Gerhard Quaiser

Gerhard Quaiser (born October 31, 1930 in Döllwitz im Saalekreis , according to today's spelling Döllnitz ) is a former elephant tamer in the GDR .

Life

Gerhard Quaiser comes from a large circus family who traveled around in their caravan. Caring for family members and animals was a tedious undertaking. At the age of 16, Quaiser was given to the uncle's circus. There he began outside the arena as a tent worker, prop master and animal keeper. Due to the versatility, which is indispensable in a small business, he was also employed in other areas, and he soon mastered artistry on the rings , on the solo trapeze , on the horse .

He then entered the service of the Frankello Circus, also a family business, and had his first contact with an elephant. When the large Eros circus was looking for an accomplished groom in 1952, Quaiser applied and was accepted. There was a strict division of labor there. Nevertheless, he managed to be entrusted with higher tasks, and so, thanks to his calm and sure hand and his four-legged understanding, he first became a rider, then an exotic stable master, that is, he took care of water buffalo , yaks , zebus , camels and guanacos . He assisted in the dressage of newly purchased Hungarian steppe cattle and thus created a basis for later own dressage. In 1955 he was promoted to chief stableman of all hay-eating animals, including the five Indian elephants . During a year-long guest appearance in Hungary in 1959, the tamer was canceled. Thanks to the trust that had been created, he was able to step in at the elephant demonstration. Ultimately, he was so convincing that he was entrusted with the training of the group. The elephants were old and therefore particularly difficult to work with, but he still managed to get the audience enthusiastic about their number.

Quaiser and the five elephants were an integral part of the Eros program from 1960 to 1966, interrupted only once by an engagement with a Czech circus. In 1961 he was also responsible for the exotic train.

In 1966 four new baby elephants arrived from Calcutta in addition to tigers . These were quickly integrated into the group and the review section. Quaiser undertook research into dressage numbers and came across Wilhelm Philadelphia, who had an elephant ride a size-adapted tricycle in Wilhelm Hagenbeck's Hamburg dressage school in 1890. Such was developed and the elephant lady Delhi trained on it. After her death, Deoli was built up as her successor in a year and a half. Together with the ball barrel number (in which four elephants on large massive balls, on which they tripped backwards while balancing in order to propel them in the opposite direction), the tricycle number and with it himself became known in the international professional world. From then on, his elephant training was among the best in Europe.

He remained loyal to Eros until 1977, then he worked for the winter of 1977/78 in the Nouvel Hippodrom de Paris and demonstrated his skills for a year in the Cirque Jean-Richard. A total of 16 Eros performances took part on this tour of France. Two years followed as an attraction in the Berolina Circus, the GDR state circus . In between he took part in the Monte Carlo International Circus Festival . In the first half of the 1980s he worked alternately with Berolina and Circus Busch , until he continued his career with Eros for another two years before passing on his job to his son Markus. His second son, Roy, also established himself in the circus world.

A special highlight in Gerhard Quaiser's professional life in 1985 was the ten-month guest performance in Japan with 75 performances plus additional dates. It was the first overseas guest game of the GDR state circus. Since the tent transport would have been too time-consuming, the performances took place in large sports and city halls. On the first evening in Tokyo, when celebrities of all stripes were present, the visitor mark of 500,000 was surpassed. It was 50 years ago that Circus Hagenbeck had last amazed the Japanese with European circus art. In the Japanese circus tradition, animals are almost non-existent and the elephant group has become a crowd favorite.

Awards

• 1980: National Prize of the GDR III. Art and literature class

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Gerhard Zapff: Portrait of a silent. The elephant trainer Gerhard Quaiser . In: Ernst Günther, Heinz P. Hofmann, Walter Rösler (eds.): Cassette. An almanac for the stage, podium and ring (=  cassette ). No. 2 . Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1978, p. 185-190 .
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Gerhard Quaiser. Elephants. In: staatskreisus-der-ddr.de. Sascha Bittner, Ulrich Schäffner, accessed on March 5, 2020 . 
3. ^ Ugo Franconi Truzzi, Gerhard Quaiser. Exotic train. In: staatskreisus-der-ddr.de. Sascha Bittner, Ulrich Schäffner, accessed on March 5, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Dieter Wirth: Actually, the clown Beppo wanted to become an operetta buffo. 25 years of VEB Central Circus - Prelude before the start of '78 - GDR artists are worthy representatives . In: New Time . Central organ of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. No. 60/1978 , March 11, 1978, From our capital, p. 6 .
5. ↑ Beatrice-Florence Dechousa and Roy Quaiser according to the motto: "We cannot do EVERYTHING, but what we CAN do we CAN!" Roy Quaiser. In: variete-roy.de. Roy Quaiser, accessed March 5, 2020 . 
6. ↑ ADN / BZ: Circus art from the GDR inspires the Japanese . In: Berliner Zeitung . No. 83/1985 , April 9, 1985, Kulturpolitik, p. 7 .
7. ↑ ^{a b} Dietmar Winkler: The elephants are particularly popular. Circus art from the GDR celebrated in Japan . In: Berliner Zeitung . No. 186/1985 , August 10, 1985, Kulturpolitik, p. 7 .
8. ↑ On the occasion of the national holiday of the German Democratic Republic: Collective and individual achievements recognized and honored . In: New Time . Central organ of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. No. 237/1980 , October 8, 1980, National Prize of the GDR III. Art and Literature Class, S. 3 f .

Web links

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