Cirk Up – Lausanne Circus School

Cirk Up is a circus school primarily for teenagers and adults , located in Ecublens , in the Lausanne metropolitan area.

The school is a specialized section of Kids Up .

It shares its location at Route Cantonale 102 in Ecublens with Kids Up Lausanne , but has an identity, website and educational offering specifically geared towards older participants.

Cirk Up presents itself directly as a circus school for teenagers and adults .

Its objective is to allow students to continue their progress in circus arts through structured weekly classes .

The school welcomes both young people wishing to practice several disciplines and students wishing to specialize.

Three main orientations

Three main approaches are proposed.

1. The multidisciplinary circus .
2. Aerial disciplines .
3. The trampoline and acrobatics association.

The multidisciplinary circus

Multidisciplinary courses allow students to discover and explore several major families of circus arts.

Acrobatics

Acrobatics is one of the main focuses.

It helps to develop coordination , strength , mobility and body control .

Acrobatic lifts are also integrated into the teaching.

They introduce an important collective dimension.

• Students need to learn to work with a partner.
• Trust becomes essential.
• Communication and accuracy also play an important role.

Aerial disciplines

Aerial disciplines constitute another major category offered by Cirk Up.

They can be discovered in the multidisciplinary curriculum.

Students wishing to go further can then choose a course specifically dedicated to aerials.

This organization therefore allows for a genuine progression between discovery and specialization .

Balance and juggling

Equilibrium on objects constitutes a third family.

Students discover different situations requiring body control , concentration and proprioception.

Juggling complements this multidisciplinary approach.

It helps to develop coordination , precision , rhythm and concentration .

Trampolining and specialization

The trampoline holds a particularly important place in the school.

It is integrated into multidisciplinary courses.

But Cirk Up also offers a specialization combining trampoline and acrobatics .

Students wishing to delve deeper into this family of techniques can therefore benefit from teaching time specifically devoted to these techniques.

This organization distinguishes Cirk Up from a small school offering only a general course.

The student can begin with a general approach to the circus.

He can then delve deeper into the disciplines that interest him most.

The acting

Acting is another interesting component of multidisciplinary courses.

Circus technique is therefore not considered solely as a physical practice.

Artistic expression and presence can also be developed.

This dimension becomes particularly important in show projects .

Target audience and age groups

Cirk Up offers courses corresponding to the final years of primary school and Swiss secondary school.

The groups announced notably cover levels 6P , 7P , 8P , 9S , 10S and 11S .

The school thus supports a particularly important period in the amateur practice of circus arts.

Many schools offer a wide range of options for young children but fewer opportunities when they become teenagers.

Cirk Up positions itself precisely on this continuity .

Young people can continue regular practice and progress technically.

The sessions for young people last one and a half hours .

This duration allows us to go beyond a simple discovery activity.

Students have the necessary time for warm-up , technical work and progression in the different disciplines.

Adults also have their own classes.

The adult offer starts from age sixteen .

It therefore also allows older teenagers to join older groups.

Adult sessions last one hour and fifteen minutes .

The practice remains accessible within an amateur framework.

Cirk Up seeks to combine technical progress with a friendly atmosphere .

The site also emphasizes the enjoyment of practicing as much as the progress made.

Terms and registration

The students are accompanied by professional instructors .

The management aims to allow for steady progress.

A trial lesson is offered before final registration.

This allows the participant to discover the activity and the school environment before committing for the year.

Registrations are then organized throughout the entire school year .

This organization demonstrates a genuine year-long curriculum and not a series of one-off workshops.

Specializations

The aerial specialization allows students interested in working at heights to delve deeper into this field.

The class lasts one hour and thirty minutes .

It therefore complements the multidisciplinary approach.

The trampoline-acrobatics course works on the same principle.

It allows more time to be devoted to acrobatic progression.

This possibility of specialization is one of the main advantages of Cirk Up.

However, the school maintains a multidisciplinary philosophy.

A teenager who does not wish to specialize can continue to practice several circus arts.

Acrobatics, aerial arts, balance, lifts, trampoline, juggling and acting can thus be combined in the same course.

This diversity promotes a relatively complete physical development.

It also allows each student to gradually identify the subjects that suit them.

Holiday internships

Cirk Up also develops significant activity during school holidays .

Sports and creative circus workshops are organised during some holidays.

These training courses take place over several days.

The full package operates from 9am to 5pm , with the possibility of extended reception.

Young people thus have much more practice time than during weekly classes.

The internships allow participants to discover the circus arts.

They also allow students who already practice to improve their skills.

But their interest is not limited to technical development.

Each week of the internship includes a genuine creative project .

The participants are collectively preparing a show .

It is presented to family and friends on the last day.

This presentation gives an artistic purpose to the week.

Therefore, the students do not work solely on isolated figures.

They need to think about how to present them.

They discover how a show is put together.

They learn to perform in front of an audience.

Teamwork becomes particularly important.

Everyone participates in a collective creation.

This dimension is linked to the role-playing already integrated into multidisciplinary courses.

Cirk Up thus combines physical practice and artistic expression .

A dedicated space and a complementary relationship with Kids Up

The school also has the advantage of operating in a space specifically designed for circus and acrobatic activities.

Its location is shared with Kids Up Lausanne .

This allows for a particularly interesting continuity to be created between the different age groups.

Kids Up welcomes younger children in particular with circus motor skills and first circus lessons.

Cirk Up then takes over more for teenagers and adults.

The two projects are therefore complementary.

However, they do not exactly correspond to the same audience or the same positioning.

For this reason, Cirk Up deserves a specific presentation in a directory dedicated to circus schools.

Its offer is specifically aimed at an audience that is often less represented in leisure schools: teenagers , older teenagers and adults .

The possibility of taking specialized courses further reinforces this identity.

• A young person particularly interested in aerial disciplines can explore this family of disciplines further.
• Another might choose trampoline and acrobatics.
• A practitioner wishing to maintain a high degree of versatility can remain in the multidisciplinary curriculum.

An amateur school, not a professional training program

However, the school does not constitute professional training for circus professions.

The courses remain geared towards amateur practice .

No professional selection process, intensive artist training, or preparatory courses for higher education institutions are announced.

The goal is rather to allow solid technical progress in a friendly environment.

The enjoyment of practicing remains explicitly emphasized.

The educational aspect is nevertheless real.

• The students attend classes every week.
• They make progress throughout the school year.
• Specialized disciplines benefit from one-and-a-half-hour sessions.
• Internships allow for occasional intensified practice.
• The creation of shows finally introduces an artistic and collective dimension.

In summary

Cirk Up is therefore a particularly interesting school for teenagers in the Lausanne region who wish to pursue circus arts beyond the initial courses intended for children.

Continuity into adulthood is also ensured.

According to the NetJuggler directory, Cirk Up can therefore be presented as an amateur circus school specializing in teenagers and adults .

His teaching includes acrobatics, aerial disciplines, object balancing, acrobatic lifts, trampoline, juggling and acting.

Specializations in aerial arts and trampoline acrobatics allow for further exploration of certain disciplines.

Holiday workshops add a dimension of collective creation with the preparation and presentation of a show.

Located in Ecublens under the name Cirk Up Lausanne , the school complements the Kids Up offering by providing a true continuity of practice for teenagers and adults.