Friday, December 29, 2006

Raffaele De Ritis (Cirque d'Hiver) #1




At Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, a cage act is back after 25 years. Hans Suppmeier presents actually there the second unit of Flavio Togni tigers. The show (titled "Artistes") opened in October and will be on until March 7. Posted by Picasa

Posted by Buckles at 12/29/2006 11:50:00 AM

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

I blieve this trainer was with Flavio during their tour here with RBBB and then stayed and trained the mixed act of Freisians, Arabs and zebras. Followed by Sacha Houcke. Also he spent a year with the Big Apple doing something with Katja. Quite a versatile trainer to be sure. Might not be the same guy but the name certainly seems the same.

29 December, 2006 13:08
Raffaele De Ritis said...

He is the same. In Big Apple he helped Katja and he created a very beautiful act with young camels for the show I directed, "Carnevale".

29 December, 2006 15:07
Anonymous said...

I remember Hans Suppmeier on Ringling after Flavio presenting horses and ring stock. In the pre-show festivities he worked four arabian horses in a liberty routine with the audience around the ring curb. As he worked the horses he explained the cues, how he used the whip, and their training. It was one of the best animal training presentations I've seen. Made me a Suppmeier fan.

About the tigers: Did Josip Marcan supply and/or train any of these cats?

29 December, 2006 15:08
Anonymous said...

Looks like by the lighting, somebody is wise in the ways of staging.

29 December, 2006 16:20
Anonymous said...

Hans is a great trainer and truly a nice guy. I met him at the Big Apple Circus when he first arrived. He developed a bareback act with Carlos Svensson, then created his camel act for the following season. I too remember his "training session" at the Ringling pre-show back in 2000, and I completely agree with you Jim A. PS-In the past, he also worked with Freddie Knie Jr., Yasmine Smart, and many other trainers.
-Chris

29 December, 2006 18:14
Anonymous said...

Not meaning any disrespect for Hans - he first had the Fresians on the Blue Unit - and perhaps hindered by the entire microphone, play by play presentation, acheived a short act. However wanting to better utilize the larger horses, 4-6 were sent to the Red & Sacha. Sacha combined them with 4 Polish Arabians and 6 Zebras for the Black and White Act.

29 December, 2006 19:19
Anonymous said...

Following his stint here with Flavio This trainer was contracted by RBBB to train an act of Freisians, Arabs and Zebras at which time Ringling leased a horse farm in the Polk City area [Florida] and gave him a tear with adequate help to produce this act, which he did do. Jimmy Cole has pictures that he took during a couple training sessions. We all went to see it at the dress rehearsal and it did perform and the main comment being it was very slow, hardly getting out of a walk and the animals were not rolling fat. The saving grace was a palomino horse [not part of the act routine] that did a hind leg liberty walk. Later when he was gone all of these animals were turned over to Sacha Houke to be used for his offering. I recall a mini carousel with the animals that was effective. I recall Sach's firt offering here was a six zebra act and there seemed to be alot of controversy on who actually trained those zebras. As to the camels of Hans on Big Apple, credit where cre3dit is due, they were trained for Dave Hale by the young camel trainer Micah Williams and he had expected to work them on Big Apple and was dejected that it didn't happen. He had trained an excellent six camel liberty act that was excellent. I saw all of this when visiting with him at CWM in Baraboo. In defense of American liberty trainers of which I profess to be one. The first training we have to do is to teach the animals to stay in the ring and not jump out as in Europe all the tents are one ring with seats up close. A luxury we rarely have and it makes a big difference, believe me. However the liberty acts I see on video of Gruss, Knie, Krone, Togni and others are magnificent. Could someone in Europe comment on who I heard was a great liberty trainer for major European circuses by the name of Pioletti I believe. Thanks.I believe i mispelled the word year that he had the time to train. I have rarely had four months and then had to train other stuff as well.

30 December, 2006 14:35
Anonymous said...

Hi Mr. Herriott,

It's funny you mention Alfred Peloletti; I was just flipping through Mr. Fox's book, "Pictorial History of Performing Horses" earlier today, and I came across his picture! According to Mr. Fox, Carl Hagenback said that the troupe Peloletti directed from horseback was one of the best he had at the time (Fox, 1960?). The act consisted of eight black and eight sorrel Trakehner stallions, with Peloletti on a gray horse. By the way, "Velasquez," the hindleg- walking palomino was originially from Knie in Switzerland, I believe. Tragically, he was killed in a freak accident, by another stampeding horse coming off the train. (F.Y.I.-I remember reading this story in several different articles online.)
-Chris

30 December, 2006 20:46
Raffaele De Ritis said...

Fred Petoletti is remembered in Europe as one of the "fathers" of liberty acts after the 50s. He was the main inspiration of the italian-german liberty "school" of Williams and Togni circuses and trainer.
Today the two top liberty "schools" in Europe are Fredy Knie in Switzerland and Alexis Gruss in France. I don't know better of those two today in the world.

31 December, 2006 05:31
Raffaele De Ritis said...

About Big Apple Camels: I don't know exactly who started to train them. But I can testify that the day they arrived in Walden they was just at the start of their training process. I witnessed Hans thru the months getting them used to the ring, then teaching them every single trick and routine from nothing.

