Chapidock – Circus School of the Lézards Animés Association

Chapidock is a circus school in Nantes run by the Lézards Animés association. Created in 1998 , the association develops artistic and creative activities promoting personal growth, expression and access to culture for people of all ages and backgrounds.

In response to the growing number of circus arts activities in the Nantes area, the association created a space specifically dedicated to circus practice. Chapidock opened its doors in 2012 on the Île de Nantes.

The school welcomes a particularly wide audience: children, teenagers, adults and seniors, but also families in the context of parent-child workshops, people with disabilities, experienced practitioners and professional artists.

The subjects taught

Multidisciplinary courses allow students to explore the major families of circus arts.

Juggling includes, among other things, balls, scarves, rings, flower sticks and diabolo.

Balancing on objects allows you to discover the balance ball, the wire, the rolla-bolla, the unicycle and stilts.

Aerial disciplines also play an important role, including trapeze, aerial hoop, and silks. The Chinese pole is also among the apparatus practiced.

Acrobatics is approached in different forms: ground acrobatics, dynamic acrobatics and acrobatic lifts.

The technical work is complemented by stage games, improvisation, creative research and work around expression.

Courses tailored to each audience

Even the youngest children can discover the circus accompanied by an adult through parent-child classes offered from age 3. The aim is both to discover the different disciplines and to develop the relationship between child and adult through play and shared practice.

Chapidock is also developing a specific program for seniors over 60. The activities are adapted to each individual's abilities and preferences, with a focus on physical strengthening as well as risk and injury prevention.

Alongside multidisciplinary courses, the school offers specialized courses for teenagers and adults. These allow students to dedicate more time to a particular discipline and to develop both technical skills and creative research.

Créa'cirk: a creative journey

Chapidock also offers a creative program with Créa'cirk . Open to teenagers aged 14 and over, and adults already enrolled in another course, this project allows participants to collectively build a show over the course of the year.

Participants discover all the stages of creation: artistic research, building the acts, acting, staging, set design, and organizing a show. The project can lead to performances at contemporary circus festivals or in various cultural, community, social, or healthcare settings.

The objective is also to introduce participants to certain realities of live performance: preparing a performance, organization, tour logistics, relations with host structures and equipment management.

Internships

Internships are another important aspect of Chapidock.

During school holidays, courses allow children to discover or further develop acrobatics, juggling, balancing on objects and aerial disciplines.

Family-oriented internships are also organized.

For teenagers and adults, the program includes technical workshops dedicated to specific disciplines or approaches. Acrobatics, fixed trapeze, acrobatic lifts, aerial apparatus, juggling, object balancing, or acro-dance can thus be the subject of specific workshops.

Arts and cultural education

Chapidock also develops a significant artistic and cultural education activity.

The school works with educational institutions and can develop projects with teaching teams to discover or introduce students to circus arts.

These projects are not limited to technical learning. They also allow us to explore the diversity and history of the circus, autonomy, mutual support, body awareness, imagination, physical expression, and the relationship with the audience.

The interventions can take place directly in the establishments or at Chapidock.

The school has also been involved with medical and social care facilities for many years.

Particular attention is paid to projects concerning disability and inclusion . Activities are adapted to the abilities of the participants in order to promote progress, enjoyment of practice, confidence and social relationships.

Each intervention can be the subject of an educational project built with the professionals of the structure in order to adapt the objectives, content, duration and number of sessions to the people supported.

Hosting artists and residencies

Chapidock also welcomes established artists and circus performers for open training sessions . These sessions allow independent practitioners to have access to a suitable space and equipment to continue their training.

The professional sector's involvement is extended through artistic residencies . Circus companies and artists can thus use the spaces of the Chapidock to work on their creations.

A vibrant cultural venue

The school is also a vibrant cultural space.

Open stages, shows, cabarets, juggling gatherings, open days and various community events punctuate the season and allow for the creation of links between students, families, amateurs, professional artists and residents.

With its courses for all ages, its specializations, its internships, its creative work, its school and medico-social projects, its free training and its hosting of artists in residence, the Chapidock constitutes at once a school of amateur practice, a place for the transmission of circus arts and a space for encountering contemporary circus creation.