Kinderzirkus Giovanni – Hannover

Kinderzirkus Giovanni is a school and circus for children and teenagers located in the Wettbergen district of Hanover , Germany.

Its story begins in 1984 within the Johannes-Kirchengemeinde Hannover-Wettbergen Lutheran evangelical parish.

Originally, about twenty young facilitators simply wanted to organize a summer camp for the children of the neighborhood around the theme of the circus.

The experience was so successful that the children wanted to continue practicing beyond their stay.

The first performances brought together juggling , acrobatics and clowning in an improvised ring with a few mats and planks.

More than forty years later, Giovanni has become a true youth circus with its own infrastructure and developing a new creation every year.

Approximately forty children and teenagers are currently participating in the project.

Young people usually start around the age of six and can remain within Giovanni for many years, often until the end of their schooling or the beginning of their studies and vocational training.

Educational philosophy

Giovanni's pedagogical philosophy is largely based on the freedom given to young artists.

Children are encouraged to try different disciplines and gradually choose those that give them the most pleasure.

The goal is not to impose the same progression on everyone.

Each child can progress at their own pace, try new experiences, encounter difficulties, fail and then start again.

This approach seeks to develop self-confidence and allow young people to discover their own abilities.

Disciplines

Juggling is one of the historical disciplines of the project.

Acrobatics also plays an important role in the creations and training.

Aerial disciplines are represented in particular by the trapeze .

Tightrope walking and various forms of balancing also appear in the shows.

Clowning has been part of Giovanni's historical identity since his earliest performances.

Creation and performance

However, the project is not limited to the technical learning of circus arts.

Creating a truly spectacular show is an essential component of the experience.

Each season, young artists participate in the development of a new program built around a theme.

Circus techniques then become tools for telling a story , expressing an idea , or creating an emotion .

For his 2026 program, Giovanni, for example, chose to work around emotions .

Trapeze, tightrope, acrobatics, juggling and other techniques are integrated into a true dramatic structure.

Music also occupies a special place.

From the beginning of the project, Giovanni has placed great importance on live music , inspired in particular by the aesthetics of Circus Roncalli .

Link with the Circus Roncalli

This proximity to Circus Roncalli is an integral part of Giovanni's story.

Bernhard Paul , founder and director of Roncalli, has become the godfather of Kinderzirkus Giovanni.

Young artists have regularly been invited to perform in the Roncalli big top and have benefited over the years from meetings and exchanges with its professional artists.

This relationship led Giovanni to perform in various European cities.

The young artists thus travelled to Brussels , Vienna , Amsterdam , Copenhagen and Saint Petersburg , as well as to many German cities.

Giovanni also developed international exchanges with other youth circuses over several years.

This international dimension helps to make the project much more than just a weekly circus class.

Training

Regular training sessions usually take place on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings in Hannover-Wettbergen.

As shows and tours approach, their frequency increases.

The commitment required from participants then becomes important: young people who wish to participate in the performances must be present regularly and invest themselves in the collective work.

Giovanni's operation is indeed based on a true troupe logic.

Infrastructure and equipment

The circus now has its own two-masted big top .

It also has several circus vehicles and caravans as well as a collection of over a thousand costumes .

Much of this universe was created gradually by children, teenagers, former participants and parents.

Families also play an essential role in the functioning of the project.

While the children are training, parents can participate in sewing costumes, maintaining and restoring caravans, setting up the big top, cooking and many other tasks.

The entire project relies heavily on this voluntary commitment .

Former artists also remain very present.

The technical aspects of the shows are notably handled by former participants.

This intergenerational transmission allows young people to grow within the project and then, for some, to gradually take on new responsibilities.

A collective and open project

Giovanni brings together children and teenagers from different schools, family backgrounds and nationalities.

The circus thus becomes a collective space where individual differences are integrated into a common project.

The organization is primarily funded through its performances and donations .

Throughout its history, it has received several awards for its work with children and for its contribution to the development of youth circus in Germany.

Kinderzirkus Giovanni thus combines a circus school , a troupe of young artists , an educational project and a true collective adventure .

Its longevity, regular training, big top, annual creations, tours and transmission work make it today one of the historic projects of the circus for children and teenagers in Hanover.