Lolycircus

Loly Circus is a circus school and company based in Oraison, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Created in 1997, the association has been developing a project for almost thirty years combining circus arts education, cultural activities, creation of shows, interventions in the local area and support for artists.

A history marked by nomadism

The history of Loly Circus is closely linked to its itinerant nature. In the early 2000s, the association gradually professionalized its activity and acquired a truck and equipment in order to reach out to local residents.

From 2003 onwards, it operated as a true travelling circus school and organised courses, workshops and introductory sessions in different villages, social centres and leisure centres.

This activity allows Loly Circus to develop the practice of circus arts in a rural area where specialized facilities are relatively scattered.

The business is becoming structured quickly and the association hires its first permanent employee in 2004.

In 2006, Loly Circus obtained its performing arts entrepreneur license and simultaneously developed a professional company activity. The association then began to create and present its own shows with professional artists, mainly in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

The opening of the permanent school in Oraison

A new milestone has been reached with the opening of a permanent school in Oraison. Since 2011, children, teenagers and adults have had access to a space specifically dedicated to the practice of circus arts.

Loly Circus nevertheless retains its mobile activity and still defines itself as a circus school that is both fixed and itinerant .

This dual identity allows it to welcome practitioners in its own premises while continuing to intervene in schools, leisure centers and municipalities in the territory.

Today, the school in Oraison has a space dedicated to circus arts practices, equipped to work on both ground and aerial disciplines.

An educational program for all audiences

The educational program is designed for a particularly wide audience. Loly Circus welcomes children, teenagers and adults and also offers activities involving parents and children.

Regular classes allow for recreational practice throughout the year.

The teaching is intentionally multidisciplinary. Students can explore different branches of circus arts before gradually developing their preferences.

The subjects taught

Acrobatics is one of the important aspects of the practice. The school's equipment allows for the exploration of different forms of physical and acrobatic work.

Balance and object manipulation also play an important role. Students can experience different situations requiring coordination, precision, concentration, and body control.

Juggling is one of the disciplines regularly covered in courses and workshops.

Aerial disciplines are one of Loly Circus's major specialties. The school offers instruction in aerial silks as well as the discovery and learning of other aerial apparatus.

The team possesses genuine specialized skills in this field. Several instructors are themselves aerial artists, and the school has the necessary equipment for regular practice.

The trapeze is also one of the disciplines used in activities offered to children and families.

Loly Circus also offers courses specifically dedicated to aerial arts for children, teenagers and adults.

Teaching can thus evolve from a multidisciplinary discovery towards a much more in-depth practice of a family of disciplines.

Adult classes

Adults play an important role in the educational project.

The school offers them aerial silks classes, among other things. The sessions combine physical preparation, muscle strengthening, flexibility and technical learning.

The goal is not just to perform figures but also to develop body awareness, understanding of positioning, the ability to conserve effort and sensations related to movement in space.

The school welcomes both beginners and practitioners who already have experience.

Activities for families

Loly Circus is also developing a significant offering for families. Babycircus and Familycircus allow children and their parents to participate together.

These sessions approach the disciplines in a fun and age-appropriate way. They may combine circus motor skills courses, lifts, balancing on objects, acrobatics, juggling, trapeze and object manipulation.

The goal is as much about discovering circus arts as it is about sharing an experience between child and parent.

"Family Seeds"

The association is also developing "Graines de famille", a parent-child reception center for children aged 0 to 4 years.

This is not a technical circus course but a free and anonymous space allowing children and parents to meet in a suitable environment.

The project aims in particular to promote relationships between children and between adults, intergenerational links and to offer parents a break.

This action benefits from the support of several institutional partners linked to family and parenting.

Internships for all ages

In addition to regular classes, Loly Circus organizes numerous workshops.

Children can participate in holiday camps, from introductory courses to advanced training. Specific programs are also developed for teenagers and adults.

Depending on the period and the participants, the training courses may be multidisciplinary or devoted to a particular technique.

Over the years, the association has notably developed workshops around trampoline, Chinese pole, clowning and aerial silks.

For teenagers, Loly Circus also organizes more intensive projects. The 2026 program notably includes mini-camps dedicated to the flying trapeze.

This diversity allows practitioners to discover disciplines that would be difficult to approach solely within the framework of a weekly class.

Tailor-made interventions in schools and leisure centers

Working with schools and leisure centers is another historical pillar of the project.

The team can travel with its own equipment and organize customized interventions.

