Big Red Nose Company

The Big Red Nose Company

The Compagnie du Gros Nez Rouge is a traveling educational circus school based in Jullouville , Manche, Normandy. Founded in 2001 , the association's mission is to introduce, promote, and teach the circus arts . It also develops a professional activity creating shows and performances, thus combining education , artistic practice , and live performance .

Mobile operation

Unlike a traditional circus school that primarily operates with weekly classes in a fixed location, the Compagnie du Gros Nez Rouge has a strong itinerant identity. It travels with its equipment and big top directly to schools, leisure centers, educational groups, summer camps, youth centers, special education institutions, and other organizations wishing to implement a circus arts project.

Approvals and recognitions

The company is recognized as a circus arts training institution and holds accreditation from the FFEC (French Federation of Circus Schools). It is affiliated with FREC Bretagne (Regional Federation of Circus Schools of Brittany). The organization also indicates that it holds accreditations from the Ministry of National Education , the Ministry of Youth and Sports , and for its work in popular education .

The educational project "A Week at the Circus"

One of the company's main educational projects is "A Week at the Circus." For several days, children are immersed in the world of the circus and discover how it works through contact with professional artists. The project temporarily transforms a school, a leisure center, or a community into a real circus arts venue, complete with a big top, educational workshops, the introduction of various disciplines, and the preparation of a performance.

Pedagogy and accessibility

The activity is accessible from preschool onwards and is based on a non-competitive approach. Each child can discover the techniques offered and progress at their own pace. This approach emphasizes discovery, the joy of practice, experimentation, self-confidence, and participation in a group project.

Juggling

Juggling plays a significant role in the workshops. Participants can manipulate a variety of objects. This diversity allows the exercises to be easily adapted to the level and age of the participants, from the very first manipulations to learning more advanced techniques.

• Rings
• Chinese plates
• Clubs
• Diabolos
• Devil sticks
• Scarves

Balances and unicycle

Balancing acts on objects are another major area of learning. The workshops offer the opportunity to discover various disciplines that develop balance, coordination, concentration, and body control. The company also uses unicycles in its introductory circus arts programs.

• Thread
• American Roll
• Balance ball
• Stilts

Ground acrobatics and lifts

Children can also learn ground acrobatics and acrobatic lifts, including building group pyramids. Beyond physical learning, these activities require listening, cooperation, and trust between partners, and thus take on their full meaning within the framework of a group educational project.

Aerial disciplines

Aerial disciplines are also featured, with various apparatus. They allow participants to explore another dimension of circus arts and to progressively work on suspension, body placement, and movement at height within a supervised environment.

• Trapeze
• Aerial hoop
• Aerial fabric

Clown arts, mime and expression

Finally, clowning, mime, physical expression, and stagecraft complement the technical disciplines. The goal is therefore not simply to learn to juggle, balance, or perform an acrobatic feat: children are gradually guided to use their learning to create a genuine performance to be presented to an audience.

Project purpose and representation

This artistic dimension truly comes to life at the end of the "A Week at the Circus" project. On the final day, the educational big top transforms into a real performance space, equipped with chairs and bleachers. With the help of the participating artists, the children develop, create, and then present their own show for their parents, families, and friends. They thus discover all the stages of a circus project, from initial learning to performing before an audience.

The company can also incorporate a performance of its own professional show into the week. The children then have the opportunity to move from the role of participant to that of spectator and discover how the techniques they have practiced during their workshops are used by artists in a real performance.

Mobile equipment and security

Professional activity and directory

Alongside its educational activities, the Compagnie du Gros Nez Rouge is a professional performance and entertainment company. It offers both stationary and touring shows, as well as various entertainment options for festivals, events, carnivals, parades, and other occasions. This dual focus allows participants to meet working artists directly.

• Juggling
• Diabolo
• Thread
• Balances
• Aerial fabric
• Acrobatics
• Stilts
• Clown
• Illusion
• Balloon sculpting
• Fire juggling

The instructors transmit the disciplines they themselves practice in the context of professional shows and events, which strengthens the link between practice and live performance.

Target audiences and educational benefits

The company has developed an approach particularly suited to school and educational projects, as it brings the world of circus directly to the venue. Preschools and elementary schools, educational groups, leisure centers, summer camps, youth centers, and special education institutions can thus organize a genuine circus project without needing their own specialized infrastructure.

Its itinerant operation allows it to go directly to meet the public and offer a complete immersion combining juggling, diabolo, acrobatics, aerial disciplines, balances, unicycle, clowning arts and stage expression.

With its big top, professional artists and its "A Week at the Circus" project, the company transforms the discovery of circus arts into a true collective adventure: participants experience many disciplines, learn to work together, participate in the creation of an act and then discover the experience of the stage by presenting their show in front of an audience.