Eccivol – Aerial Silks / Center for Expression and Creativity

Éccivol is a Centre for Expression and Creativity located in Laeken, Brussels, within the Be-Here site, near Tour & Taxis . The structure develops a project at the crossroads of circus, visual arts, movement and artistic creation.

Aerial silks is one of the core disciplines of Éccivol. It is taught through weekly workshops for children, teenagers and adults, with a progression adapted to the age, level and experience of each individual.

For children, regular aerial silks practice is accessible from the age of 8. Several groups allow for differentiation between initiation, intermediate practice and more advanced progression.

Learning begins with a gradual discovery of verticality . Students learn to use the fabric, understand the necessary body positions, and develop the physical abilities essential for moving at height.

Ascents , foot locks , fundamental placements , basic figures and safe descents constitute the first steps in this progression.

The technique is taught in a structured manner. The sessions include warm-up, physical preparation, technical learning, exploration of figures, return to the ground and stretching.

Safety naturally plays a crucial role. Practitioners learn to understand their abilities, listen to their bodies, and gradually master the necessary movements before tackling more complex techniques.

Physical work also helps to develop muscle tone , strength , mobility , coordination and endurance .

But Éccivol does not present aerial silks as solely a technical or sporting activity. As a Center for Expression and Creativity, the organization seeks to progressively transform acquired skills into artistic expression.

Students are therefore encouraged to explore movements, transitions and different ways of inhabiting airspace.

As technique becomes more solid, practitioners can work on the fluidity of sequences and seek to link figures together rather than executing them in isolation.

This approach gradually leads to a more personal exploration . Movement can become a means of expression, and each participant is invited to develop their own way of using the apparatus.

Teenagers and adults also have access to courses adapted to different levels. Some groups allow beginners to discover the discipline, while others are aimed at those who already possess the fundamentals.

For more experienced practitioners, the work focuses in particular on endurance , precision , fluidity , transitions and the construction of sequences .

Artistic expression then takes on greater importance. Technical figures can be assembled to construct short individual or collective sequences.

This articulation between technique and creativity fully corresponds to the Éccivol project: the objective is to learn a circus discipline while allowing each person to develop a personal expression.

The project also goes beyond just aerial arts. Éccivol develops activities combining circus , movement , painting , sculpture , clay , writing and various forms of artistic expression.

Workshops combining arts and circus are offered to families , allowing children and adults to share a creative experience together.

The facility also offers specific activities for neurodivergent children . These workshops use games, artistic practices and emotional expression in an environment designed to promote an experience adapted to their needs.

This inclusive dimension aligns with the general philosophy of the Centre for Expression and Creativity, which seeks to give a place to different audiences and to allow everyone to develop their own means of expression.

Éccivol also organizes numerous workshops during school holidays. These welcome children aged 4 to 12 and combine different artistic and creative practices.

The workshops allow you to discover the circus in a format different from the annual courses and give more time to experiment, create and build collective projects.

The organization also develops shows , galas , and tailor-made projects . The learning process can thus lead to a genuine artistic presentation and an encounter with the public.

Éccivol also hosts projects and artists and presents itself as a space for exchange and encounter around circus and creation.

The structure thus places as much importance on the creative process as on the final result . Learning, trying, researching and building are integral parts of the pedagogical approach.

With its regular aerial silks classes for children, teenagers and adults, its different levels, its workshops, its shows and its links with visual arts and movement, Éccivol is a particularly interesting structure for discovering and deepening aerial arts in Brussels.

Its identity is more specialized than that of a traditional multidisciplinary circus school: aerial silks constitute the main circus focus of its teaching. This specialization, however, allows it to offer a path ranging from initiation to genuine technical and artistic research in aerial arts.