Escuela Rural de Circo Malaika – San Agustín

The Escuela Rural de Circo Malaika is a circus school and cultural space located in the heart of nature in the municipality of San Agustín, in the province of Teruel, in Aragon.

Located in the comarca of Gúdar-Javalambre, near the Barrio de Los Poviles, the school is part of the Carpa Rural project of Circo Malaika .

The project is led by the Asociación Cultural Malaika and the Arritmados circus company.

Its creation responds to a desire to decentralize access to culture and the performing arts by developing a permanent artistic offering in a rural area far from major urban centers.

The Carpa Rural Malaika is located in a natural environment and forms the heart of the project.

This permanent big top functions simultaneously as a circus school , training space , place of creation , artistic residency space and performance venue .

Training, a fundamental aspect of the project

Training is one of the fundamental aspects of the project.

The Circo Malaika Rural School offers regular activities for people living in the surrounding towns and villages.

The goal is to allow local residents to access artistic practice without having to travel to a large city .

Circus arts form the core of this educational offering.

They are complemented by contemporary dance and various forms of physical preparation and conditioning .

This approach allows for the simultaneous development of physical abilities , body awareness , creativity , and artistic expression .

The school is part of a multidisciplinary approach to contemporary circus.

Technical practice provides a way to discover one's body, to experiment with movement and to gradually develop a personal relationship with the performing arts.

The presence of contemporary dance makes it possible in particular to enrich the physical work and to establish bridges between different artistic disciplines.

Physical preparation accompanies this progression and helps to develop the qualities necessary for regular circus practice.

A rural base as a distinctive feature

The rural setting is one of the main characteristics of Malaika.

The project seeks to reduce inequalities in access to artistic practices between urban and rural areas.

The presence of a permanent marquee allows for the creation of a true cultural meeting point within the Gúdar-Javalambre region.

Residents can discover circus arts, practice regularly and attend professional shows.

This close relationship between training and dissemination helps to create a genuine local circus culture .

Students and residents do not only discover the circus through their own practice.

They can also meet professional artists hosted as part of the programming and residencies.

Artistic creation and residencies

Carpa Rural Malaika is indeed developing a significant artistic creation activity.

The venue hosts professional circus, dance and other performing arts companies.

Residencies allow artists to develop new creations in a rural environment particularly suited to research.

Companies can use the big top as a workspace and benefit from artistic, technical and professional support.

The 2026 residency program welcomes professional projects in the creation or research phase.

Malaika notably supports artists on issues of creation , production , communication and distribution .

This activity transforms the place into a true resource center for circus artists.

It also allows for exchanges between artists from different territories.

Site-specific creation is an important dimension of the project.

Artists can develop their work in relation to the territory, its inhabitants and its environment.

This regular presence of professional companies directly nourishes local cultural life.

It allows the inhabitants of a rural area to encounter artists and forms of contemporary circus that are usually more present in large cities and festivals.

Broadcasting and programming

Dissemination thus constitutes the third major focus of Malaika.

The big top hosts circus performances and other performing arts.

This programming complements the school's activities and the residences.

Training , creation and distribution are thus brought together in the same space.

Carpa Rural Malaika also participates in professional networks and circuits that allow it to host touring shows.

Performances specifically designed for young audiences and schools are organized.

This dimension helps to bring the performing arts even closer to children and young people in the area.

The Ladera Fest and the community dimension

The project also develops specific cultural events.

The Ladera Fest is organised in this rural environment and notably uses the Carpa Malaika as a meeting and programming venue.

The festival combines shows , workshops , music , cinema and meetings .

He affirms a desire to create a welcoming space open to diversity in the rural world.

This programming illustrates the social and community dimension of the Malaika project.

The big top is not designed solely as equipment for artists.

It also serves as a meeting place for residents .

Cultural activities contribute to the creation of social links in a territory where distances and low population density can limit opportunities for encounters.

The circus thus becomes a tool for bringing together different generations and different profiles around a common practice or event.

A sustainable project rooted in its territory

This relationship with the territory is reinforced by the very history of the project.

Part of the founding team has lived for several years in the Gúdar-Javalambre region and participates directly in the life of the rural territory.

The creation of Malaika is therefore part of a long-term approach and not the one-off installation of a travelling big top.

The project seeks to build a sustainable cultural activity within its environment.

This ongoing presence allows for the gradual development of a community of practitioners, spectators, and artists.

It also promotes the creation of collaborations with municipalities, schools, associations and other local stakeholders.

A unique position in the landscape of circus schools

The Escuela Rural de Circo Malaika thus occupies a special position in the landscape of Spanish circus schools.

Its identity is not based on its location in a large metropolis but precisely on the opposite choice: to create a circus venue in a rural area .

This situation directly influences its educational and cultural project.

Access to artistic practice is becoming as important an issue as technical learning itself.

The project allows residents to discover different physical and artistic practices in a professional setting.

The proximity to the artists in residence and the shows presented under the big top also creates a particularly rich environment for practitioners.

Children and adults can thus understand that the circus is not limited to a leisure activity.

They also discover how it functions as an artistic discipline and professional sector.

Malaika thus plays a bridging role between the local population and the professional world of live entertainment.

• Artists find a place to research, create and present their works.
• Residents have a place to practice and discover the performing arts.
• Schools can benefit from shows and artistic encounters.
• Professionals can come together around residencies, research projects and exchanges.

This diversity of uses makes the Carpa Rural Malaika a true cultural space dedicated to contemporary circus .

Its activity is fully part of the cultural development of the territory of Gúdar-Javalambre and more broadly of the province of Teruel.

By combining circus school, contemporary dance, physical preparation, artistic residencies, shows and meetings, Malaika is building a project where transmission and creation feed each other.

The Escuela Rural de Circo Malaika thus constitutes an original example of the development of circus arts in rural areas , allowing residents far from major cultural centers to practice regularly, meet professional artists and participate in a genuine local cultural dynamic.