HOPS – Scuola di Circo Ludico Educativo

HOPS is a fun and educational circus school located in Cornate d'Adda , in the province of Monza and Brianza , in Lombardy .

His project is based on a concept of the circus that combines artistic learning , motor development , personal expression and socialization .

HOPS does not consider circus arts solely as a set of techniques to be mastered.

The school also uses them as a tool enabling the child, adolescent or adult to better discover their body, their abilities, their limits and their way of relating to others.

This philosophy corresponds to the Italian movement of the ludic-educational circus .

Since 2015 , HOPS indicates that it is registered in the national register of recreational and educational circus schools.

She also participates in the Circosfera project, a network bringing together different Italian schools around educational values and time for meeting and training.

A deliberately multidisciplinary approach

The teaching is intentionally multidisciplinary .

Students are not immediately confined to a specific specialty.

They can experience several major families of circus arts.

• Juggling is one of these families.
• Balancing acts constitute another one.
• Ground acrobatics are also practiced.
• Aerial disciplines complement this approach.
• Clowning and body expression finally allow for the introduction of an artistic and theatrical dimension.

This diversity is essential in HOPS' pedagogy.

Each participant can gradually discover the techniques with which they have the most affinity.

• Some may be attracted to manipulating objects .
• Others find their place more in acrobatics .
• Aerial apparatus may be suitable for other students.

The circus thus allows for the showcasing of very different skills.

Two main themes: self-exploration and socialization

The school describes its educational project as a journey following two main axes: self-exploration and socialization .

Self-exploration

Exploration begins with the body.

Participants discover their physical capabilities.

They also become aware of their limitations.

But this exploration also has a cognitive dimension.

Each discipline requires understanding a movement or an object in a different way.

The student thus experiences different ways of learning.

The emotional dimension is also important.

Trying a new move sometimes involves overcoming apprehension.

We must accept that we may not succeed immediately.

We have to start again.

Mistakes are therefore a natural part of learning.

HOPS seeks to create an environment in which this mistake can become a new opportunity rather than a failure.

This approach gradually helps to develop self-esteem .

The student learns to better understand their abilities.

He discovers that an initial difficulty can be overcome through training.

The social dimension

Group practice simultaneously brings an important social dimension.

The groups become true teams.

Students must observe others.

They learn to work together.

Some situations require trust and mutual support.

Others spontaneously give rise to group dynamics, exchanges of ideas and sometimes friendships.

The circus thus becomes a space particularly conducive to socialization.

Age-based pathways

The Minimei del Circo (3-5 years)

HOPS welcomes children from a very early age.

The journey begins with the " Minimei del Circo ", intended for children aged three to five.

At this age, the activity is conceived as circomotricity.

The goal is obviously not to seek technical performance.

• The children work on the major basic motor patterns .
• They discover their bodies in space.
• Circus equipment becomes a medium for play.
• Imaginary stories and situations stimulate their creativity.
• Pre-acrobatics allows you to discover different movements.
• Juggling is adapted to their age through the use of objects that facilitate learning.
• The first equilibrium situations are also proposed.
• Fantasy and physical expression play an essential role.

The young acrobats (primary school)

In primary school, children can continue with courses dedicated to young acrobats .

The early years allow for the consolidation of fundamental motor patterns.

Children work more on the perception of their own bodies.

They must also learn to take into account other participants and the space around them.

Juggling gradually becomes more technical.

HOPS distinguishes in particular throwing juggling and certain forms of gyroscopic manipulation .

Acrobatics is becoming more important.

The balancing act is explored in greater depth.

Children also begin to experiment with aerial acrobatics .

Body expression and improvisation continue to accompany this technical work.

Progression with age and experience

With age and experience, students gradually delve deeper into the different circus families.

The search for the gesture becomes more precise.

The figures become more complex.

Young people can progress in juggling, balancing, ground acrobatics and aerial disciplines.

The clown remains present.

Improvisation and creation allow technical skills to be transformed into artistic expression.

Teamwork also becomes more important.

Teenagers

Teenagers have a specific pathway.

At this stage, HOPS seeks to enable each young person to identify the disciplines that best suit them.

