Espai de Circ – Association Valenciana de Circ

Espai de Circ is a school, a training center and a creative space dedicated to contemporary circus arts located in Alboraya, in the immediate vicinity of Valencia.

It constitutes the headquarters and main project of the Associació Valenciana de Circ , an association that works for the development, transmission and dissemination of circus arts in the Valencian Community.

The project combines training , artistic creation , social circus and dissemination .

This diversity allows Espai de Circ to welcome children discovering the circus as well as adult practitioners, students wishing to prepare for a professional orientation and artists needing a training space.

Regular training

Regular training is one of the center's main focuses .

Approximately thirty regular courses are offered during the season, generally from October to June.

The offer allows you to discover or deepen your knowledge of a large number of contemporary circus disciplines.

The subjects taught

• Juggling is part of the regular teaching.
• Ground acrobatics also plays an important role.
• Vertical exercises help develop balance, positioning, and body control.
• The acroportés offer a work based on cooperation, trust and the construction of figures in groups.
• Acrodance creates bridges between acrobatic technique, movement and artistic expression.

Aerial disciplines

Aerial disciplines represent another major focus of the school.

• Aerial silks are taught in different groups.
• The aerial hoop is one of the apparatus offered.
• The trapeze is also featured in the program.
• Aerial straps have joined the disciplines taught regularly.
• Hula hooping also has specific courses and workshops.

Clown and stage work

The clown allows us to explore another dimension of circus arts by working on presence, play and relationship with the audience.

Stage work complements this technical diversity.

Espai de Circ thus develops an approach in which mastery of a discipline can gradually be put at the service of expression and creation .

The circus for children and teenagers

Children can discover the circus from a very young age.

The school organizes multi-circus groups adapted to the different stages of childhood and adolescence.

The groups allow young students to discover several families of disciplines rather than immediately specializing them.

Children experience aerial disciplines, balance, acrobatics and juggling.

Stage work gradually complements this learning.

This multidisciplinary approach helps to develop coordination , body awareness , creativity and confidence .

The groups are organized by age range in order to adapt the exercises and educational objectives.

• Groups are specifically designed to welcome children aged 4 and 5 .
• The progression continues with the 6 and 7 year olds , then the 8 and 9 year olds .
• The 10 and 11 year olds also have their own group.
• Young people aged 12 to 17 can continue practicing in a group adapted to their age and development.

The center also organizes family circus activities.

They allow children and adults to share the same experience around circus arts.

The students participate in presentations to showcase the work developed during the season.

These representations give a concrete dimension to the learning process.

They allow one to discover the relationship with the public and to gradually transform technical skills into stage proposals.

Adult practice

Espai de Circ also welcomes many adults.

Participants can choose courses based on the discipline they wish to discover or deepen.

The diversity of the offering allows you to build a personal path by combining several techniques.

Intensive training courses complement regular classes.

Each year, numerous artists and teachers are invited to pass on a particular technique or approach.

These courses can be intended for amateur practitioners as well as people who already have significant experience.

They allow, in particular, for perfecting a discipline during a weekend or a concentrated period.

Professional Orientation Training (FOP)

Espai de Circ is also developing a program specifically for people wishing to pursue a professional career.

The Formación de Orientación Profesional, generally referred to by the acronym FOP, has existed since the 2018-2019 season.

This training allows you to discover different disciplines of circus arts in an intensive and structured way.

It provides a bridge between regular practice and future vocational or higher education.

The program aims in particular to prepare students wishing to apply to official contemporary circus schools.

The 2026-2027 season corresponds to the ninth graduating class of this program.

The students of the FOP constitute a specific group.

They practice several circus disciplines during the mornings.

The training also includes a significant amount of creative work .

The skills acquired in the different disciplines are gradually brought together within the framework of a collective creation.

The students thus participate in the creation of a show of which they are themselves the authors and performers.

The training also allows for individual specialization .

