Lyon Circus School

A circus school for over 400 participants

Amateur practice is one of the core activities of the Lyon Circus School. It welcomes over 400 students , children and adults, to its various weekly workshops. Classes are open to both those discovering circus arts and experienced practitioners wishing to deepen or refine their skills.

Background and ages

The program allows for progression from discovery to in-depth exploration of the various disciplines. The school welcomes children from the age of 3 , with fun and educational circus workshops specially adapted for the youngest learners. Motor skills activities, simple acrobatics, and object manipulation provide an initial introduction to the circus through play and movement.

As children grow, they gradually discover a wider range of disciplines: acrobatics, juggling and object manipulation, balancing, aerial arts, and partner work. Technical work is complemented by a creative dimension, allowing young people to develop their own artistic expression.

A pedagogy based on creativity and collaboration

The Lyon Circus School project is part of a popular and civic education approach. The school seeks in particular to value each individual within the collective and to promote openness as well as social and cultural diversity.

His teaching method combines physical practice and creativity. The objective is therefore not only to learn how to perform figures: practitioners are gradually led to explore the possibilities offered by their body, objects and equipment and to develop a personal or collective artistic approach.

many circus disciplines

• Ground acrobatics
• Juggling and object manipulation
• Balances on objects
• Acrobatic lifts
• Aerial disciplines

During the courses for children, participants can discover various aerial apparatus such as the trapeze, the silks or the hoop, as well as balances such as the tightrope and the balance ball.

For adults, the school offers both general "all techniques" courses and more specialized instruction. Thematic cycles may, for example, be devoted to acrobatic lifts, while workshops organized throughout the year allow participants to explore disciplines such as balance, Chinese pole, aerial arts, tightrope walking, clowning, or acrobatic lifts.

Courses for adults

Adults, from beginners to more experienced practitioners, have several options for practicing regularly.

• Specific courses dedicated to floor acrobatics, combining gymnastic concepts and the development of a circus acrobatic language.
• "All techniques" courses allowing you to practice or deepen your skills in acrobatics, balances, lifts, aerial work and juggling
• Occasional interventions by specialist artists to provide alternative technical and artistic approaches

A professional development program for teenagers

Highly motivated young people can join the advanced group, called Perfs. This program is for teenagers aged 12 to 18 who wish to invest more intensively in their practice.

Throughout the year, they strengthen their technical skills in their disciplines while developing artistic research. The goal is to consider the circus in all its diversity and in its relationships with other art forms.

Internships during school holidays

The Lyon Circus School also organizes numerous workshops for children and teenagers during school holidays, accessible from 4 years old up to 18 years old .

The youngest children discover the circus through balancing, object manipulation, and simple acrobatics. For older children, the workshops become more comprehensive, allowing them to practice aerial disciplines, balancing, ground acrobatics, and juggling.

Some one-week courses also include genuine collaborative creative work, culminating in the presentation of a show to families.

Workshops outside the walls

The school's activities are not limited to its premises in Ménival. ECL operates throughout the year in various locations across the metropolitan area, notably at Les Subsistances, with the Croix-Roussiens Circus Arts Workshops, and in several youth and community centers.

• Interventions in schools (middle schools, high schools) to introduce students to object balancing, juggling, manipulation, and acrobatics.
• Projects using circus arts as a tool to develop personal expression, self-confidence, teamwork, and respect for others
• End-of-year presentations are possible, developed in connection with school curricula.

Actions starting in early childhood

ECL also works with toddlers, particularly in Childminder Support Networks. These early learning workshops allow children to gradually discover the circus through motor skills, balance, and manipulation games.

Balls, scarves, hoops and small obstacle courses are used to promote movement, coordination and sensory exploration, respecting each child's pace.

Bridges between amateurs and future professionals

One of the strengths of the ECL project lies in the bridges it creates between amateur practice and preparatory training. These bridges foster encounters and exchanges between people who practice circus arts for leisure and young artists committed to a professional career.

The school thus becomes a space where children, teenagers, amateur adults, students, professional artists and educators can meet around a shared passion for circus arts.

A place for performance, experimentation and creation

The Lyon Circus School is also presented as a place for residencies and performances. It develops a program allowing the public to discover young artists and new offerings from contemporary circus.

This outreach activity naturally complements the teaching. Students can thus practice circus arts while discovering the work of artists engaged in professional research and creation processes.

Spaces for professional artists

ECL also makes some of its spaces available to circus artists for free training, from September to June.

• The Hexagon room has a height of 6.50 meters in its center and several rigging points allowing the practice of aerial disciplines.
• Other rooms may be accessible depending on availability.

A comprehensive offering within the Lyon circus scene

The Lyon Circus School thus occupies a particularly comprehensive place in the Lyon circus scene. It allows children to discover the circus from early childhood, practice regularly as amateurs, hone their skills, prepare for a professional career, meet artists, and attend contemporary creations. Its structure creates a continuous link between teaching, practice, creation, and professional development.