Cirque Métropole

Presentation

Cirque Métropole , also known as the Regional Circus of Brittany , is a professional circus company, a traveling educational organization, and a venue dedicated to circus arts, located in Parc de Tréffendel , Gué Charet, 35380 Tréffendel, Ille-et-Vilaine. Its mission differs significantly from that of a traditional weekly circus school: teaching is primarily conducted through intensive workshops , school projects, programs for leisure centers, and mini-camps, with the option of bringing the equipment and big top directly to the audiences.

History

The history claimed by the organization goes back a long way: the name Cirque Métropole was already known at the end of the 19th century. However, the current project truly began in March 1989, when René Roquier decided to revive this traditional circus.

A conservatory-trained musician, whiteface clown, and then gala entertainer, he gradually developed the business. The initial small circus, seating 300, evolved over the years into a much larger big top. Cirque Métropole then became the "First Regional Circus of Brittany" and developed a touring business that quickly expanded beyond the region's borders.

Shows, tours, a big top, and transmission gradually formed the different facets of the project. The team settled permanently in 1998 on the edge of the Brocéliande forest, on the site of the Parc de Tréffendel.

Location and equipment

Pedagogy and formats

The teaching method developed by Cirque Métropole is strongly based on immersion in the world of circus. The workshops organized in Tréffendel generally last a week and allow participants to practice daily while simultaneously discovering the work of professional artists.

The format offered by the organization includes two hours of practice in the morning and two hours in the afternoon . The disciplines explicitly stated are as follows:

• Juggling
• Wire
• Trapeze
• Rola-rola
• Balance ball

The appeal of this format also lies in its direct connection to live performance. Mid-week, participants attend a professional show, then prepare their own performance, which is presented on Friday. The week thus allows them to gradually progress from technical discovery to performing in front of an audience and on stage.

Management

This collaboration between professional artists and students is one of the defining characteristics of Cirque Métropole. The workshops are not simply led by instructors specializing in leisure activities: the website emphasizes that participants work with genuine circus professionals and that the workshops are supervised by a team passionate about their craft.

Mobile formulas and interventions

The educational activities are also largely itinerant. Cirque Métropole offers to set up its projects directly in schools, leisure centers, or other venues. Workshops can therefore be organized at a location chosen by the partner organization, allowing entire groups to experience circus arts immersion without having to travel to Tréffendel every day.

The "Circus in Schools" program is a key component of this activity. The project is tailored to the school and its educational objectives. Cirque Métropole states that it holds the necessary accreditations for its programs and mentions recognitions from the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Ministry of National Education, while also indicating its adherence to the FFEC quality charter.

• Projects integrated into school time with collective presentation in front of families.
• Interventions in leisure centers with adapted formulas (introduction, practice, discovery of the show).
• Mini-camp formula in Tréffendel ( CAMP MARABOUT approved) with morning and afternoon workshops.

Events, company and services

Alongside its educational mission, Cirque Métropole remains first and foremost a live performance company. The organization continues its tours and regularly sets up its big top in various towns and cities across Brittany and France. This professional activity enriches its teaching approach: trainees learn alongside artists who create and perform for audiences.

For autumn 2026, she announced, for example, her new show Féeries , presented from October 21 to November 1, 2026, on the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle in Rennes. Around ten artists are participating in this creation, which is built around a large picture book whose pages successively reveal the different worlds and acts of the show.

• Entertainment and event services: introductory workshops, shows, street performances, clowns, juggling, face painting, acrobatics, balancing acts.
• Setting up the big top on car parks, company sites or event spaces to host a complete show.
• Rental of the hall and marquee for private, association or professional events (concerts, galas, seminars, meetings).

Network, recognition and support

This identity has also led Cirque Métropole to actively participate in the network of circus schools. In 2026, the APDSAC – Cirque Métropole association hosted the Regional Circus School Meetings at its Tréffendel site, an event organized within the framework of the FFEC network. The park's facilities and the big top welcomed students from the participating schools as well as a performance by the professional company.

The association also benefits from public funding for its activities promoting and disseminating circus arts. Recent institutional documents specifically mention support from the Brittany Region and other local authorities for the organization's artistic and cultural project.

Observations for the directory

According to the NetJuggler directory, Cirque Métropole deserves a separate listing from schools offering only weekly classes. Its main strength lies precisely in its model of a traveling and immersive circus school , capable of setting up the circus in the heart of a school or leisure center and having participants work with professionals for several days.

• Daily practice and discovery of a professional show.
• Transition from technical discovery to creation and performance by the trainees.
• Multiple formats: internships, stays, school activities, mini-camps, mobile interventions.

Between juggling, tightrope walking, trapeze, rola-rola, and ball balancing, daily practice, discovering a professional show, and then creating a performance by the trainees, the projects allow children to explore the technical, collective, and artistic dimensions of the circus. Cirque Métropole is thus a long-standing player in the transmission and dissemination of circus arts in Brittany, bringing together several worlds: a traveling school, a professional company, a big top, workshops, retreats, school programs, and live performances.