Before the term “circus” was officially coined by Charles Dibdin in November of 1782, circus-like events have been held as early as ancient Rome. Although there were no red-nosed clowns with rainbow wigs at these circuses, the Romans still featured exotic animals like rhinos and bears, often making them fight with one another. Occasionally, criminals would be thrown into the arena with these wild animals as a form of punishment.
Fortunately, by the time modern circuses came about in the 18th century, these events were less brutal than their ancient Rome counterparts. Rather than fighting in front of an audience, horses were trained to perform tricks on command under the Big Top. The on-stage performances might have improved; however, their treatment behind the scenes did not. This still holds true for many circuses today. Thus, many have decided to boycott circuses altogether and petition against them.
Even today with circus animal standards set by the USDA, many circus animals live a majority of their lives in tight cages or tied up with chains, travel 11 months out of the year with inhumane conditions, experience extreme discipline, and are forced to constantly perform tricks against their will. Some countries have banned the use of wild animals in circus arenas but allow non-wild animals to perform. This has become a growing concern for many.
Circus Roncalli in Germany, however, is making big moves to eliminate consumers’ concerns regarding animal cruelty. The circus, which has been around since 1976, stopped using all animals except horses since the 1990s. In the past six years, however, all of their performances featuring live animals have been completely replaced with holograms.
To make this happen, Roncalli partnered with Bluebox to have several Optima laser projectors installed to make the three-dimensional motion pictures come to life within their arenas. With these projectors, Circus Roncalli is able to light up the stage with both traditional and untraditional circus animals from horse to fish while still integrating real-life acrobat artists and clowns into their performances. The images produced are quite realistic, but at the same time, offer intriguing, digital effects and transitions.
“This is the future of circus—a performance everyone can enjoy and for which intelligent, sentient beings are not used and depicted as objects of entertainment,” Jan Creamer, the president of Animal Defenders International, tells The Dodo.
Although some may argue that holograms don’t replace the excitement of seeing live animals on stage, this movement isn’t about what brings the best entertainment. Rather, the important takeaway is, the use of holograms at circuses can help eliminate many acts of animal abuse and inhumane treatments. It was a very selfless and caring decision for Circus Roncalli to switch to holograms.
Herrmann Buhlbecker responds to Roncalli’s transition: “…everyone else needs to keep up with the times, and I think this has been carried out in a fantastic way.”
Would you enjoy attending a holographic circus? Check out some sample clips of the 3D circus in Germany in the video below!