Juggling can be explored in greater depth.

The school notably covers the concept of siteswap.

Gyroscopic techniques are also being studied.

Acrobalance allows you to approach balances in groups.

Ground acrobatics continues to develop.

Aerial disciplines are also gaining more importance.

The staging, improvisations and creations allow teenagers to build their own circus expression.

Trust between partners is essential for certain disciplines.

Collaboration itself thus becomes a skill to be developed.

Adults

Adults can also discover circus arts.

The basic course is accessible to beginners.

It allows us to return to play and experimentation.

The school encourages adults to accept making mistakes and to rediscover the joy of learning something completely new.

Juggling, ground acrobatics, aerial acrobatics, balancing and clowning can be addressed within this framework.

This multidisciplinary approach allows an adult with no experience to gradually discover the world of the circus.

Specialized courses

HOPS also offers specialized courses.

Juggling, in particular, has its own course for adults aged sixteen and over.

The course accommodates different levels.

It therefore allows one to both begin and pursue a more advanced practice.

Aerial fabrics also have specific courses.

• A beginner level allows you to acquire the basics.
• An advanced level is offered to practitioners with sufficient experience, after evaluation by the teacher.

This organization allows students particularly attracted to aviation to go beyond the framework of a simple multidisciplinary introduction.

The progression then becomes more technical and more regular.

A presence in multiple locations

The school also develops its activities in several locations.

Cornate d'Adda is its main location.

Activities are also organised in Bellusco in collaboration with Polisportiva Bellusco.

This location allows HOPS to reach several municipalities in the Monza and Brianza area.

The school indicates that it works more broadly across the territory, extending as far as the province of Lecco .

Its operation is therefore not necessarily limited to a single room.

This territorial dimension corresponds well to its associative identity.

HOPS primarily seeks to transmit circus arts and to create spaces where people can meet around this practice.

Technology at the service of the educational project

The technique remains important.

But it is always placed within a broader educational project.

• Juggling develops coordination, precision and concentration.
• Balance disciplines require a better perception of body positioning.
• Acrobatics helps develop strength, mobility and body awareness.
• Aerial disciplines add specific work around positioning, confidence and relationship to height.
• Acrobalance directly introduces the relationship with the partner.
• Clowning and improvisation allow us to work on expression and creativity.

All these disciplines thus become complementary.

The HOPS project seeks to build people as much as practitioners.

• The school emphasizes self-knowledge .
• It values the ability to cope with difficulties.
• She encourages the student to try without immediately fearing judgment.
• It fosters cooperation .
• She also seeks to maintain an element of enjoyment in learning.

This philosophy explains why HOPS defines itself as a fun and educational circus school.

Play is not opposed to learning.

On the contrary, it is one of the means by which learning is possible.

The playful aspect facilitates experimentation.

In particular, it allows children to tackle demanding exercises without turning the session into a competitive training session.

For teenagers and adults, it helps to maintain the pleasure of discovery and creation.

A multidisciplinary amateur circus school

HOPS thus constitutes a true multidisciplinary amateur circus school.

It welcomes an audience ranging from three-year-old children to adults.

It allows for progression over several years.

It offers both multidisciplinary courses and specializations.

It has a strong educational identity.

And his membership in the Italian educational circus movement places his work within a wider network of schools sharing common values.

A relevant profile for the NetJuggler directory

For the NetJuggler directory, HOPS therefore presents a particularly interesting profile.

It should not be considered as professional training.

Its main objective is not to prepare artists for a career.

It is more about making circus arts accessible to the greatest number of people and using them as a means of learning , personal development , expression and meeting .

• Children can start there from the age of three.
• Teenagers can gradually deepen their technique and develop their own creations.
• Adult beginners can discover the circus.
• More experienced practitioners have opportunities to further develop their skills in juggling and aerial silks.

This continuity allows everyone to build their own path.

HOPS thus contributes to the development of amateur and educational circus in the Cornate d'Adda , Bellusco and more broadly Monza and Brianza area.

Its multidisciplinary approach, its focus on the individual and its integration into the Italian network of recreational and educational circus make it a highly relevant structure for the NetJuggler European directory of circus schools.