ACIRKAOS – Escuela de Circo Social

ACIRKAOS is a non-profit association and a social circus school located on the island of Menorca, in the Balearic Islands.

Unlike a school located in a single place, ACIRKAOS has historically developed a mobile organization with activities offered in different municipalities on the island, including Maó and Ciutadella .

The social circus as the heart of the project

The association defines social circus as a process of learning circus techniques that promotes the inclusion of people, regardless of their personal or economic situation, while also contributing to community development.

This social dimension truly constitutes the heart of the project .

ACIRKAOS uses circus arts as educational, artistic and relational tools .

The goal is therefore not just to learn to juggle, to practice trapeze or to perform an acrobatic figure.

The techniques are also used to develop confidence, autonomy, creativity, cooperation and participation in the group .

The annual school and curriculum

The annual school is one of the association's main activities.

The course traditionally runs from October to June .

It is organized in a multidisciplinary manner.

Students explore several families of techniques throughout the year rather than specializing immediately.

• The trapeze is one of the aerial disciplines taught.
• Aerial fabrics are also part of the program.
• Juggling is another important aspect.
• The balances are integrated into the progression.
• Acrobatics are practiced throughout the year.
• The clown also plays a role in the process and helps to introduce play, creativity and stage expression.

The historical organization of the curriculum distributes different technical families over the course of the terms before bringing them together in an end-of-year presentation .

This organization allows students to acquire a truly multidisciplinary experience.

Target audience

The school welcomes children from about five years old .

• Groups are organized for younger children and for older children.
• Teenagers can continue practicing.
• Activities are also offered to adults.

For young people and adults, some courses may be more specialized.

Trapeze and aerial silks, in particular, have been the subject of specific time slots.

However, the practice of circus arts remains inseparable from the socio-educational philosophy of ACIRKAOS.

Educational philosophy

The association considers play as a privileged gateway to learning.

It helps to stimulate the imagination while developing physical abilities.

The performing arts also allow one to work on expression and creativity.

Group activities serve to transmit different values.

This philosophy explains the work done with people facing particularly diverse social situations.

Workshops for vulnerable audiences

ACIRKAOS has developed workshops specifically designed for vulnerable audiences .

The association has notably worked with young people who are in situations of or at risk of social exclusion .

A social circus project aimed at young people in Menorca brought together participants from different social backgrounds.

The program combined circus training with work on participation , integration , and acceptance within the group .

The project also included training for supervisory staff .

Social service professionals, educators and volunteers were thus able to discover the methods of social circus.

This desire to pass on pedagogy is important.

ACIRKAOS does not only seek to offer activities directly to beneficiaries.

The association also helps to spread the methods of social circus to education and support professionals.

Disability and adapted circus

The work done around disability is particularly interesting.

ACIRKAOS collaborated with the Fundación para Personas con Discapacidad de Menorca .

This foundation brings together the island's public institutions as well as numerous associations working with people with disabilities.

Circus workshops have been specifically developed for these audiences.

This experience allows ACIRKAOS to be considered as a structure with genuine experience in inclusive and adapted circus .

Institutional Partnerships

The association has also collaborated with the Centro de Atención a la Infancia y a la Familia de Menorca .

This institution provides support in particular to children and young people in vulnerable situations or at significant risk of exclusion.

Some of these young people were directed towards ACIRKAOS' regular or occasional activities.

This integration into the ordinary activities of the school is particularly consistent with the philosophy of the project.

The circus then becomes a common space allowing people from very different backgrounds to practice together.

Project at the Menorca penitentiary center

ACIRKAOS has also developed a particularly noteworthy project at the Menorca Penitentiary Centre .

For several months, social circus workshops were offered to incarcerated individuals.

The teaching method was based in particular on clowning and juggling .

The circus was used to create a space for communication , creativity and expression in a particularly constrained environment.

The work also targeted social skills such as communication, responsibility, and teamwork.

A concrete and historic commitment

These various actions show that the name " Circo Social " is absolutely not simply a communication tool.

It corresponds to a concrete and historical practice of the association.

National and European networks

ACIRKAOS also belongs to the Federación Española de Escuelas de Circo Socio Educativo , FEECSE.

The association is also linked to the European network EYCO , European Youth Circus Organisation.

This inclusion in national and European networks allows it to exchange with other schools and structures sharing similar objectives.

International exchanges and meetings

ACIRKAOS has extensive experience in international trade .

Various projects have brought together artists, teachers and circus performers from Spain and other European countries.

The Encuentros de Circo Social organised in Menorca were important moments in this dynamic.

These meetings combine seminars , workshops , shows and exchanges around the social practices of the circus.

Themes such as gender , inclusion , pedagogy , and social transformation were addressed.

Participants can simultaneously attend technical training sessions.

• Juggling, object manipulation, tightrope walking, Chinese pole, flexibility, contortion, rope, silks, trapeze or aerial hoop have notably featured in different editions.

However, a distinction must be made between these disciplines offered on an ad hoc basis during meetings and those constituting the regular curriculum of the school.

According to the NetJuggler profile, the safest regular disciplines remain trapeze , aerial silks , juggling , balancing , acrobatics and clowning .

The meetings and internships then allow for a considerable expansion of the possibilities.

Activities during the holidays

ACIRKAOS also organizes activities during the holidays.

The “ ACIRKAOS al Sol ” camps use circus arts in an approach that is both educational and fun.

Children can discover juggling, aerial disciplines, acrobatics and balancing there.

Cultural activity and live performance

The association is also developing a broader cultural activity .

Festivals, galas and meetings allow local, Spanish and international artists to be presented to the Menorcan public.

This programming maintains a direct link between the school and live performance .

Therefore, the students are not just discovering the techniques.

They operate in an environment where they can also meet artists and discover different forms of contemporary circus.

The school's end-of-year presentation complements this approach.

It gives students the opportunity to share the learning they have achieved during the course.

A project that goes far beyond a leisure school

ACIRKAOS is therefore a project that is much broader than a simple leisure school.

It is simultaneously an amateur circus school , an educational circus structure, a social circus actor and an organizer of cultural meetings and projects.

Establishment in Menorca

Its presence in Menorca is also interesting.

Historically, the itinerant organization allows for reaching several sectors of the island rather than concentrating all activities in a single city.

• Maó is one of the main places of activity.
• Ciutadella also hosted regular groups.
• Ferreries also appears among the municipalities where the association has developed its activities.

For the NetJuggler directory

For the NetJuggler directory, it is therefore preferable to create a single ACIRKAOS listing for Menorca rather than several artificially separated schools.

The various locations can be mentioned as places of practice .

The main category should remain " Amateur Schools ".

I cannot find an intensive and selective annual course designed to professionally train circus artists.

The team's extensive professional experience and occasional specialized training are not enough to transform the school into a professional training institution.

On the other hand, the categories of educational circus and social circus correspond perfectly to the project.

The disability and adapted circus dimension can also be mentioned, since specific actions with people with disabilities are directly documented.

An example of the circus as a tool for emancipation

ACIRKAOS is ultimately an excellent example of how circus arts can transcend mere technical acquisition.

Trapeze, silks, juggling, balance, acrobatics and clowning become tools for encounter, education, inclusion and emancipation .

For children, teenagers and adults in Menorca, the association thus offers a space to discover circus arts while participating in a project strongly focused on community and social inclusion .