Encirca't – Associació Esplai de Circ

Encirca't – Associació Esplai de Circ is an association dedicated to the transmission and promotion of circus arts , based in Llinars del Vallès , in the province of Barcelona.

The project was born from the desire of a group of trainers and artists wishing to spread culture and more specifically circus arts through educational activities, events, workshops and training.

Education at the heart of the project

Education plays a central role in the project.

Encirca't views circus arts as tools that simultaneously allow for physical activity , learning , playing , creating , and developing new skills .

Circus disciplines

The activities are designed to allow a gradual discovery of the different families of circus disciplines.

• Acrobatics allows one to explore the possibilities of the body, coordination and movement.
• Juggling develops concentration, coordination and object manipulation.
• Balancing on objects allows us to experiment with new relationships between the body, the material and space.
• Aerial disciplines are also included in the activities offered.
• The trapeze allows you to discover acrobatics in suspension.
• Aerial tissues complement this approach.
• Body expression accompanies technical work and allows physical practice to be linked to a more creative and artistic approach.

Activities for diverse audiences

Encirca't develops different forms of activities in order to make the circus accessible to diverse audiences.

Children and adolescents make up a significant portion of the participants.

The Casal d'Estiu de Circ

The association organizes, in particular, a Casal d'Estiu de Circ for young people aged 6 to 16 .

This summer course allows you to practice circus arts for several consecutive days.

No prior experience is necessary to participate.

Young people can thus discover circus arts for the first time or continue a practice already begun.

The program combines acrobatics, juggling, trapeze, aerial silks, balancing on objects and body expression.

The activities are organized in an environment that promotes both learning and the enjoyment of practice.

The internship also constitutes a collective experience.

Participants spend several days exploring circus disciplines and learn to work within a group.

A mobile activity

Encirca't is also developing a significant mobile activity.

His workshops can be set up in village squares, streets, schoolyards, classrooms, fairs, markets, popular festivals and festivals.

This mobility allows the circus to be discovered directly in places frequented by different audiences.

The mobile workshops are offered to children , young people and adults .

They can be adapted to the age, level and needs of the group.

No prior knowledge of the circus is necessary.

The goal is to allow participants to move , play , experiment and learn .

The format of the interventions can be adapted to the context.

This flexibility allows Encirca't to work equally well in a school environment as in the context of a cultural event or a public event.

The link with the school world

The link with the school system is another important aspect of the project.

Encirca't develops activities to introduce circus arts into education.

Since 2025 , the association has been collaborating in particular with Eduxarxa on the Circ amb l'Escola project.

This approach allows circus disciplines to be used directly in an educational context.

The circus then becomes an educational tool allowing us to explore the body, movement, creativity and cooperation.

The activities allow students to experience situations that are unusual compared to traditional school practices.

Learning happens through action and experimentation .

Participants must observe, try, repeat and gradually find the solutions to successfully perform a movement or master an object.

This progression develops perseverance .

Group activities also allow us to work on mutual support and relationships with others .

A diversity of disciplines as a pedagogical asset

The circus offers a wide variety of disciplines, allowing each participant to discover different skills.

Some may be particularly attracted to acrobatics .

Others may prefer juggling or balancing acts .

Aerial disciplines offer yet another way to explore movement.

This diversity constitutes an important educational asset.

Training courses for professionals

Encirca't does not limit its action to direct teaching of children and young people.

The association also develops educational training programs for teachers and circus professionals .

These training programs allow participants to explore the educational opportunities offered by circus arts.

They are aimed at people wishing to use circus arts in their own educational activities.

This transmission to professionals helps to spread the methods developed by the association beyond its own interventions.

It also helps to strengthen reflection on circus pedagogy .

Participants can discover how to transform a circus technique into a genuine learning tool.

A broader educational project

This approach distinguishes Encirca't from a structure solely dedicated to technical education.

The transmission of disciplines remains important, but it is part of a broader educational project.

Circus is used as a means of developing the body , creativity , autonomy and relationships within the group .

Play occupies an important place in this approach.

It allows experimentation without reducing activity to the pursuit of technical performance.

Participants can try different solutions and gradually learn about their options.

Mistakes are part of the learning process.

Repetition then allows one to gradually transform an initial experiment into a skill.

This way of learning is particularly well suited to circus disciplines.

• Juggling, for example, requires repeating a movement many times before it can be mastered.
• Maintaining balance requires gradually understanding your body's reactions.
• Acrobatics requires coordination, physical preparation, and confidence.
• Aerial disciplines also require learning to move in an environment different from the ground.

All of these experiences contribute to developing a better body awareness .

Making the circus accessible outside of specialized spaces

Encirca't also seeks to make circus arts accessible outside of specialized spaces.

The travelling workshops make it possible to temporarily transform a square, a schoolyard or a public space into a place for circus practice.

This ability to move the circus is one of the important characteristics of the project.

It allows us to reach people who wouldn't necessarily attend a circus school.

• Families can discover the disciplines during a party or festival.
• Students can experience them directly in their school.
• Local authorities can integrate the workshops into their cultural programs.
• Associations can also offer an activity tailored to their own audiences.

A cross-cutting approach

The project thus operates at the intersection of several worlds: circus , education , culture , leisure and community development .

This cross-disciplinary approach allows Encirca't to develop very different formats while maintaining circus arts as a common thread.

Summer activities constitute another important facet of this approach.

The Casal d'Estiu de Circ allows you to dedicate several consecutive days to discovery and learning.

This allows young people to practice with more continuity than during a one-off workshop.

The diversity of disciplines allows for alternating physical, technical and creative activities.

The course also combines circus arts with the collective life typical of holiday activities.

A dissemination of circus culture

Encirca't thus pursues an objective of disseminating circus culture to a wide audience.

Participants are not just discovering exercises.

They also encounter an artistic universe with its own disciplines, objects and forms of expression.

In this way, the association contributes to developing knowledge of contemporary circus .

His work with professionals and teachers also helps to provide the tools necessary to continue this educational work.

Encirca't thus constitutes a project in which training , animation , pedagogy and circus culture are closely linked.

Its base in Llinars del Vallès is the anchor point of the association, while its itinerant interventions allow it to act in many other places.

Who are the activities aimed at?

• Children and teenagers can discover the circus through workshops and activities.
• Schools can integrate circus arts into their educational projects.
• Communities and events can host workshops open to the public.
• Adults can also participate in the activities offered.
• Circus teachers and professionals can finally deepen their pedagogical knowledge through specific training courses.

This diversity of actions allows Encirca't to participate in the development of circus arts while defending an approach in which artistic practice is first and foremost a tool for learning , meeting , experimentation and transmission .