ronaldo, originally from Mechelen (Belgium), Danny Ronaldo likes to tell the story of his great-grandfather’s grandfather who left Ghent at the age of 15 to enlist in 1842 in the Wulff circus. “He fell in love with the atmosphere of the big top, the freedom and the horses, he said. He became a groom, then a horseback acrobat. Engravings of him were found at the Imperial Circus in St. Petersburg. He married a traveling actress and together they created their company. » Since then, the Ronaldo adventure has added up its chapters, each more incredible than the last.
On tour, From the beginning bears witness to this wonderful saga where the circus, traveling theater and variety become friends. “This long story gives strength, says Danny Ronaldo. I feel behind me an army of living artists. I feel their support, their pressure even, and I am proud to be their heir. » parallel to The Cuisine of artperformed with his brother David, and huge success, Danny Ronaldo plays It’s me ? with his son Pepijn, 25, on view from May 30 to June 16, at the Théâtre du Rond-Point, in Paris. “The bet is to take advantage of the power that this transmission gives and to break away from it toohe specifies. For my four children, who have all wanted the circus, it’s about finding your own personality. Pepijn is very different from me, but we have the same desire to make people laugh and understand our emotions. Unfortunately there is no GPS for this. »
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