Internationaler Kinderzirkus TRAU DICH

Internationaler Kinderzirkus TRAU DICH is an intercultural circus school and project for children and teenagers in Munich aged 5 to 16.

The project is led by the association Freundschaft zwischen Ausländern und Deutschen eV , which has been engaged for several decades in actions promoting integration, inclusion and encounters between people of different origins.

The circus is used as a meeting space in which differences of nationality, origin or ability take a back seat.

TRAU DICH aims to enable children to practice together, discover their own abilities and develop confidence, autonomy and the pleasure of participating in a collective project.

The school promotes a performance-free approach. Each child is encouraged to try different disciplines in order to discover the activities in which they feel most comfortable.

Weekly training sessions

Training sessions are organized every week , outside of school holidays, in the Gemeindesaal of St. Matthäus Church, in the center of Munich.

Children aged 5 to 8 have a group adapted to their age.

They discover, among other things, jump rope, tightrope walking, acrobatics, balance ball and juggling.

From the age of 8 , children and teenagers can deepen their practice and discover in particular unicycling, juggling, aerial silks, acrobatics and stilts.

Pedagogy and objectives

The teaching method encourages experimentation . The goal is not to select children according to their level but to allow each child to discover different techniques and gradually develop their own skills.

Circus arts thus allow us to work on coordination, balance, concentration, perseverance and body control .

Group practice also promotes mutual support , trust in others, and the ability to participate in a common project.

Shows and performances

The work done during training regularly leads to the stage.

Several shows are organised each year so that young artists can present to the public the acts and techniques worked on during the sessions.

Program during school holidays

TRAU DICH also develops an important program during school holidays.

Circus weeks are organized in particular during the Easter and autumn holidays.

Children can then practice different disciplines more intensively such as unicycling, juggling and poi, tightrope walking, stilt walking, jump rope or clowning.

These weeks usually end with a performance in front of an audience .

During the summer holidays, TRAU DICH also participates in the large Zirkus Simsala project in partnership with the youth services of the city of Munich.

The children then spend a full week immersed in the world of the circus before participating in a big performance under the big top .

School interventions and participatory projects

The project is not limited to its own premises.

TRAU DICH also works with various schools in Munich in the context of after-school care and organized programs after the school day.

Workshops thus allow children who do not necessarily attend regular training sessions to discover the circus arts.

The structure also develops a Mitspielzirkus, or travelling participatory circus .

This formula can be used during parties and events and transforms children in the audience into artists in a show created with the teaching team.

Acrobatics, juggling, jump rope, dance, music and clowning can then be brought together in a collective creation .

This itinerant dimension reinforces TRAU DICH's mission to make the circus accessible to the greatest number of people.

Inclusion and social action

Inclusion is indeed one of the foundations of the project.

The activities aim to bring together children with different backgrounds, origins, nationalities and abilities.

The circus becomes a common language , allowing us to overcome certain social or cultural barriers.

TRAU DICH thus combines technical learning, artistic expression, intercultural encounter and social action.

With its free weekly training sessions, shows, holiday camps, school interventions and participatory projects, Internationaler Kinderzirkus TRAU DICH constitutes a true circus school for children and teenagers in the heart of Munich.