Nudity, circus, and kindness: Little Circus Butts

Little Circus Butts 2026

When the circus embraces its bodies, its humor, and its community involvement

For the past few years, the world of circus and juggling has seen the emergence of artistic projects that break free from traditional boundaries, projects that are simultaneously socially conscious, joyful, and profoundly human. The Little Circus Butts 2026 calendar is a perfect example of this movement.

At the crossroads of artistic nudity, self-deprecation, and juggling culture, this calendar highlights amateur and professional artists in all the diversity of their bodies, practices, and backgrounds. Far from rigid standards, it champions a benevolent, inclusive, and confident perspective on the circus body.

Led by the association La Patate qui Jongle , this project is also a concrete support tool for the associative sector: the funds raised are used to organize juggling conventions and to keep circus culture alive on the ground.

To understand the behind-the-scenes story of the project, its origins, its values, and its collective energy, we met with Kamzou and Dimitri , the association's president and treasurer, respectively. They gave us an unfiltered, sincere, and candid look at the Little Circus Butts 2026 calendar… and a great sense of humor.

Interview – Behind the scenes of the calendar

Potatoes

🔹 To begin

Can you introduce yourselves and tell us about your role in the Little Circus Butts 2026 calendar project? We're Kamzou and Dimitri, president and treasurer respectively of the association La Patate qui Jongle. We initiated this project, which started in 2023, and for its first edition, the photoshoot took place at the Mamagabe convention in Poitiers.

We coordinate the photoshoot between the convention organizers, the photographer, the models, the printer, and then the shipping. Camille La Verde is our photographer, and then Kamzou takes care of the layout and the visuals for communication.

🔹 The birth of the project

How did the idea for this calendar come about? Was it a long-held desire, a crazy idea among friends, or an opportunity that presented itself naturally?

The idea had been brewing in Kamzou's head for several months: to offer an artistic, humorous nude calendar centered around juggling and the circus. And with Dimitri (almost) always up for wacky ideas, the calendar project is on track!

🔹 The place and the context

The photoshoot took place during the WEJC in Arnhem. Why this choice? What did this context bring to the project, both humanly and artistically?

The basic idea was to set up the photoshoot at French national conventions for greater comfort in the shooting room, a wider audience of models, and increased visibility for the project. In 2025, there were no French national conventions, but our team refused to abandon the project, so we took on the challenge of bringing the photo studio to the Netherlands!

The choice wasn't too difficult; the European convention brings together many different people around a shared passion, a wide range of circus equipment, creativity... There, we were sure to find some great proposals for our calendar.

🔹 The spirit of the calendar

The calendar showcases bodies, buttocks, but above all, circus performers. What message do you want to convey?

Although the initial inspiration was the renowned "Gods of the Stadium" , we immediately wanted to bring humor and represent amateur and professional circus in the images.

Then, as the project progressed, we realized that the real heart of this calendar is also to represent all types of bodies, shapes, but also disabilities and handicaps.

Some photo sessions are challenging for the models and we want them to leave happy, stronger and more comfortable with their bodies, regardless of whether the photo appears in the calendar at the end.

🔹 The shooting process

How did the photo shoot actually go? Atmosphere, organization, unexpected events, memorable moments…

Beforehand, we choose a day and time slot, from 9am to 6pm at the EJC, where we group all the photo sessions. Kamzou creates an online calendar where everyone signs up for the time slot that suits them.

Next, Dimitri greets people and has them sign a photo release form. In the room, there's Camille (the photographer) and Kamzou, who assists her with lighting, ideas, social interaction, and organizational explanations.

We welcome models individually, in pairs, or in groups, one after the other, until the end of the day. Sessions vary in length depending on the ideas people bring, or what we offer.

Sometimes we also have people who are late or who forget their session, so in order not to waste time, we do some prospecting in the gym to find new people, it is often Dimitri's job who walks around the convention on the day of the shoot to recruit and remind people of their time slots.

This year, we had the pleasure of meeting many nationalities and the joy of opening the lens to all kinds of bodies, a magnificent array of shapes and curves that break away from the beauty stereotypes sold by society.

