Circus Life Backstage The Big Top

• Photographer
  Eleftherios Partsalis
• Agency / Studio
  Lefteris Partsalis

The circus has exerted a deep fascination over people for centuries. Inside the wondrous capsule of the big top, tricks, illusions, exoticism and impossible human feats illustrate a world of magic. Backstage this shiny universe, people are working around the clock, to maintain and clean the equipment, to rehearse their acts, to create new ones, to perfect their tricks. At the same time, the troupe is like a family, sometimes literally, as many performers are in the circus for generations. This story is an homage to them.

Lefteris Partsalis was born in Athens in 1987, where he spent the first 18 years of his life. In 2004, he bought his first camera and pursued photography as a hobby; more than 10 years later he is an established photographer who has covered major stories including the Greek financial crisis, the refugee crisis, civil unrests, Mosul offensive and more. Since 2015, Partsalis works as a freelancer for various media. In 2015 he took the picture of three grandmothers in Lesvos feeding a baby migrant and one of them nominated for Nobel prize.