Escuela de Circo MSB – Gran Canaria

Escuela de Circo MSB is a socio-educational circus school located in Gran Canaria , in the Canary Islands.

Created in 2006, the project has been developing an approach to circus for twenty years that combines artistic learning , education , inclusion and social transformation .

The school now operates through several spaces located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Vecindario .

It welcomes children from the age of 3 , teenagers and adults.

A playful, inclusive and non-competitive teaching method

His teaching is based on a playful , inclusive and non-competitive pedagogy.

The goal is not to place students in a competitive mindset but to create an environment in which everyone can experiment , progress and discover their own abilities .

Respecting individual rhythms is one of the important principles of the project.

Both personal achievements and those of other group members are valued.

Cooperation and mutual support thus occupy an important place in the sessions.

Groups and Ages

Classes for younger children begin with Mini Circus .

• These groups allow children aged 3 to 5 to gradually discover the world of the circus.
• Children aged 5 to 7 can continue with the Harlequin groups.
• Children aged 8 to 11 then have access to the Circus Kids groups.
• Teenagers aged 12 to 17 can join the Chach@s groups.
• Specialized groups like Aerial Kids also allow young people to delve deeper into aerial disciplines.

Adults have several courses and formats available to suit their needs.

The school offers, in particular, multidisciplinary circus activities and specialized courses in aerial techniques .

The major families of disciplines

• Acrobatics is one of the major families of disciplines covered.
• Juggling helps to develop coordination, concentration and object manipulation.
• Balance exercises develop body awareness, positioning, and control.
• Aerial techniques complement this training and allow for the exploration of another relationship to movement and space.

The course of the year

The first part of the year is devoted to exploration.

Students experiment with different families of disciplines such as aerial arts , juggling , acrobatics and balancing .

This multidisciplinary approach allows everyone to discover their preferences.

During the second part of the curriculum , students can delve deeper into certain disciplines.

The work remains multidisciplinary in order to preserve the richness of a diverse circus training.

The last part of the year is devoted to creation .

Each group gradually participates in the preparation of a final presentation .

The skills acquired during the year are then integrated into a proposal intended to be shared with families and the public.

This organization makes it possible to link technical learning and artistic creation .

The student therefore does not work solely on isolated exercises.

He gradually learns to use his new skills in a collective process .

Autonomy and confidence

Autonomy is also an important educational objective.

During classes, the children move around in a space that belongs to them.

Families are generally asked to wait outside so that students can directly build their relationship with the group and the teaching team.

This organization promotes trust and independence .

Adaptations can naturally be put in place when the situation requires it, particularly for younger people.

Safety and practice conditions

The school pays particular attention to safety .

• The sessions begin with a joint preparation .
• Clothing should allow for free movement and jewelry is removed during practice.
• Students work barefoot or in socks depending on the activity.

The team also asks families to report any injuries , allergies or special circumstances that may affect practice.

This individual attention is part of a broader concept of inclusion .

The circus as a tool for social connection

Escuela de Circo MSB considers the circus as a tool to create connections between people.

The project thus combines artistic practice and personal development .

Trust , cooperation , listening and group relations are among the learning outcomes sought.

This philosophy extends beyond regular classes.

Since its creation, MSB has been developing social and educational circus projects in Gran Canaria.

The circus becomes a means of creating spaces for encounters, promoting participation, and offering new possibilities for expression.

The school is also working on projects aimed at strengthening inclusion and diversity .

Activities adapted to different ages and abilities make it possible to open up the practice to a wide variety of audiences.

The workshops can be structured so that participants can take part in the activities according to their abilities.

The social dimension is now one of the pillars of MSB's identity.

In 2026 , the association continues the development of new projects specifically dedicated to social circus .

A network and an international dimension

The school also belongs to the Federación Española de Escuelas de Circo Socioeducativo .

This participation allows MSB to network with other Spanish schools and projects that share an educational and social conception of circus arts.

The project also has an international dimension.

MSB participates in European exchanges and programs that allow young people, teachers and partner organizations to share their experiences.

The CC MOVE program is part of this dynamic.

It combines educational circus, inclusion, youth and European cooperation.

The project brings together participants from different backgrounds around the practice of circus arts.

