Behind the Curtain: a photo collection of the Zoppe Family Circus. An Italian Circus that travels across the US

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Behind the Curtain

Zoppé, an Italian Family Circus, has been entertaining crowds around the world since 1842.

Unlike most contemporary circuses which feature unrelated individual acts, performances of the Zoppé Family Circus tell a story, starring Nino the Clown and Tosca, the equestrian ballerina. Nino and Tosca's tale includes acrobatics, juggling, dogs, horses, audience participation, and even more clowns. With a cast that changes from city to city, the Zoppé troupe focuses on emotional connections with the audience and works to preserve the dying art of family circus. As Nino Zoppé explains, “To me, the word circus means family."

Tosca Zoppe peaks through a hole in the backstage curtain to get a better sense of the crowd that night.

Carlo Gentile holds Giulia, 1, in front of the tent at The Zoppé family circus in Addison, Illinois.

Jay's costume hangs in front of his trailer in Oak Forest, Illinois.

Jay jokingly struggles to help Tosca, his wife, into her costume before the show.

Jay chats with fellow performers between acts in Oak Forest, Illinois.

Jay plays the accordion before the show in Addison, Illinois

Before each show all the performers form a circle to say a prayer asking for safety and a good show.

Nino and his sister, Tosca, make final adjustments to Julien's costume before he goes into the ring with his father, Nino.

Tosca Zoppe finishes a prayer before going into the ring for the finale.

Tosca Zoppe performs her aerial act in Addison, Illinois.

Gena juggling fire during her act in Oak Forest. The crowd gasped every time she performed.

Jay and Tosca perform their equestrian act.

Nino and his son Julien bury a broken balloon as part of their act during a performance in Oak Forest, Illinois.

Adrian Poema Jr. encourages the audience to clap after completing a particularly difficult juggling trick.

Nino pretends to put his son, Julien, into the chest at the end of the show.

Children gather together to watch as their Polaroid with Cavalino develops. During intermission children are allowed to enter the ring and get their picture taken, for a fee, with Tosca and Cavalino. This is the most popular souvenir at the show.

A worker waits for intermission at the concession stand at the Zoppe Family Circus.

Popcorn mixes with money collected from popcorn sales during intermission at the Zoppe Family Circus.

Jay and Rick talk about musical cues for the show

The twins share popcorn before the show in Addison, Illinois.

Giovanni returns to his trailer to change and remove his make up after the final show.

Carla Zoppé has a cigarette before the first show in Des Plaines, Illinois. Carla used to perform equestrian tricks, but now participates in her husband's act.

Sandra talks with Tosca as she sweeps up the trailer between shows. Normally Tosca would have changed before sweeping up but they are expecting dinner guests after the final show and there was little time to clean up and cook between the shows.

Wendy and Jacey play around while the rest of the crew works to tear down the tent and move on to the next city.

Juggling practice behind the scenes at the Zoppé Family Circus.

Performing without his regular guitar (it was stolen at the previous stop on the tour) this musician must make do with a secondhand guitar which needs attention after almost every show.

The Zoppé Family circus travels around the country together for the summer months and then breaks up into individual acts for the off season.

Photos and tickets decorate Giovanni's trailer.

Tosca and Julien take a walk between performances.

Circus kids hang out with their cat while their parents work the show.

Carla feeds hotdogs to her dogs after their afternoon performance.

Circus kids play around in the back lot while their parents get ready for the next show.

Members of the circus wait to enter the ring.

David Jones sings to his partner Blaze Rose during dinner before the opening night.

The Zoppe family circus tent on the lot.

Carla adjusts Rudy's costume before they head into the ring to perform with their dogs.

Tosca gives Julien a kiss before she heads to town to run errands. This is his last performance with the family because he will be returningn to his mother's house.

Tosca helps her nephew, Julien, get into his costume before the first show of the day.

Julien talks with his mother on his father, Giovanni's cellphone between shows. Julien's parents are divorced and he spends some time on the road with his dad and some time at home with his mom.

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Robert Norman "Bob" Ross(October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host.[1] He is best known as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a television program that appeared on PBS in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Hasui Kawase(May 18, 1883 – November 7, 1957) was a prominent Japanese painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and one of the chief printmakers in the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement.

Kawase worked almost exclusively on landscape and townscape prints based on sketches he made in Tokyo and during travels around Japan. However, his prints are not merely meishō (famous places) prints that are typical of earlier ukiyo-e masters such as Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Kawase's prints feature locales that are tranquil and obscure in urbanizing Japan.

In 1923 there was a great earthquake in Japan that destroyed most of his artwork.

Alphonse Legros(8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911), painter, etcher and sculptor was born in Dijon.

As he had casually picked up the art of etching by watching a comrade in Paris working at a commercial engraving, so he began the making of medals after a walk in the British Museum, studying the masterpieces of Pisanello, and a visit to the Cabinet des Médailles in Paris. Legros, considered the traditional journey to Italy a very important part of artistic training, and in order that his students should have the benefit of such study he devoted a part of his salary to augment the income available for a travelling studentship. His later works, after he resigned his professorship in 1892, were more in the free and ardent manner of his early days—imaginative landscapes, castles in Spain, and farms in Burgundy, etchings like the series of "The Triumph of Death," and the sculptured fountains for the gardens of the Duke of Portland at Welbeck Abbey.

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