Projects are built according to the number of participants, educational objectives, available time and disciplines considered.

Loly Circus can mobilize one or more trainers as needed.

The teaching team responsible for these interventions includes experienced professionals with degrees in teaching circus arts and physical activities.

The association intervenes both on an ad hoc basis and as part of longer-term projects.

This ability to move equipment and performers directly extends Loly Circus's historical identity as a traveling school .

A professional contemporary circus company

Amateur teaching, however, constitutes only one part of the association's activity. Since 2006, Loly Circus has also been developing a fully professional company.

She creates contemporary circus shows primarily for young audiences and families. Her creations combine circus performances, humor, poetry, play, and interaction with the audience.

The shows can be presented indoors or outdoors and the association has technical skills allowing it to be largely self-sufficient.

This professional activity creates a direct link between school and live performance.

An artistic team with complementary skills

The people involved in Loly Circus are not only teachers: several are also circus artists, clowns, creators or directors.

The artistic team comprises highly complementary profiles.

Kevin Eymeoud is a circus artist and clown. Trained at the Grenade Circus School and holder of the BIAC, he possesses multiple circus skills and also works as a director.

Aurélia Chalard is a circus artist trained at the Mulhouse Circus School and holds a BIAC qualification. She specializes in aerial disciplines.

His training includes classic apparatus such as the trapeze, silks and hoop, as well as more unusual practices such as the rotating hoop, net or hammock.

Matthieu Caron, for his part, develops a practice particularly oriented towards the imbalances of objects and clowning.

Benjamin Gorlier occupies a central place in the history and development of Loly Circus. After university training in STAPS, he participated in the professionalization of the association in the early 2000s.

He currently serves as the general manager and is also involved in school projects.

His technical skills enabled him to participate in the development of the venue and to simultaneously develop a business designing and manufacturing stage structures.

A workshop for manufacturing stage structures

Loly Circus does indeed have a workshop that allows them to design custom structures for artists.

The equipment can be tested directly on site in order to benefit from tailored technical advice.

This activity clearly illustrates the positioning gradually acquired by the association: Loly Circus is no longer just a school for its members but also a resource place for circus professionals .

A welcoming place for professional artists

The association occasionally hosts artists in creative residency. When the space is available, companies can come to work, rehearse or develop a new creation.

Several forms of accommodation are possible, from simply providing space to residences benefiting from partial financial support.

Loly Circus also hosts local artists for their training.

These activities create bridges between amateur practitioners, teachers and the professional environment.

An amateur troupe to showcase its practitioners

The school has also developed an amateur troupe made up of senior students in order to showcase practitioners who have reached a significant level.

The collective creation and presentation in front of an audience then allows technical learning to be extended through a genuine artistic experience.

Events and festivals in the area

Loly Circus's community involvement extends beyond the school walls. The association has been organizing events and festivals for many years.

After a first experience with "La Fête au pré des étoiles" in Entrevennes in 2010, she notably led the travelling festival "Les Arts en Vadrouille" and then, from 2018, "Faites du Cirque" in Oraison.

These events bring together professional shows, practical workshops, meetings with artists and convivial moments.

A partnership with the Departmental Council

Since 2017, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Departmental Council has supported Loly Circus in a mission to promote circus arts in the region.

This partnership includes, in particular, the programming of family shows, the organization of workshops, the hosting of artists for training or residency, and the organization of an annual festival.

Towards a Departmental Circus Hub

A new stage has begun with the development of a departmental circus center .

European support obtained for the period 2023-2025 notably enabled the development of a second room adjoining the existing school.

The project aims to further enhance the venue's capacity to simultaneously host teaching, creation, training, and cultural activities.

An original position in the Circassian landscape

Loly Circus thus occupies today an original position in the circus landscape of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

• For the locals , it is first and foremost an amateur circus school offering courses, workshops and family activities.
• For schools and leisure centers , it represents a mobile teaching team capable of building tailor-made projects.
• For artists , it offers a place to train, to live and sometimes technical support.
• Finally, through her company and festivals , she contributes directly to the dissemination of contemporary circus in the region.

A child can therefore discover the circus with his parents, continue in regular classes, participate in workshops, deepen certain disciplines and then possibly join creative projects.

Teenagers and adults also have courses allowing them to practice for fun or to deepen their knowledge of certain techniques, particularly aerial disciplines.

This articulation between fixed school , itinerant school , company , place of creation and territorial cultural actor constitutes the main singularity of Loly Circus.