These shows were rowdy affairs in which audiences felt free to yell, boo and hiss at performers. Typically, clowns would engage in banter with the stoic ringmaster, who was often the target for the ...

Professional circuses are always brimming with daredevil acts, death-defying stunts, colorful costumes and amazing feats of strength, all designed to elicit incredulous gasps from the audience. But ...

Our first president George Washington attended the first American circus in Philadelphia in 1793. Circus would expand from that auspicious start to become American folklife, intertwined with the ...

A little boy sees Dave DeDera and dives behind his mother's legs. "I'm afraid," he says. Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, DeDera cuts an imposing figure. But the red, bulbous nose and giant clown shoes ...

Clowns also subverted gender norms, with many appearing in drag, often exaggerating the female figure with cartoonishly big fake breasts. In the early 19th century, some circuses also featured a ...