Daedalus of the Clown

Clown Maze

Dédale de Clown is a circus school and professional company located in Brest, in the historic and vibrant Recouvrance district on the Right Bank. Founded in 2003 by Yano Benay , an actor, clown, and artist trained in circus arts, mime, mask work, and street performance, the organization has developed two complementary activities since its inception: a school dedicated to teaching circus arts and an artistic creation company. The school has been based in Brest since 2007.

Dédale defines itself as a school of performing arts rather than simply a school for technical training. Circus arts occupy a central place there, but they are deliberately linked to other artistic languages. This approach allows for the combination of technical acquisition, physical expression, play, imagination, and circus-based writing.

2026-2027 Season

For the 2026-2027 season, all regular workshops are grouped together in a single space: the Grande Salle de Cirque La Pointe , located in the gymnasium of the École de la Pointe, in the Recouvrance district. Classes are scheduled to resume on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 .

A pedagogy that connects the individual to the collective

Dédale's educational project poses a central question: how can a person develop individually within a group, and how does the collective in turn act on the development of each individual? This reflection serves as the starting point for work on contemporary circus writing.

The teaching approach prioritizes play, experimentation, and respecting each participant's individual pace of learning. It emphasizes teamwork, listening to others, respect for the individual, safety, and a non-competitive environment. The circus is viewed as a space where everyone can develop precision and perseverance while expressing their creativity.

The workshops are structured around five main categories:

• Acrobatics
• Juggling and manipulation
• Balances on objects
• Aerial disciplines
• Board games and expression

Acrobatics allows you to work on body awareness, energy, contact and control of movement.

Juggling requires coordination, rhythm, precision, memory, patience and spatial awareness.

Balance exercises develop body alignment, mobility, and the search for support.

Aerial disciplines gradually confront the practitioner with height and controlled risk-taking.

Circassian expression and dramaturgy introduce the notions of character, space, imagination, and writing.

A pedagogical progression by age

• For younger children : Dédale prioritizes discovery and play.
• Family Workshop on the Track (4-6 years) : intended for 4-6 year olds accompanied by a parent, allows you to discover together acrobatics, juggling, balance objects and expression; offered in the form of ten meetings during the year.
• 6-8 years old : the Piste en Su(s)pension workshop allows children to manipulate different objects before starting to make their own choices; discovery of plates, balls and diabolos, acrobatic basics, balance on ball and American roller.
• 8-11 years : teaching begins to integrate aerial apparatus more strongly; further development of juggling, wire, ball, roller and aerial arts, first steps in circus writing through board games.
• 10-12 years : progressive choice of one or two disciplines to explore further and beginning of experimentation with apparatus; the end-of-year work combines individual research and collective creation.
• 12-14 years : consolidation of affinities with the chosen apparatus and learning through experience: searching, trying, failing, starting again and understanding the physical mechanisms at work.
• From age 14 : advanced workshop focused on balance, imbalance, jumps, suspensions and rotations, with attention to the relationship between the body, the apparatus, the space and other practitioners.

Adult workshops from beginner to advanced

Adults are not limited to a general leisure course.

The multidisciplinary workshop is open to beginners and allows participants to explore all the major circus disciplines. It combines group acrobatic warm-ups, games, research, free practice, stretching, and relaxation. Writing sessions are gradually integrated throughout the year.

Practitioners with prior experience have access to an advanced workshop, combining aerial work, acrobatics, juggling, and balancing objects. The goal is to gradually become independent in their practice and, for those who wish, to work on developing an act.

A specific workshop for experienced adults is dedicated to acrobatic techniques and lifts, from hand balances to dynamic acrobatics, including duo lifts and group lifts.

Another workshop, accessible from age 12, specifically works on the link between ground and air, particularly on trapeze, fabric, hoop and smooth rope, also integrating the relationship between base and flyer and periods of research and writing.

Juggling and equipment

Juggling: the diabolo is definitely confirmed .

• The Dédale training courses explicitly mention the following in juggling: diabolo, balls, hoops, plates and devil sticks .
• The children's workshops also confirm the use of diabolo, balls and plates.
• Object balancing includes pedal go, rolla-bolla / American roller, balance ball and balance wire .
• Finally, aerial arts include trapeze, silks, aerial hoop and rope , depending on the practice spaces.

Internships during school holidays

Dédale also organizes introductory courses during school holidays. These are aimed at both beginners and children who already have some experience, generally in groups of 4-6 year olds and 7-12 year olds.

The workshops offer the opportunity to discover juggling, ground acrobatics, partner acrobatics, object balancing, and aerial disciplines. Expression and movement are integrated into the learning process to ensure that technique and artistic expression are not separated.

They usually take place during the first week of the All Saints', winter, and spring holidays, as well as in July . Dédale specifies that there are no courses during the Christmas holidays .

Arts education, schools and medical-educational facilities

Dédale's activities extend far beyond regular workshops. The school has been working for approximately 20 years in Brest and North Finistère on Arts and Cultural Education (EAC) projects. It collaborates with national education institutions, as well as community education and special education organizations.

These projects can combine circus arts, movement, mime, theatre, and character or clown creation. Educational objectives include individual and collective expression, creativity, exploration of circus and street arts, and the development of a shared artistic experience.

• School interventions: yes
• EAC: yes
• Medical and educational facilities: yes
• Note: I would not automatically assign a formal "Adapted Circus" label without proof of a current specific qualification.

A truly professional company

Dédale de Clown also has a professional activity in creation and distribution. The company is artistically directed by Yano Benay and develops a language combining clowning, mask, pantomime, circus, visual arts, action and movement theatre.

His current repertoire includes Drôle d'impression, MURAïE, AéOùU – confidence sur l'histoire du clown, Le Gradin de Pierre and the new creation BOUFFONS , announced for 2027.

Drôle d'impression enjoyed a particularly wide distribution, with nearly 150 performances in France and abroad.

This professional presence directly feeds into the school's project: students develop in a structure where creation, research, writing and dissemination of shows are daily realities.

Dédale also develops its own events, including Winter Cirkonvolutions and Summer Cirkonvolutions , which create bridges between practices, creations, amateurs and professionals.