INAC – National Institute of Circular Art

INAC – Instituto Nacional de Artes do Circo is an international center entirely dedicated to circus arts , located in Vila Nova de Famalicão , in the north of Portugal.

Founded in 2016 , INAC develops a project combining training , artistic creation , programming , research and inclusion .

Vocational training: a key focus

Professional training is one of the main focuses of its activity.

The professional contemporary circus course takes place full-time over two years , from October to June .

The first year

The first year allows students to build a solid physical and technical foundation before gradually choosing a specialty .

Physical preparation, acrobatics, verticals, trampoline, aerial disciplines, balances and object manipulation are among the fundamentals practiced.

The training combines these technical skills with interpretation , movement , research and creation .

Students then develop their specialty discipline through regular and guided training.

The first year also leads to a collective creation allowing technical learning to be put at the service of stage writing .

The second year

The second year gives more space to personal research and authorial creation .

Each student gradually develops their own artistic universe and their own specialized work.

The course notably leads to the creation of a personal act and a final public presentation .

Exchanges with other European schools allow students to discover different teaching methods and professional realities of contemporary circus.

Students also participate in presentations, collaborations and artistic projects developed in the area.

The preparatory course

INAC also offers a one-year full-time preparatory course .

This training is aimed at candidates wishing to join a professional circus school in Portugal or abroad but who still need to consolidate their basic skills.

The preparatory program works on physical preparation , acrobatics , aerial disciplines , balances and manipulation .

A specific part of the training prepares students for auditions at professional schools.

Students learn, among other things, how to create an act, present their background, prepare for an interview, and build their portfolio.

Admission to the professional and preparatory courses is by audition .

Continuing education

INAC also develops a significant continuing education offering.

An additional one-year course allows people who have already completed circus training to deepen their specialty and create their own act.

Intensive retraining periods allow working professional artists to dedicate one to three months to their training and research.

Workshops and masterclasses are regularly organised with Portuguese and international speakers.

They can cover circus disciplines as well as dramaturgy, composition, physical preparation, rigging or production.

Free Training

Professional artists also have access to training spaces .

Free Training allows students, alumni, artists in residence and professionals to work independently in equipped facilities.

This daily proximity between students, teachers and professional artists constitutes an important component of the educational project.

Infrastructure

INAC has more than 3,000 m2 dedicated to the practice of circus arts.

The center includes several large naves reaching approximately nine meters in height .

The facilities include trampolines, a trampwall, AirTracks, a tumbling track, a foam pit and several practice areas.

A studio dedicated to dance and theatre, as well as a black box, complete the technical spaces.

Areas are also dedicated to creation and public presentations.

The INAC also owns a marquee used for certain performances.

Artistic creation

Artistic creation constitutes the second major component of the project.

The center supports artists and companies from the research phase to the presentation of their works .

Artistic residencies allow Portuguese and international creators to have a space adapted to the technical requirements of the circus.

These residencies can involve emerging artists as well as already established companies.

The support can extend over periods ranging from a few weeks to several months depending on the projects.

INAC thus directly supports research , creation and professionalization in contemporary circus.

Students nearing the end of their studies also benefit from this close relationship with professional creation.

Their first professional work can be developed and presented as part of INAC's artistic projects.

The programming

The center is also developing a program of shows , festivals , meetings and presentations of works in progress .

This programming allows for the creation of ongoing exchanges between students, professional artists, and the public.

The social circus and inclusion

Social circus and inclusion are also identified as key aspects of the project.

INAC develops community actions using circus arts as tools for access, participation and social inclusion.

These projects seek to broaden the audiences who can practice, create and participate in circus life.

Circus research and memory

Research is another important area of the institute.

The Risco – Centro de Investigação do Circo project aims to develop and structure research dedicated to circus arts in Portugal.

A Circus Memory Centre works in parallel to preserve, study and disseminate the Portuguese circus heritage.

This activity makes it possible to link artistic training, circus history, documentation and academic research.

Networks and partnerships

INAC also works with various Portuguese and international networks and partners.

As a member of the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools , he participates in European exchanges dedicated to the training of artists.

The institute thus constitutes a true ecosystem dedicated to contemporary circus.

Initial training, preparation for professional schools, further training, professional training, residencies, creation, dissemination, social circus and research coexist within the same structure.

This diversity allows INAC to support artists from their first stages of professionalization to the creation and development of their own professional projects.