Participatory activities seek to demonstrate that circus arts can be practiced by people of different ages, experiences, and physical abilities.

This international openness also allows teachers to compare their teaching practices.

Training the trainers

The training of trainers is indeed another area developed by the school.

The Jornadas FOCO are dedicated to the continuing education of circus teachers.

FOCO stands for Formación Continua de Formador@s .

These meetings allow professionals to share their methods and update their teaching tools.

Participants are working in particular on educational innovation applied to the circus.

They develop resources and tools that can be used directly during classes.

Concrete situations are analyzed in order to study methods that can be transferred into everyday teaching.

This pedagogical approach contributes to professionalizing circus teaching .

It also helps to maintain consistency between the project's values and the methods used with the students.

Advanced courses and activities for adults

The school also offers courses for more advanced practitioners.

Students who already have a good level can benefit from specific sessions to deepen certain skills.

This progression helps to retain participants within the project beyond the initial years of discovery.

Adults also have regular activities available.

• Some courses are multidisciplinary .
• Others are more specialized in aerial techniques .
• Activities like Aerial Fitness combine aerial work and physical preparation.

The whole system allows for the development of a practice tailored to the objectives and level of each participant.

Events and meetings of the year

Escuela de Circo MSB also organizes events that punctuate the life of the school.

The celebrations and gatherings provide an opportunity to bring together students, families and teaching staff.

Halloween , Christmas , Carnival , World Circus Day and World Juggling Day are among the events that can take place throughout the year.

The final presentation is a particularly important moment.

It allows students to showcase the results of the work they have done throughout the year.

The process of preparing this presentation is itself part of the learning process.

Students must cooperate , create , and learn to collectively build a proposal.

The artistic result is thus inseparable from the educational process.

Economic accessibility and social purpose

The school also places importance on economic accessibility .

Aid and scholarship schemes may be offered to families experiencing financial hardship.

This approach helps to limit as much as possible the economic barriers to participation in activities.

Applications are processed confidentially by the administration.

This focus reinforces the social purpose of the project.

MSB does not see the circus solely as an extracurricular activity.

It is used as a tool that can promote trust , autonomy , cooperation and integration within a group .

Twenty years of social and educational circus

The association's twenty years of activity have allowed this approach to be developed across several generations of students.

The year 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of the project.

A program of activities is being organized to celebrate these two decades of social and educational circus in the Canary Islands.

This anniversary also provides an opportunity to strengthen exchanges between students, families, teachers, artists and partners.

The school's locations

Escuela de Circo MSB operates today with several locations.

This organization allows us to reach different sectors of Gran Canaria and to offer complementary activities.

The Vecindario site hosts several regular groups for children, teenagers and adults.

The activities there cover different levels and several families of disciplines.

The Sede Zona Aérea , located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is particularly suited to the development of aerial practices.

La Sede Mundo del Revés completes the establishment of the school in Las Palmas.

These different spaces belong to the same educational and community project.

Students thus benefit from a network of activities rather than a school limited to a single location.

A coordinated teaching team

The teaching team coordinates the programs to ensure consistent progress throughout the year.

Teachers plan the sessions and monitor the progress of the students.

Regular meetings allow the team to exchange information on the groups and methods used.

This organization supports the progressive professionalization of the teaching developed by MSB.

The school simultaneously seeks to preserve the community spirit that has characterized the project since its creation.

Families, students and teachers form a community that comes together around circus arts.

Collective events and projects help to strengthen these ties.

The circus thus becomes at once a physical practice , an artistic discipline and a meeting place .

This combination constitutes the particular identity of Escuela de Circo MSB.

A school for all ages and all backgrounds

• The school allows children to discover the circus from the age of 3 .
• She then supports young people throughout their childhood and adolescence.
• Adults can also discover or continue the practice.
• Advanced students have opportunities for further study.
• Teachers can participate in continuing education activities.
• Social and international projects finally allow the use of circus arts in contexts that go far beyond the framework of regular classes.

Escuela de Circo MSB is thus one of the oldest socio-educational circus projects in the Canary Islands, with an activity developed since 2006 around teaching, inclusion, creating links and social transformation through circus arts.