Lizy Circus School
The Lizy-sur-Ourcq Circus School – Association Étoile is a circus school founded by Joseph Jacques Bouglione, an artist and artistic director from the renowned Bouglione family. Located in a specially designed 500 m² space in Lizy-sur-Ourcq, Seine-et-Marne, it welcomes children from age 6 and adults to discover and practice the circus arts. The curriculum combines juggling, acrobatics, tightrope walking, balance ball, and aerial disciplines such as the fixed trapeze, aerial hoop, silks, and rope. The school offers year-round classes, both group and individual, as well as workshops during school holidays, and customized circus performances and shows. Its mission is rooted in the particularly rich circus history of Lizy-sur-Ourcq and the Bouglione family, with a teaching approach that emphasizes self-confidence, balance, concentration, creativity, willpower, and pushing personal limits.
77440 Lizy-sur-Ourcq
The Lizy-sur-Ourcq Circus School – Étoile Association
The Lizy-sur-Ourcq Circus School – Association Étoile is a school dedicated to the initiation and transmission of circus arts, located in Lizy-sur-Ourcq, Seine-et-Marne. Created at the initiative of Joseph Jacques Bouglione , it is part of the particularly rich circus history of the Bouglione family and their presence in the Pays de l'Ourcq region.
The idea for the school was born during the lockdown. Joseph Jacques Bouglione chose to transform a 500 m² family barn in Lizy-sur-Ourcq into a dedicated circus arts training space. The building was gutted, renovated, and equipped to accommodate around thirty students in optimal training conditions. Supported by local elected officials and encouraged by the interest of the community, the project came to fruition with the school's opening in 2023 .
The Lizy-sur-Ourcq Circus School welcomes children from age 6 and up, as well as adults. Activities can be taken year-round, in groups or individually. The aim is to provide a gradual immersion in the world of circus arts, whether participants simply wish to discover the circus, practice an original artistic activity, develop their physical abilities, or perhaps explore a potential vocation.
Teaching and disciplines
The teaching is multidisciplinary and offers a wide range of practices adapted to different ages and levels.
- Juggling plays an important role in the courses and workshops.
- Balance disciplines : learning to walk on a wire and to walk on a balance ball.
- Ground acrobatics : jumps, human pyramids, mini-trampoline work, balance exercises and progression towards figures like the somersault.
- Aerial disciplines : discovering aerial hoop, fixed trapeze, aerial silks and rope.
Each session begins with warm-up and stretching exercises before moving on to the technical and physical skills specific to each piece of equipment.
Beyond technique, the teaching approach aims to make circus arts a true school of courage , willpower, and challenge. Practice should allow students to develop their self-confidence, physical ease, balance, and creativity.
- Self-confidence and pushing beyond one's limits.
- Improved physical comfort and balance.
- Concentration and discipline.
- Flexibility and muscle strengthening.
- Creativity and artistic expression.
In addition to its year-round classes, the Lizy-sur-Ourcq Circus School organizes workshops during school holidays. These workshops allow children to juggle, learn about the trapeze, walk on a tightrope or a ball, and discover different forms of acrobatics. For the 2026-2027 season, the school has already announced upcoming sessions in April and August 2027 .
The establishment also offers customized circus performances and shows. This activity allows the Étoile Association to go beyond regular classes and participate in one-off events and projects related to the circus arts.
The founder
Joseph Jacques Bouglione belongs to one of the historic families of the French circus. After a career as a performer, he developed a significant career in creation and artistic direction. From 1999, he participated with his brother and cousins of the younger generation in the productions of the Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione in Paris. He served as artistic director for numerous shows and was involved in staging, technical management, musical selection, orchestra composition, artist recruitment, and costume design. His experience also extends to international productions.
This family tradition is particularly relevant in Lizy-sur-Ourcq, a region historically linked to the Bouglione family. The school thus allows for the transmission of a circus culture rooted in a long family tradition, while offering the inhabitants of the Pays de l'Ourcq an accessible and contemporary way of practicing the arts.
An authentic 1950s caravan has been transformed into the "Café des Artistes" . Decorated with collectibles and previously unseen photographs, it tells part of the history of the circus and can welcome students and their families for visits or social gatherings.
A second historic caravan, used between the 1960s and 1980s as a traveling school for the children of touring circus artists, has been restored. It bears witness to a time when education followed circus families on the road and constitutes a tangible link between heritage, family history, and transmission to new generations.
Federal affiliation
The Lizy-sur-Ourcq Circus School is a member of the French Federation of Circus Schools and affiliated with the FREC Île-de-France. A federation license is mandatory to participate in the school's regular activities, thus placing the Étoile Association within the French network of organizations dedicated to teaching circus arts.
For the 2026-2027 season, the school continues its classes for children and adults and actively participates in the community life of the Pays de l'Ourcq. Its project is distinguished by the combination of multidisciplinary teaching, professional experience from the world of circus, a particularly rich family heritage and a desire to pass on to new generations the joy of the circus ring.