We also had people with disabilities who came to pose unannounced; it was a lovely surprise. And we experienced a memorable moment with the photo of about twenty French people naked in front of the camera, the hubbub and the buttocks meeting with great kindness and serenity—it's a small victory towards the acceptance of our bodies, whatever they may be!

🔹 The participants

How were friends and artists involved? Was it easy to convince them, or did everyone immediately get on board?

It's true that we immediately used our network of friends from the very first edition to recruit models. We faced quite a few refusals and unavailability issues, but we also had some wonderful surprises.

Especially for the May 2024 photo, Kamzou worked quite a bit to get this image by going to get some friends! After that, word got around and people came of their own accord out of curiosity, challenge, or just for fun.

We're also trying to get renowned artists from the community to make our calendar a little more extraordinary. We haven't had Wes Peden yet, so tell him about the calendar to pique his interest. We'll try again later... 🤞

🔹 The gaze directed at the body and the circus

How does this project seem to you to be linked to the values of the circus and juggling? Freedom, self-deprecation, confidence, community…

At a juggling convention, I encountered a surprisingly alternative, kind, gentle, open, cooperative, generous, and funny world. I hope these are values we can convey through the calendar; in any case, we do our best during the photoshoot to create this kind of atmosphere.

🔹 The purpose of the project

The funds raised will be used to organize juggling conventions in 2026 with the association La Patate Qui Jongle. Why was it important for you to link this calendar to a charitable project?

We love the world of associations, you could say we're professional volunteers! Besides being exciting and fun, it's essential to keep the world of associations alive; it's what allows culture to continue to develop every day, and that's the overall project of our association, La Patate qui Jongle .

The calendar is a way to promote the circus through an artistic, humorous, and practical (calendars are practical!) approach, but also financially. Let's be honest, government funding for culture is pretty meager, so we make do with what we have. Buying our calendar ultimately means paying the artists for our upcoming events.

🔹 The final result

When you see the finished calendar, what do you feel? Pride, emotion, a desire to do it again?

Kamzou: Actually, I'm discovering the calendar little by little as I create it. I see the photos as the photo shoots progress, but it's always magical when we receive the edited photos from Camille; it brings back fun memories and highlights of the shoot.

Then I take care of the layout myself, so I make my choices and there are fewer surprises when the layout is finished. But it's always something special to receive the printed calendar and flip through it.

At that moment, I was incredibly proud to have seen this project through to the end, of the moments shared, the people met, the challenges overcome. Presenting the project to my friends, telling them the stories, was also a lot of fun, and seeing a smile when they turned the pages of the calendar was a victory.

And it's even better when they ask me if they can pose for the next edition! It's real work, and then you still have to sell it; marketing is long and demanding too. I'm exhausted, but I want to do it all again!

Dimitri: Since I wasn't in the room during the shoot, I didn't see the photos live. I overheard Kamzou and Camille discussing the photo sessions on the days of the shoot, and honestly, I didn't even try to hide my impatience to see the photos.

When Camille sends us the photos, I can finally see what happened in the room and compare the anecdotes I've heard with the resulting photos. I love opening the box full of calendars and literally touching the finished product and thinking , "We had a slightly unusual idea, but all these people in them were there for us."

Then all you have to do is go to the post office and send the calendars so that you can find them in your mailbox.

🔹 And then what?

Do you already envision a sequel to the project? A new edition, another format, or something completely different?

We're rarely short of ideas haha, we'd love to do a "fire" edition with fire juggling, or an "outdoor" edition with photos taken outdoors.

It's not easy to set up; you have to create a private, intimate space where people feel comfortable undressing, but where the scenery is still visible and there are no intruders during the photoshoot. There are still plenty of things to try, themes to explore, and beautiful bodies to capture.

🔹 Final word

If you had to summarize the spirit of Little Circus Butts 2026 in one sentence, what would it be?

Little Circus Butts 2026 , an extravagant calendar with circus, fun and butts in it!