Circus MoMoLo – Jenaer Kinder- und Jugendzirkus

Circus MoMoLo is a circus school for children and teenagers located in Jena , Thuringia. Founded in 2006 by a group of circus arts enthusiasts, it has become over the years an important player in arts education and contemporary circus in the region.

The classes and training sessions

The school offers regular courses throughout the year, allowing children and young people to discover and explore different circus disciplines.

MoMoLo currently organizes around fifteen regular courses and training sessions and welcomes approximately 900 children and teenagers during a year.

A broader conception of artistic transmission

Circus arts education is at the heart of the project, but the structure develops a much broader concept of artistic transmission.

MoMoLo views the circus as a meeting place in which children and teenagers can experiment, create and develop their personality.

The pedagogy seeks to enable everyone to progress regardless of their background, abilities or prior experience .

The association explicitly advocates a respectful, inclusive, caring and non-violent approach to relations between participants.

The various circus techniques thus become both artistic tools and means of developing confidence, autonomy, perseverance and cooperation.

The courses allow you to discover different families of disciplines and to gradually progress towards a more in-depth practice.

MoMoLo also offers open training sessions allowing practitioners more time to experiment and develop their techniques.

Collective creations and performances

The most involved teenagers can gradually participate in more ambitious creative projects .

Collective creations do indeed occupy an important place in the functioning of the school.

The young people do not only work on learning figures: they also participate in the construction of real artistic proposals combining circus, movement, theatre and performance.

These creations allow us to address topics directly related to the concerns of teenagers and to transform the circus into a means of expression .

The shows are then presented to the public under the MoMoLo big top.

Activities during school holidays

The school's activities also continue during school holidays.

MoMoLo regularly organizes circus weeks and camps allowing children and teenagers to practice more intensively.

These projects include Future Camp during the summer holidays and Nordstern during the autumn holidays.

Family circus days also allow children and their loved ones to share a circus experience.

Educational collaborations

MoMoLo is also developing numerous educational collaborations .

The team works with schools, nurseries and other educational establishments to allow children who do not necessarily attend circus school to discover this practice.

Around thirty projects and shows are developed each year.

The association also offers tailor-made projects , participatory workshops and interventions during events.

Its activities can involve children and adolescents as well as adults.

Adults have access to certain specialized training courses . For the 2026-2027 season, MoMoLo is offering, for example, a specific course dedicated to aerial silks.

The link with contemporary professional circus

One of MoMoLo's distinctive features is its close connection with professional contemporary circus .

Since 2018 , the association has been organizing the Composé Festival in Jena, an international festival dedicated to contemporary circus.

International companies and artists come to present their creations and meet the public.

This proximity to professional creation allows young practitioners to develop in an environment where the circus is presented as an educational activity , a leisure activity and a true contemporary art form .

A place and a team

The association notably has a real big top set up on Burgauer Weg in Jena.

This place is the visible heart of MoMoLo's circus life and hosts training, creations and performances.

A permanent team of circus professionals and educators ensures the operation of the structure, accompanied by numerous speakers and young trainers.

This intergenerational transmission helps ensure the continuity of the project.

A true circus journey

After twenty years of existence, Circus MoMoLo represents much more than a simple discovery workshop.

Weekly classes, training sessions, workshops, creations, shows, school interventions, family activities and an international festival constitute the different facets of a project dedicated to the transmission and development of contemporary circus .

Circus MoMoLo thus offers children and teenagers in Jena a true circus journey , from the first discovery to an in-depth artistic and creative practice.