Kreuztaler KNAX Circus School

The Kreuztal Circus School is a circus education project for children and teenagers in Kreuztal, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is run by the Kinder- & Jugendförderung department of the city of Kreuztal with the support of Sparkasse Siegen .

The origins of the project

The project's history began in 1991. That year, a small weekend dedicated to acrobatics and juggling was organized in the former JBS youth center in Kreuztal. The experience was successful enough to gradually develop into a full-fledged program dedicated to circus arts.

Over the years, this initiative has developed under the name Kreuztaler KNAX Circusschule . The city now presents it as an ongoing program allowing children and teenagers to discover and explore numerous circus techniques.

A structure based on internships rather than courses

The project therefore operates differently from a school offering a fixed weekly course. Practice is organized in the form of circus weekends , workshops , intensive weeks , particularly during school holidays.

This organization allows children to participate occasionally in an initial introduction and then return for other courses to further explore the techniques that interest them.

A pedagogy based on freedom and collectivity

The teaching method is largely based on freedom of experimentation . Children are encouraged to try different disciplines and then decide for themselves which activities they wish to work on.

The KNAX Circus School also places great importance on group learning . The young artists work together, help each other during exercises, and gradually develop their own acts.

The subjects taught

Acrobatics is one of the historical disciplines of the project. It can take different forms, from figures performed on the ground to constructions using partners or different accessories.

Balance disciplines are particularly well represented. Children can discover unicycles, tightrope walking, balance balls, rollers, various balance devices, and the Russian bar.

Juggling is another major focus. Participants can learn to manipulate balls, rings, clubs, scarves and plates, as well as discover the diabolo and the devil stick.

Aerial disciplines are also part of the program. Depending on the courses offered, children can work on the trapeze and vertical silks.

Magic and clowning complete this range of disciplines. They allow us to explore stage presence, character development, and how to present an act beyond its purely technical difficulty.

Throughout its history, the KNAX Circusschule has thus developed an offering ranging from acrobatics to magic, with the desire to present the different families of circus arts rather than specializing in a single practice.

Circus weekends

Short circus weekends are now one of the regular offerings. They are offered in particular to children from the age of 7 and generally take place over two full days .

Each weekend can focus on certain disciplines. This gives children several opportunities throughout the year to discover new activities or deepen their knowledge of those they already know.

In 2026 , for example, some weekends were dedicated to trapeze, aerial silks, unicycle, acrobatics and tightrope walking. Others included trampoline, obstacle courses and balance balls.

The program regularly involves artists and educators from Circus Mücke . The children thus benefit from specialized guidance while retaining considerable freedom in choosing and developing their acts.

The great Circuswoche

The major Circus Week is one of the project's historical highlights. This intensive week allows children to immerse themselves much more deeply in circus arts and develop a genuine collective project.

The longevity of this event illustrates the circus's place in Kreuztal's youth policy. In 2026, the city organized its 35th Kreuztal Circus Week .

The KNAX Circus School thus welcomes a significant number of participants each year. Municipal reports indicate approximately 200 annual participations in the activities of the Kreuztal Circus School.

An educational tool

The circus is used as an educational tool, allowing children to discover abilities they may not have known they possessed. Learning a new technique allows them to see their progress and gradually develop confidence and pride.

The absence of competition is also a significant advantage of circus arts in this context. The disciplines are diverse enough that every child can find an activity in which they enjoy progressing.

Creating acts simultaneously fosters creativity and autonomy . Children are not simply asked to reproduce exercises: they think about how to present the techniques learned and combine them in a creation.

Mutual support between participants is another important dimension. The young people learn together, observe the progress of others and support each other in preparing their acts.

A sustainable municipal circus education project

The Kreuztal KNAX Circus School is thus a sustainable municipal circus education project. Since 1991, it has enabled several generations of children and teenagers from Kreuztal to discover the circus arts through workshops, weekends and intensive weeks.

More than thirty-five years after its inception, the project remains active and continues to offer new sessions. Its longevity, the diversity of disciplines taught, and its integration into the city's youth policy make it a true school for discovering circus arts, even if its operation relies more on regular workshops than on weekly classes.