Latitude Circus

Latitude Circus

Latitude Cirque is an association and school dedicated to circus arts located in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni , French Guiana. Created in 2010 and established in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in 2011 , the organization has been developing an artistic, educational, cultural and social project for over fifteen years that is particularly important for western French Guiana.

Missions and areas of activity

The association does not function solely as a leisure school. Its activity is organized around several complementary axes: amateur practice, training and support towards professionalization, artistic and cultural education, social and adapted circus, creation and distribution of shows, professional residencies and development of itinerant projects in the municipalities of French Guiana.

A dedicated space and its facilities

Amateur audiences and courses

Amateur practice is one of the entry points to Latitude Cirque. For the 2026-2027 season, the school welcomes children from 4 years old , teenagers, adults and seniors over 60 years old .

• 4-7 years old : discover circus arts through physical practice, but also through creative and sensory awakening work.
• 8-10 years : teaching evolves towards the deepening of the different disciplines and the introduction to their artistic, creative and expressive dimensions.
• From age 11 : teenagers can deepen their practice and begin to specialize in a chosen discipline. The creation of acts and the artistic dimension then take on a more important role.
• The school also offers courses for adults and, since the 2026-2027 season, a completely free weekly course for seniors aged 60 and over.

Pedagogy

Latitude Cirque promotes an educational approach in which circus arts are not considered a competitive sport but an art of encounter and sharing . Group cohesion, mutual support, solidarity, respect for differences, and attention to the individual form the foundation of the project.

• Freedom to try and express oneself.
• Acceptance of mistakes and progress.
• Sharing and collective work.
• Consistency in support and the value of the work necessary to gradually overcome one's own limits.

Internships and additional activities

Regular classes are complemented by workshops during school holidays. Participants can discover or further develop their skills in aerial arts, acrobatics, object balancing, and juggling. Some workshops focus on creating a short performance for families, while others combine circus arts with visual arts for younger children.

The Workshop of Stars

But one of the great features of Latitude Cirque is L'Atelier des Étoiles , created in 2014. This artistic, cultural and social program supports young Guyanese people in a particularly intensive practice of circus arts and can lead them towards a professional orientation.

The Atelier des Étoiles is organized into two levels. The initial program, lasting three to five years , allows young people to gradually discover a passion, a professional world, and potentially a career. It includes between eight and ten hours of circus arts per week, approximately 120 hours of workshops during the holidays each year, and 60 hours of dance and theater annually.

• Participation in creations and performances in the Guyanese territory.
• Cultural outings.
• Personalized support.

The preparatory program goes even further. Latitude Cirque presents it as a precursor to the first preparatory school for higher education in circus arts in the French overseas territories. It is aimed at young people who wish to be guided in their choice of a circus career and benefit from enhanced technical support before enrolling in higher education.

Results and alumni

This program has already yielded particularly significant results. Latitude Cirque reports that nine young people from L'Atelier des Étoiles have continued their training in recognized higher education institutions.

• Antino Pansa , who attended the National Circus School of Montreal before developing an international career.
• Joël Taja , trained notably at Piste d'Azur and became a professional artist specializing among other things in the Chinese pole.
• Félix Adoengga , graduated in 2025 from the Quebec Circus School.
• Yves Artière , who went through a preparatory school in Rosny-sous-Bois and then the National Circus School of Montreal and was awarded at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain.

This dimension clearly distinguishes Latitude Cirque from a school exclusively dedicated to amateur practice. Even though it does not itself award a DNSP-AC (National Higher Diploma in Circus Arts), it now constitutes a genuine support and preparation structure for higher professional training.

Educational Partnerships

This commitment is also reflected in the partnership with the French National Education system. Latitude Cirque partners with a dedicated Circus Arts program at Lycée 4 in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, offering an option in the second year of high school followed by a specialization in the first and final years.

This program allows high school students to practice, attend professional shows, and present circus arts for their baccalaureate exam. No prior experience is necessary, and approximately eighteen places are available per grade level.

Arts and cultural education

More broadly, Latitude Cirque develops numerous artistic and cultural education programs from kindergarten to high school. Some projects include a minimum of thirty hours per class and combine practical work, creation, encounters with the professional world, and the discovery of live performance.

• Interventions in juggling, object balancing, aerial disciplines, acrobatics and lifts.
• Work on group cohesion, mutual support, responsibility and safety.
• Supporting the steps involved in moving from learning to a form of performance.

Social action and inclusion

Latitude Cirque also has an important social and inclusive dimension. Since 2017, the association has been working with organizations in the field of disability such as APADAG , APAJH , ADAPEI , GCSMS or EBENE , as well as with programs and organizations in the social sector.

Circus arts are then used to develop motor skills, coordination, balance, body awareness, creativity, and confidence. The diversity of disciplines allows the activities to be adapted to the abilities and needs of the participants.

Territorial actions and itinerancy

The association also works in the neighborhoods of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. Workshops are organized during school holidays, weekly classes are held in some neighborhoods, and individualized projects are available for particularly motivated young people. This community-based approach has been present since Latitude Cirque's early years. Outreach activities in these neighborhoods began as early as 2012-2013.

1. 2013: flying trapeze project on the Maroni in Grand-Santi, Maripasoula and Antecume Pata.
2. From 2016 onwards: the Cirq'Amazonia project made it possible to organize annual tours of workshops and shows in remote communities.
3. 2024: continuation of the itinerant approach with the Latitude Ouest Tour , combining shows and workshops in the municipalities of Western French Guiana with young people from the training program.

Creation, distribution and residencies

Professional creation and distribution are another major aspect of the organization. Latitude Cirque programs circus shows under its big top and has hosted professional companies in residence since 2019. The Maison des Z'Artistes provides accommodation for these visiting companies.

Latitude Cirque also seeks to create bridges between artists in residence and students at the school, so that young practitioners can directly encounter professionals and learn about their creative processes. Latitude Cirque also creates and presents its own shows, notably through L'Atelier des Étoiles.

The organization also actively participates in the national network of circus schools. Latitude Cirque is listed by the French Federation of Circus Schools and has notably participated in the National Encounters. In 2024, it presented a creation combining acrobatics and Chinese pole, entitled "Lloyd's Dream," at the National Stages.

Role and uniqueness

Latitude Cirque thus plays a particularly important role in the Guyanese circus ecosystem. Its project allows a child to discover the circus in a recreational course, a teenager to build their first acts, a particularly motivated young person to prepare for entry into higher education, a high school student to choose a Circus Arts specialization, a person with a disability to access an adapted practice and a professional company to have a place of residence.

This articulation between transmission, professionalization, social action, artistic education, creation, dissemination and touring makes Latitude Cirque a particularly unique structure in France and essential for the development of circus arts in French Guiana and more particularly in Western French Guiana.