Oxymore Circus – Abondant Circus School

Cirque Oxymore is a circus school, a professional company and a cultural venue dedicated to circus and street arts , located in Abondant, Eure-et-Loir.

The association is developing a project that combines transmission , creation , dissemination of shows and hosting of artists . Its big top serves as the school's practice space, a performance venue and an artist residency space.

The educational project is based on a multidisciplinary approach to the circus and on a central idea: to allow each person to develop their autonomy while learning to evolve within a collective .

Technical practice is viewed as a means of experimentation and creation . The school seeks to reconcile notions that may seem opposed: exploring risk while working safely , striving for performance while maintaining fluidity of movement , having fun while developing rigor and perseverance .

The workshops allow students to discover different branches of circus arts and progress at their own pace. Acrobatics , balancing , juggling , and teamwork play an important role in the curriculum.

Acrobatic lifts are also a prominent discipline in Oxymore's repertoire. The professional company itself develops work around lifts, hand-to-hand acrobatics, balance, and body movement. Specific lift workshops are regularly offered to further develop this practice.

The school welcomes both people wishing to discover circus arts and practitioners seeking to perfect their skills.

Holiday workshops complement the regular classes. They may focus on a general introduction to circus arts or on advanced technical training . Some workshops are specifically geared towards acrobatic lifts and advanced techniques.

Transmission is not limited to activities organized under the big top.

Cirque Oxymore also develops educational projects for schools and other organizations. Artists and instructors can create programs combining circus arts practice, exploration of contemporary creation, and encounters with live performance.

The association also develops adapted circus activities. It works particularly with children and adolescents with multiple disabilities and adapts circus offerings to the abilities and needs of the participants.

This social dimension corresponds to Oxymore's general project, which aims to use circus and street arts as tools for meeting , cooperation , expression and social connection .

The big top, the heart of the project

The big top is a central element of this project.

Located in Abondant, it has a 90 m2 floor area and a dome height of 8 meters. It is equipped to accommodate both classes and training sessions as well as professional performances.

A cultural program

Cirque Oxymore is indeed developing a genuine cultural program .

The venue hosts contemporary circus performances, cabarets, concerts, artistic gatherings, and various other events. It notably organizes the Oxygène Festival , a cultural event combining circus performances, concerts, workshops, and artistic offerings.

This relationship between teaching and performance is one of the unique features of the place: students practice in a space that is also used daily by artists to create, rehearse and present their shows.

The professional company

Cirque Oxymore finally has its own professional new circus company .

Their creations explore acrobatic lifts, hand-to-hand acrobatics, balance, contortion, dance, and movement. The artists develop shows for both indoor and outdoor venues.

A comprehensive cultural project

The circus school is thus part of a much larger cultural project.