31 December, 2006 06:44
Anonymous said...

Thank you Johnny for the kind words about my camel act. It is true that I broke the 4 white camels and black llama that appeared on Big Apple with Hans presenting. I had the chore of starting with 4 eight month old camels in May, not even broke to lead, which in truth is much too young to start training. I was able to train the complete act, as specified by Hans, by the time they were delivered to Big Apple in mid July. Of course the act was very green, but they were working. I did not accompany the camels to Big Apple. Upon delivery to Walden, after a 2 week lapse in trasit, Hans changed all the commands to French, I believe, as well as replacing the lead camel with a new one, which was an older camel I had previously broke for Dave Hale. So I am sure there were many challenges at WQ with the act, and I give Hans credit for bringing it together. I am sure the camels felt the same way I did my first day in Spanish class in high school, not understanding a word. Looks like I should have taken French class, it would have come in more useful!
Micah Williams

31 December, 2006 13:09
Anonymous said...

Hi Micah,

I remember seeing the camel act when Hans presented it in May 2004, and it appeared that you certainly did do a great job of starting it. Happy New Year to all!
-Chris

31 December, 2006 20:44
Anonymous said...

I think it was Lisa Dufresne who put the zebra act together for Sacha prior to his arrival in the US. -M. Edwards

31 December, 2006 22:05
Anonymous said...

I seriously doubt that Mr. Houcke needed assistance from Mrs. Tim Holst.

31 December, 2006 23:31
Anonymous said...

She didn't "help" him - his Visa was not ready - she broke them and worked them and had the act close to ready for him before he arrived in the US. - M. Edwards

01 January, 2007 07:35
Anonymous said...

Micha Williams, nice to see your contribution to the blog. Hope all is well. Are you still working for Dave Hale?

01 January, 2007 11:18
Raffaele De Ritis said...

To Micah Williams:

thanks Mr.Williams, to specify the background of those camels so precisely and honestly. Now I know sonmething more. I remember a very nice time with those young camels.
From the first day we introduced the act in dress rehearsal, we was amazed from the "ooohhh..." of the audience as they got the ring. Then we realized: how often american audience see liberty camels, and so close?...

02 January, 2007 09:00
Anonymous said...

I am not sure where M.Edwards got his info but as a number of people remember that group of Zebras started with a zebra that was 5 years old and trained by a well known equine trainer,and then put together as a 4 by the tiger whisperer and then 4 more were added by a phantom trainer who put an entire act on them BEFORE Mrs Holst brought them to a park in Massachusetts for a season AS AN ACT
all before they went to Mr.Houcke.
So it seems, Mrs. Holst was at least the 4th! trainer to work on those zebras before they went to the Red show.
there seems to be a discrepancy in definitions here ,as is the case with a lot of European "trainers"
In America it is traditional to call the person that "started" or "broke"
the animals as the person who "trained" them.The "trainer" who shows them in the show ,even if he re-routines the animals is known as a "presenter", who would be referred to in the program and in all PR as the "trainer"
and Roger, please, no remarks on how this one is signed

02 January, 2007 11:04
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Wasn't one of those zebras the one Caroly had named Zero?

02 January, 2007 12:34
Anonymous said...

First of all I am not the anonymous who commented on who trained the zebrs, but I am the trainer that had the initial lead zebra. One day with Hanneford Mark Karoly showed up with a zebra he bought. Mark would ride it [not in the show] and it tied on the picket line with his ride ponies. Mark never got around to doing much with but he was a pretty good zebra. Now I made a deal and booked an exotic camel,etc. act with Beatty-Cole and bought the zebra to be part of this act with llamas, etc. I got the animals and began training. When I advised Beatty-Cole that I would have a zebra as part of the act they to my dismay and surprise said they didn't want a zebra on the show because of liability, etc. So I put the zebra up for sale and I had been asked about the coming Ringling zebrs and training them, which I declined, so I contacted Ringling and they agreed to buy my zebra when I suggested that whoever trained the zebra would be pleased to start with a lead zebra, ring trained, line, change, etc. So in rounjd about wheeling and dealing [not me] the zebra did indeed become the lead zebra. I heard that some zebra expert in Kentucky would top the new zebras off as to haltering, leading, handling,etc. which I believe happened. Also Sara Houcke would have a hand in their training. I guess Mrs. Houcke did have them later at a summer park and from reports in the field they were far from a trained act, but made appearances at the park. Undoubtably Sacha Houcke took the best of what had been started, thru out the mistakes and in a very short time he made a very creditable act out of them. I saW AND TALKED TO HIM LATER AND HE WAS PLEASED THAT AT LEAST HE HAD A DECENT ZEBRA TO WORK AS THE LEAD as I had expected. Once again the old Jimmy Durante quote, "Now everybody wants to get in the act" holds true, but I did provide them with a ring broke zebra. And I would strongly give great credit to Mr. Houcke. Excuse me I meant Mrs. Holst had them at the park, not a Mrs. Houcke.

02 January, 2007 13:21
Anonymous said...

I am not refering to anyone in particular, however, some people couldn't break a cup and saucer even if they hammers in both hands. No names please, I'm discreet.

02 January, 2007 13:58
Anonymous said...

If my father were still around, he would verify the fact that I could break a cup and saucer without the use of any hammer.

04 January, 2007 13:54
Anonymous said...

Regarding "Everyone wants to get in the act?" Thats like the Pot calling the Kettle Black.

04 January, 2007 14:23

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