Each student can select additional courses from the regular afternoon classes offered.

The curriculum thus represents a much larger volume of practice than weekly amateur classes.

This link between amateur school and professional guidance constitutes one of the important characteristics of Espai de Circ.

A practitioner can discover a discipline in a regular course, deepen their practice and then join a more intensive course if they wish to consider a professional orientation.

A space for circus training and living

The center also serves as a training space for independent artists and practitioners.

Open training slots are offered during the week.

They allow students to work on their subjects outside of structured classes.

Open days complement this possibility.

These moments promote encounters between students, artists, teachers and members of the association.

Espai de Circ thus functions as a true circus living space and not just as a succession of classes.

Artistic creation and dissemination

Artistic creation is another important aspect of the project.

The Valencian Circus Association organizes events, cabarets, open stages and meetings allowing artists to present their work.

The center thus helps to create distribution opportunities for new artists.

This activity also facilitates meetings between students and professionals.

Practitioners evolve in an environment where they can regularly discover contemporary creations and observe different ways of approaching the stage.

The street circus

The association also develops a significant street circus activity.

After several years of organizing a regular circuit in Valencia, since 2025 she has been developing the Circuito de Circo de Calle de Alboraya .

Professional shows are presented in public spaces during the season.

This programming helps to make contemporary circus accessible to a wider audience.

Festivals and gatherings

Espai de Circ also participates in the organization of festivals and meetings.

The history of the project is notably linked to the Kaotik Circus Festival and the Convención Valenciana de Malabares .

These events contributed to the development of a local circus community and to exchanges with artists from other regions and countries.

The socio-educational circus

The socio-educational circus is also a fundamental component of the project.

The Associació Valenciana de Circ has been developing initiatives using circus arts in educational and social contexts for many years.

The circus becomes a tool for developing confidence , autonomy , cooperation and expression .

This approach goes beyond mere technical transmission.

Projects can be built in relation to the needs of participants and partner structures.

Group practice makes it possible to create spaces for people to meet, where everyone can progress at their own pace.

An international opening

The social dimension is accompanied by a strong international openness .

Since 2008 , the association has been working in a network with other European organizations involved in socio-educational circus.

These collaborations have enabled the development of various exchange and training projects on a European scale.

Espai de Circ also welcomes participants within the framework of the European Solidarity Corps .

This international dimension promotes the exchange of teaching practices and the meeting of young people and professionals from different countries.

It also allows the Valencian school to be included in a wider network of structures using circus arts as an artistic, educational and social tool.

The functioning of associations

The associative functioning constitutes another important characteristic of Espai de Circ.

The project is carried out collectively by the members of the Associació Valenciana de Circ.

Meetings and assemblies allow members to participate in the life and direction of the structure.

This involvement creates a different relationship than that of a school operating solely as a course provider.

Users can become members and participate directly in the development of the project.

A time bank system also allows certain hours of work for the association to be exchanged for training hours.

This organization helps to make activities accessible while strengthening members' involvement in community life.

Host families can also benefit from special conditions for courses intended for children.

These measures reflect the desire to maintain a dimension of solidarity in the functioning of the school.

A resource center for circus arts

Espai de Circ thus constitutes a true resource centre for circus arts in the Valencian region.

• Children can discover the circus through a multidisciplinary approach.
• Teenagers can gradually develop their technical and artistic skills.
• Adults can begin or deepen their knowledge of different disciplines.
• Students wishing to pursue a career in the professional world have access to a structured Vocational Guidance Training program .
• Advanced artists and practitioners have access to training spaces.
• Guest teachers and artists share their specialties through intensive workshops.
• Socio-educational projects use the circus as a tool for personal and collective development.
• Events and shows finally allow for connections to be made between schools, artists and the public.

This complementarity between amateur training, professional guidance, autonomous practice, artistic creation, dissemination and social circus makes Espai de Circ a major place for the development of circus arts in Valencia and the Valencian Community.