Live Your Circus
33 rue André Citroën,
35800 Dinard
Live Your Circus — presentation
Vis Ton Cirque is a travelling circus school based in Dinard, Ille-et-Vilaine. A member of the FFEC and FREC Bretagne, the organization holds FFEC accreditation no. 35364 .
Functioning
Its operation is quite different from that of a traditional circus school. Vis Ton Cirque travels with its team, equipment, big top , and bleachers to temporarily set up a genuine circus world within schools, communities, holiday camps, and leisure centers. Performances can be organized throughout France.
Immersion and unfolding of a project
The main project takes the form of an immersion in circus arts. For a week – and sometimes on longer projects – children or teenagers discover different disciplines, choose a workshop, train with the artists and gradually participate in the creation of a collective show.
- The week begins with a presentation of the project, the participants, the big top, and the safety rules. A demonstration then allows participants to discover the different workshops. Each child tries out the activities offered before choosing the one they wish to focus on more specifically.
- The following days are devoted to training, improvement, and the gradual development of the acts. Intermediate demonstrations allow the children to discover the work done by other groups and participate in the preparation of the show.
- Friday is dedicated to final training sessions followed by the dress rehearsal. The project culminates in a full performance for the families. Each participant takes part in a show under a big top and experiences firsthand the various stages involved in progressing from learning a discipline to presenting it to an audience.
Typical Activities and Workshops
Vis Ton Cirque offers a particularly diverse range of activities. Its educational program cites juggling, acrobatics, balancing, and aerial work as major categories of activities. The workshops include, in particular:
- the balancing wire
- the unicycle
- the trapeze
- the balance ball
- American rolls or rolla-bolla
- the trampoline
- the clown
- acrobatic pyramids
- gymnastics
- juggling
- Lasso handling (Wild West inspired workshop)
This diversity allows children to choose an activity that matches their interests and abilities. The aim of the project is not to achieve perfect technical mastery in a few days, but to allow each child to progress, gain confidence, and find their place in a collective creation.
Educational objectives
The educational project thus places great emphasis on creativity and autonomy . Children learn to explore an idea, structure it, rehearse, compose, and gradually build an act. Circus arts become both a physical activity and an artistic language.
- The learning process develops coordination, dexterity, rhythm, balance, muscle tone, control of support, and effort management.
- Participants learn to operate individually, in pairs or in groups and to adapt their behavior to the constraints of each discipline.
- Cooperation is essential: children must learn to trust others and become reliable partners. Pyramids and other group activities particularly foster this mutual responsibility.
Security
Safety is a central focus of the program. The rules specific to each discipline are presented at the outset. The team uses appropriate safety equipment and mats, and no workshop takes place without adult supervision. Teachers or activity leaders from the host organizations also participate in the supervision.
Team and stakeholders
The instructors at Vis Ton Cirque come from the world of circus arts. The educational program specifically mentions the presence of instructors holding the BIAC (Brevet d'Initiation Aéronautique - National Circus Arts Certificate) with complementary specializations in tightrope walking and clowning. Other BIAC-certified instructors may join the team when the number of participants requires it.
The history of Vis Ton Cirque is closely linked to that of the Alciati family. Dominique Alciati comes from a circus family related to the Caron, Nava, and Michellety families. His father, Jean, and his uncle, Alain, presented a musical clown act and worked under various big tops, notably with Rancy, Pinder, Jean Richard, and at the Cirque d'Hiver.
This family tradition also has a long history in the transmission of circus arts. The Vis Ton Cirque website indicates that in 1974 Jean and Alain Alciati, accompanied by their cousin André Gazançon, had already set up the small big top of the Cirque Margis in front of the Foyatier school, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, in order to introduce children to the circus arts.
Dominique Alciati continued this story with Graziella Delporte, known as Orsola, who also comes from a family of artists and is a specialist in high-wire walking. The next generation is also involved: their son Enzo and his wife Mégane participate in galas, shows, and educational projects.
Status and affiliation
In 2026, this family tradition took on a new dimension with the creation in Dinard of the company Alciati Enzo Vis Ton Cirque , chaired by Enzo Alciati. Its declared activities include the introduction and teaching of circus arts, the organization of educational projects with schools and organizations, as well as the production and organization of shows.
The school also remains listed with the FFEC under the name Vis Ton Cirque. The FFEC affiliates it with FREC Bretagne and awards it accreditation number 35364 , with Graziella Delporte as the contact person.
Itinerant nature and immersion
Vis Ton Cirque's itinerant nature is one of its key distinguishing features. Rather than requiring children to attend a fixed school each week, the circus comes directly to them. The big top can be set up in the heart of a school or community, temporarily transforming the space into an area for discovery, training, and performance.
This formula allows for a particularly strong immersion. For several days, the children discover how a circus works, interact daily with the artists, train in the same environment and gradually see their show come to life.
Target audiences
- Schools
- Municipalities
- Holiday resorts
- Leisure centers
Vis Ton Cirque is primarily aimed at organizations wishing to develop a collective project around circus arts. The organization adapts its approach to the objectives and constraints of the venue and works in collaboration with teachers and activity leaders.
Conclusion
Thanks to its big top, bleachers, circus equipment, and team of teaching artists, Vis Ton Cirque offers a truly ephemeral and itinerant circus school. Juggling, tightrope walking, unicycle, trapeze, balance ball, rolla-bolla, trampoline, acrobatics, and clowning become, for a few days, the tools of a collective project culminating in a show conceived and presented by the participants.
