AllinCirCO – Scuola di Arti Acrobatiche Circensi

AllinCirCO is a school of acrobatic and circus arts located in Como, Lombardy.

The AllinCirCO sports association was created in 2013 with the objective of developing and transmitting circus and street arts in the territory of Como.

The project aims to bring together sports practice, artistic expression, culture and community life.

Circus arts are viewed as a way to discover one's body, develop one's physical abilities and express one's personality.

The school welcomes children, teenagers and adults alike.

Regular classes run from October to May.

They are currently being held in the sports hall of the Scuola Media Ugo Foscolo, Via Borgovico 193 in Como.

Pedagogy

The teaching method developed by AllinCirCO places great importance on play.

For younger children, this is the main way to enter the world of the circus.

The goal is not to immediately seek technical performance.

The child begins by discovering their body, the space around them, and their relationship with others.

The environment is intentionally playful and non-competitive.

Each student can thus develop their own motor and social skills.

The school also seeks to allow everyone to experiment with different disciplines before discovering those that best suit their personality.

Classes for 4-5 year olds

The first circus classes are offered to children aged four and five.

At this age, the work aims in particular to develop balance and coordination between gaze and movement.

The children begin to handle different circus props.

They also experiment with small acrobatics with or without objects.

The discovery process remains essentially playful.

Classes for 6-7 year olds

For six and seven year olds, teaching gradually becomes more diversified.

The children work on their coordination and dexterity.

Ground acrobatics are introduced.

Acrobalance allows you to start working with others.

It is also at this age that children truly discover aerial disciplines.

The trapeze is one of the apparatus offered.

Aerial fabrics are used.

The aerial hoop completes this initial exploration of height.

Juggling is also introduced.

Clowning also allows for the exploration of imagination, interpretation, and humor.

AllinCirCO therefore combines physical work and artistic expression from the earliest years.

Classes for 8-10 year olds

For eight to ten year olds, learning gradually becomes more technical.

The students delve into several branches of circus arts.

Balance disciplines occupy an important place.

They can, in particular, discover arm stilts.

The balance ball is used.

The rola-bola allows you to work on another form of postural control.

Juggling is becoming more diverse.

Students can handle balls.

Scarves provide another medium.

Bolas and diabolo are also among the equipment used.

The acrobatic work progresses in parallel.

Wheels and verticals are discussed.

The trampoline allows you to introduce or deepen different forms of jumping.

The students also perform group exercises and acrobatic balancing acts.

Aerial apparatus continues to be used.

This wide variety allows for the development of coordination, balance, and body awareness in space.

Teenagers

Teenagers have their own path.

Juggling, ground acrobatics, aerial acrobatics and balancing are the main categories practiced.

The exercises can be individual or group exercises.

The goal gradually becomes to improve physical fitness while developing consistency and determination.

Trapeze, silks and aerial hoop are used.

Acrobatic work includes, in particular, cartwheels, verticals and flip-flops.

Adolescence is also considered a period when the circus can help develop self-confidence and the ability to work with others.

Mistakes are intentionally part of the educational process.

The student learns not to view it as a definitive failure but as a step in their progress.

This philosophy fully aligns with the non-competitive approach advocated by the school.

The adult route

AllinCirCO also offers a real course designed for adults.

The courses combine physical preparation with the discovery of several disciplines.

Floor acrobatics include cartwheels, verticals, flip-flops, and trampoline jumping.

Aerial disciplines are widely represented.

Adults can practice trapeze.

Aerial fabrics are available.

The aerial hoop completes this family.

Balance disciplines are particularly varied.

Stilts, balance ball, tightrope, rola-bola and unicycle are used.

Juggling and acrobatics complement the teaching.

A theatrical dimension is also present.

Participants can experience the work of the comic character.

The adult class is therefore not limited to a circus-inspired fitness activity.

It retains a truly artistic and circus-like dimension.

This combination of body technique, manipulation, balance, aerial work and theatre is one of AllinCirCO's great strengths.

Activities in the school environment

The school also has a significant amount of activity outside of its weekly classes.

She works particularly in schools.

Specific juggling workshops are offered to primary and secondary schools.

With younger children, scarves, Chinese plates, bolas and flower sticks can be used to develop the relationship between the body and the object.

The children are working on body symmetry.

The non-dominant side is deliberately emphasized.

Coordination and concentration are also developed.

With older classes, the teaching of juggling becomes more in-depth.

