beginner from St. Petersburg

[Anastasiya]

Hello! I'm beginner from Russia.
Before I start my thread, sorry for bad English.
Now I'm deep in thought about clowning. I disappoint in Physics which I study in my University. I want to be clown, but there is no State Circus School in my city :-(
And for a start i have any questions. Can anybody give me some links to resources like "how to study any clowns tricks"? And is anybody know if there is some common demands to circus school's entrant like constitution, plastics and other? I mean, for example, circus school where you study or which you finished. And which kind of elementary knowledges and skill is required to entrants? =0)

And I'll be glad if someone suggest me how to start self-training? =)

[The_Princess_of_Bozonia]

Welcome Anastasiya, great to see this place becoming more and more international I hope someone will be able to jump in with some ideas for you; I know Russia has a rich circus tradition

[ibimus]

Welcome welcome!

This entire board is packed with information. Browse around and read the threads; you can learn a LOT. Everyone here is very friendly, so don't hesitate to ask any questions.

We have a weekly chat. Thursdays at 9pm Eastern Standard Time. I believe 6 or 7 am Friday morning for you. Our chat lasts several hours, so if you're up early on Friday morning, please join us!

And your English is very good.

[Willace-the-Clown]

you can try going to your local Lybery ( sorry my spelling isn't very good) & look for books on clowning. I my self never went to circus school i have a friend who is a clown & he was my mentor plus i took classes in clowning from a local Clown alley

[Gladman]

Hello Ana. I'm glad you found us. Be patient with us; there is lots of help for you here, I'm sure.

[saphireSue]

Welcome to the group and don't worry about your English, I can't spell half the time any way. I can't help you with clown schools. Like many others my training has come from conferences or classes. These are done during the week or weekend at various times of the year, but not like going to a traditional university and taking classes. So I can't help you wth the longer programs. But look over the forum, Scruffy has listed a great list of books on here at one time, and we'll help any way we can.

[Scruffy]

Welcome, Anastasia!
We have collected a lot of information on this website to help you get started as a clown. And, don't worry about your English. I am sure that my Russian is worse! I must ask: Are the state circus schools still operating? I alway wondered what would happen to them after the collapse of Communism.
Here is the States most clowns are self taught. We have learned juggling,acrobatics, magic, makeup, etc. from books, websites, or from some of the training programs such as Clown camp or Mooseburger on the road. Others have learned the art from other clowns basically like an apprenticeship.
America has never had a state operated program. However, Ringling Brothers Circus did operate a clown college for many years. There the students were taught makeup, costuming,juggling, acrobatics, Comedy,Pantomime, Even how to ride an Elephant! However, they stopped operating the college a few years ago.
You really don't need to go to clown school to be a great clown. You must have the desire to do it and the determination not to let failure stop you. One of the things ringling did to teach clowning was to expose the students to classic comedy movies. People like Abbott and costello, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd. These are Actor from the silent film era, when pantomime was an art form. You can learn pantomime this way. Russia has a rich tradition in gymnastics. Find someone who has been through the program and ask them to help you. You do not need to be a master of the the Uneven bars, or floor routines. But, they can teach you how to tumble, and ways to take falls without getting hurt. Also they can teach you how to take care of your body so that you do not hurt yourself. Also, Ballet can help you learn things.
Makeup can be learned from books or on line. We have an excellent makeup tutorial here on the forum. Same with costuming, Juggling can be learned for a street performer or perhaps on line. I have a video cassette that teaches juggling. I am sure that you could find something to help you. as far a learning what is funny, Things that we find funny here in America, might not be funny in Russia. Here is one thing that I have found helpful.

"Comedians do funny things. Clowns do things funny."

In other words. Clowns do ordinary things in funny ways. Example:Sitting down at a piano to play beautiful music. However, when seated, the Clown finds that the piano is to far away for him to reach it. Thus, he get up and tries to move the piano closer to him instead of moving the bench closer to the piano.

[Baloo]

I also want to welcome you to our little learning experiance on the web your english is just as good as the rest of ours so no worries, the chats are fun, if you can attend. but the postings are invaluable, they have taught us all more than we knew when we first joined. the only stupid questions are the ones that never get asked! don't be shy spout off and post away.
Bump-A-Nose

[GiGi]

Welcome to the forum! Your English is quite good. My niece is currently learning to speak Russian. She taught me a few phrases but I couldn't begin to know how to spell them. Like most everyone has said there is a lot to learn from this forum and books and videos on clowning. Most of the books that I own, I purchased on EBay. Feel free to ask any questions. There are some very talented and knowledgeable clowns here that are happy to help.

GiGi

[OkiDoki]

Welcome, Anastasiya

Great someone living more east from all the other clowns who hang around here then I. Don't worry about your English it's also my second language but they all do understand where I'm on about, and your English isn't worse than mine. Also here in Europe, altough there are a few circusschools around, most clowns learn it from courses, books, video's, meeting other entertainers, places like these etc. etc. So Welcome