Circus School of Walloon Brabant

The Brabant Wallon Circus School , commonly known as ECBW, is a major Belgian institution dedicated to the discovery, learning, and creation of circus arts. Founded in the 1980s as the Louvain-la-Neuve Circus School, it has gradually expanded its activities across a large part of Walloon Brabant.

The school now offers workshops in numerous locations in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve , Wavre , Chaumont-Gistoux , Court-Saint-Étienne and Rixensart . This network makes circus arts accessible to a particularly wide audience without concentrating all activities in one location.

The workshops are organized into several main categories in order to support participants from their first discovery of the circus to specialization and artistic creation.

The Micro Circus workshops

The Micro Circus workshops are designed for young children. They combine circus techniques and psychomotor skills in a fun and creative approach. In addition to developing their motor skills and gradually discovering the world of circus arts, children learn to interact within a group and respect other participants.

The Pluri Circus workshops

Pluri Circus workshops offer a broader exploration of the different branches of circus arts. They allow participants to experiment with various techniques before developing their preferences and skills. Groups are offered for different age groups, and the program extends to adults.

The school's activities allow students to explore juggling , acrobatics , balance , and aerial disciplines . The variety of equipment and situations allows each participant to explore multiple ways of manipulating objects, balancing, moving, and using their body.

The Focus workshops

For students wishing to delve deeper into a particular technique, the Focus workshops offer more specialized practice. Aerial arts, in particular, occupy a significant place in the school's programming, with several groups divided according to location and skill level.

Unicycling also benefits from a specific workshop. Participants progressively work on riding forwards and backwards, staying in place, jumping, overcoming obstacles and creating choreographies.

The creative workshops

The school also runs several workshops dedicated to creation . These groups are aimed at young people who have already acquired some experience and wish to go beyond mere technical acquisition to participate in the construction of an artistic project.

The Créa Grand'Prod program is aimed particularly at young, experienced circus performers. The objective is both to consolidate their technical skills and to collectively create an artistic piece intended to be presented several times at local cultural events.

These projects allow young people to develop their creativity, critical thinking skills, and ability to collectively create a show. They discover all the steps involved in transforming a circus technique into an artistic work intended for presentation to an audience.

Other creative projects bring together members of different workshops on a regular basis around a common theme. Participants work for several days spread throughout the season before presenting their creation at the Workshop Festival .

Public presentation thus occupies an important place in the life of the school. The Workshop Festivals allow the different groups to showcase the work accomplished during the year, while the creative workshops also participate in cabarets and cultural events.

Pedagogy and team

ECBW's teaching approach does not solely focus on technical performance. The enjoyment of practice , personal expression , movement , creativity , and group cohesion are essential dimensions of learning.

The teaching team brings together a wide range of profiles from circus arts, psychomotor skills, education, and artistic practices. Several instructors themselves grew up within the school before training professionally and then returning to share their experience.

Some team members also possess professional and international artistic experience, particularly in trapeze , aerial arts , juggling , acrobatics , dance and contemporary creation .

Recognition and partnerships

The Brabant Wallon Circus School is recognized and subsidized as a Centre for Expression and Creativity by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation . It is also a founding member of Fédécirque , the network of circus schools of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which it has chaired since 2024.

Its activities extend far beyond just weekly classes. The school also organizes holiday camps , introductory sessions , activities , birthday parties , training courses , and various projects carried out with schools.

In particular, she participates in the Cultural and Artistic Education Pathway and develops projects allowing school students to discover juggling, balance, acrobatics and aerial disciplines.

ECBW has also been conducting workshops with residents of Horizons Neufs for several years and is developing partnerships aimed at making its activities accessible to people facing economic or social difficulties.

Since 2009, the association has also coordinated the P'tit Cirq'en Palc in Wavre. This project brings together a residency for young artists, a circus festival and cultural and artistic education activities, thus creating bridges between amateur practice, creation and encounter with the public.

With its presence in several municipalities, its workshops ranging from circus psychomotor skills to the creation of shows, its technical specializations, its internships and its numerous cultural and educational projects, the Brabant Wallon Circus School is today a major player in the amateur practice and transmission of circus arts in Brabant Wallon.