Balls, clubs, rings and diabolo can be used.

The child must gradually manage their body, the object, and space simultaneously.

The school pays particular attention to how to handle mistakes.

Successive attempts are part of the learning process.

The student learns to persevere.

Circus workshops in schools can go far beyond a simple one-off intervention.

AllinCirCO also offers organized circus arts courses from October to June.

Acrobatics, juggling, balancing, acrobalancing and aerial acrobatics can then be integrated into a real educational project with the class.

The stated objectives clearly go beyond technical practice.

The school wants to promote a better understanding of the body.

Children learn to identify their possibilities and limitations.

They discover how their bodies move and interact with space.

The fun exercises also help to develop physical strength and coordination.

Creativity and self-esteem are two other important goals.

Children are encouraged to become active participants in what they create.

Group practice also promotes aggregation and belonging to the group.

One of the educational objectives announced by AllinCirCO is particularly interesting: to promote the integration of children and adolescents facing situations of physical or social difficulty.

This approach clearly brings the school closer to educational and social circus practices.

It also corresponds to the career path of several team members.

The team

Fabio Giangreco is one of the founders and the historical president of AllinCirCO.

He discovered juggling in the late 1990s.

Between 2001 and 2003, he trained at the Piccola Scuola di Circo in Milan.

His training includes clowning, juggling and balancing.

He then completed his studies with numerous internships.

Alongside his artistic activity, he works in schools and develops various projects to transmit circus arts.

Giuseppe Balzaretti also participated in the creation of the association in 2013.

Trained as a physiotherapist, his career combines knowledge of the body, theatre, puppetry, juggling and clowning.

He also trained as a Small Circus operator.

The current team brings together complementary profiles.

Several participants simultaneously possess artistic experience and training in education, pedagogy, psychology, or the social field.

Carlotta Bagnasco is a particularly interesting example of this continuity.

She herself discovered the circus at AllinCirCO in 2014, at the age of sixteen.

She then continued her practice, particularly in aerial disciplines.

Having become an educator and teacher, she also trained in social circus with the AltroCirco network and in recreational-educational circus with CircoSfera.

She then returns to teach at the school where she had started as a student.

This journey particularly illustrates the ability of an amateur school to build a true continuity between discovery, progression, training and transmission.

Other members of the team have significant expertise in aerial work.

Francesca Peruzzi notably combines psychology, dance and aerial acrobatics.

Sara Pocovaz went through Circo Clap in Arona and then through the professional training of Cirko Vertigo in Turin, where she specialized in slack rope.

Emmanuel Henry John also started as a student at AllinCirCO before becoming an assistant teacher and then an instructor of circus acrobatic gymnastics.

This diversity of backgrounds allows the school to offer an education that is not based solely on the reproduction of techniques.

Pedagogy, education and understanding of student development occupy a real place.

Artistic dimension

AllinCirCO also has an artistic dimension.

The association participates in shows and performances.

She develops parades combining stilt walkers, unicyclists, jugglers and musicians.

Cabaret and variety show formats were also proposed.

This activity helps to maintain a direct link with street arts and live performance.

Students can thus develop in an environment where circus arts are simultaneously taught, practiced and presented to the public.

An amateur and educational school

The school's identity remains primarily amateur and educational.

AllinCirCO is not a higher education institution intended to provide professional training for artists.

Children, teenagers and adults come primarily to practice circus arts in an accessible environment.

Technical progress can become significant, particularly among adolescents and adults.

But it remains integrated into a larger project combining physical activity, creativity, personal expression and collective life.

Since 2013, AllinCirCO has been contributing to structuring the practice of circus arts in the territory of Como.

The school allows children to start from the age of four.

It offers continuity throughout childhood and adolescence.

Adults also have access to a particularly diverse program.

Acrobatics, aerial disciplines, juggling, balancing, unicycling, acrobalancing and theatre allow you to discover a large part of the traditional and contemporary families of the circus.

Action in schools further strengthens its territorial role.

According to the NetJuggler directory, AllinCirCO is therefore a particularly comprehensive school in Lombardy.

It combines genuine technical diversity with non-competitive teaching methods and a strong focus on individual and collective development.

Its schoolwork and its explicit objective of integrating children and adolescents facing physical or social difficulties ultimately reinforce its educational and inclusive dimension.

AllinCirCO can thus be presented as an amateur, educational and open circus school, active in Como since 2013 and intended for children, teenagers and adults alike.