Flea Circuses and alternative events

Flea Circuses are often associated with carnivals, freak shows or other colourful forms of entertainment. For example, Flea Circuses have been performed at Huberts Museum and Coney Island.

A recent example of this was Ms. Karla Chameleon's Flea Circus at the Steampunk themed event "The Great Exhibition" from "White Mischief". Where Ms. Chameleon walked around like a cigarette girl, entertaining the crowds with a portable circus.



Comming up next month, is Indulgent Decadence a Burlesque night at the Red Shoes Theatre in Elgin. Circus Maximus has been asked to perform at the event.

The flea - Harold Russell - 1913

Via a search on the Wellcome Trust Library and then google books and the internet archive, I discovered a quite detailed book called "The Flea" by Harold Russell.



As well as a detailed record of the internal workings of the flea, in the chapter on Human Fleas there is a section on performing fleas. There are a items of particular interest to would be performers. The first is that the author suggests that the fleas are harnessed with silk threads not wire, the use of blotting paper so that their feet do not slip when pulling carriages and the rotating pill box for breaking the fleas jumping habits.

This account of a despised and detested group of insects would be very imperfect if it did not mention those educated or performing fleas which have evoked so much astonishment among people who have watched them. It will be best to say, at once, that the fleas are not educated and that the performance can only be attributed to their desire to escape. It is stated that a performing flea may be broken of the habit of jumping by being put in a pill-box with glass sides which is made to revolve like a lottery wheel. A short course of this treed-mill teaches the flea that the objectionable practice of hopping is useless and exhausting. It is said that the life of performing fleas averages eight months which seems surprising. They are fed every few days, and the trainers delight in showing the punctures on their arms where the swarm of pets has been fed.
Performing fleas are first of all securely fastened, and this is nine-tenths of the secret, and the art of education. A very fine silk fibre is put round the body and knotted on the back. The flea may then be cemented to some movable or immoveable object. It may pull a coach by being attached to a pole made of a bristle. A little paper object stuck on its back is tamed by courtesy an equestrian or a ball-dress. The lively imagination of the spectators is of greet he1p. The strength of a flea is wonderful, and on being placed on a sheet of blotting-paper, so that the hooks of the feet get a bold, the coach travels at a fine pace. In the intervals of the performance the coach is turned over, and the performer with its feet in the air does not get exhausted with needless struggles. Or else the fleas are fixed head uppermost, with their legs extended horizontally, to an upright wire driven into the table. Ladies have fans of tissue paper gummed to their limbs. Gentlemen are in the same way supplied with swords made out of fine segments of wire. When two swordsmen are placed opposite each other and the table is knocked they move their limbs. The swords then clash by chance, and we have a representation of a duel not much worse than may be seen in provincial or even London melodrama.
More wonderful are dancing fleas, for there we have, a real representation of a ball-room filled with waltzers. The orchestra of fleas, all securely flied with cement, is placed above a little musical-box. The music proceeds from the box, but the vibrations make the fleas gesticulate violently over their musical instruments. The dancers spin round on the ballroom floor. The couples are fastened by a rigid bar opposite each other, so that they cannot touch or part. Each is pointed in an opposite direction, and tries to run away. A rotary motion ensues which, to the spectators if not to the fleas, is very like waltzing

Ref: The Flea - Harold Russell - 1913

Two miniature museumes, Guadelest, Spain

The metro reported yesterday morning of museums in the Benidorm area of Spain. One of them was the "Micro Gigantic" in Guadelest. When I searched for more details, I discovered that there are actually two museums with miniature exhibits in Guadalest. The Micro Gigantic and the Museo de Micro Miniatures which also has a collection of interesting items.



Obviously the exhibit that attracted my attention was the Flea riding a bicycle along the edge of a seed but they have a range of other marvelous miniature exhibits. Unless there are several fleas riding bicycles in existence, I believe this one to be the creation of Willard Wigan.

A selection of paintings by Goya such as 'fusilamiento 3 de Mayo' painted on a grain of rice and 'The Naked Maja' painted on the wing of a fly. There is also a sculpture of a camel passing through the eye of a needle, a full Bible inscribed on a piece of hair and a violin scaled to be played by an ant.

Miniatures Museum: Calle Iglesia, 5
Micro-Gigantic Museum: Calle del Sol, 2

Guadalest town website
Miniature museums around Europe.
More Micromini exhibitions.
Works by Willard Wigan.

Flea Circus Acts

A new page has been added to the Flea Circus Research Library, a page of Flea Circus Acts. Some of the historic and more recent acts are examined.

Fleas in Amber?

Amber is fossilised tree resin and often contains small bugs or animals. Because these specimens are perfectly preserved they give us a view into the world of insects 50 million years ago.



Small flies and mosquitoes are the most common insects to find trapped in amber, but rarer finds include beatles or spiders. German professor and amber expert Wolfgang Weitschatt dreams of finding an amber nugget with a fossil of a flea hardened within the resin. Until now, there are only two such finds known in the world.



Buy insects in amber from the Amber Workshop
The legendary Amber Room in St Petersberg

Video Gallery of Flea Circus Performers

I've added the following playlist of flea circus videos that I've found to the Flea Circus Directory. Let me know if you've got a video to add or if you want to be added to the directory.

Flea Circus Performers on Video

Flea Circus London

Hidden in the depths of the Candid Arts Centre, Angel Islington is the "Flea Circus". Inspired by the combination of grime and wonder that the name 'Flea Circus' brings to mind and aiming to bring you the most exciting bands, the funniest comedians, the most brilliant poets, and anything else that'll stick if thrown at a stage!

Entrance is a tiny £3, and drinks a recession beating £2, so everyone's happy!

Flea Circus attracts crowds of 150 entirely down to the quality of the acts. Previous acts have been nominated for if.comedy awards, won chortle student comedy awards, been interviewed in the Guardian music section, and won poetry slam competitions.

The Next Flea Circus is: THURSDAY 17th December 2009

For more information, and to find out when the next one is on, visit www.fleacircuslondon.co.uk