Piccola Scuola di Circo – Milano

La Piccola Scuola di Circo is a historic school dedicated to contemporary circus arts located in Milan. Its activity began in the early 1990s and it is one of the pioneering structures for circus education in Italy.

At the origins: Parco Sempione

Its history has its roots even earlier, in Milan in the early 1980s. A small group of street artists began to meet at Parco Sempione , around the De Chirico fountain, to train in the various circus disciplines and offer street performances.

It is in this artistic environment that Camilla Peluso , an acrobat by training and passionate about juggling, developed with Claudio Madia the project that would give birth to the Piccola Scuola di Circo.

The school's activity began unofficially in 1991. In 1994 , the project became structured as a sports and cultural association and began to occupy a special place in the Italian circus scene.

From its earliest years, the Piccola Scuola di Circo sought to offer genuine physical preparation adapted to the circus and street arts , at a time when this type of training was still very underdeveloped in Italy.

In 1994, the first major student show took place under the big top of the Circo Medini , set up especially in Milan for the occasion.

The big top, the school's trademark

Over the years, the school continued to develop and gradually gained the opportunity to use its own spaces under a big top.

This location under a real big top has become a key feature of the school. It allows students to train in an environment directly associated with the world of the circus while having access to the equipment necessary for the different disciplines.

An educational program for all audiences

Today, the Piccola Scuola di Circo develops several levels of teaching allowing it to welcome both amateur practitioners and young people wishing to pursue an artistic career .

Amateur courses are aimed particularly at children and allow them to discover circus arts in a fun and progressive environment.

Young people simultaneously develop physical abilities, coordination, creativity and self-confidence.

The subjects taught

Floor acrobatics forms one of the foundations of the teaching. Students learn to better understand their bodies, develop strength and mobility, and gradually master different acrobatic movements.

Juggling is also very present. It allows you to work on coordination, concentration, rhythm and manipulation while offering great creative freedom.

Balance disciplines complement this training. Unicycling is one of the specialties taught by the team.

The school also has a significant offering in aerial acrobatics .

Aerial silks, rope, trapeze and aerial hoop are among the disciplines taught by specialist instructors.

These techniques allow you to work on strength, flexibility, coordination and artistic expression in the air.

Chinese pole is another discipline offered both in some advanced courses and in activities for amateurs.

Verticals also have their own specific teaching methods. Handstand work allows practitioners to deepen their body awareness, alignment, strength, and control.

Acrodance and floorwork create bridges between contemporary dance and acrobatic techniques.

This multidisciplinary approach corresponds to the contemporary conception of circus advocated by the school: technical skills become tools enabling the development of a personal artistic language .

Adults can also practice circus arts as part of amateur classes.

An artistic development program

However, the Piccola Scuola di Circo is not limited to a recreational school. It also has an important artistic development program .

This course is aimed particularly at young people who wish to become contemporary circus artists and prepare for auditions at Italian and European professional higher education institutions.

One course is specifically designed for young people aged 13 to 20 who wish to deepen their technical and artistic skills.

The training can represent several hundred hours of annual practice , spread over several days per week.

The subjects include acrobatics, acrodance, verticals, aerial disciplines, juggling, balance, Chinese pole and physical preparation.

The technical training is complemented by genuine artistic creation work .

Each student gradually learns to develop a personal act by working not only on technique but also on dramaturgy, stage presence and artistic construction.

Specific times are dedicated to collective creation and performances.

For practitioners over 20 years old who already have significant experience, the school also offers opportunities for technical and artistic improvement.

Students can thus deepen their own specialty while participating in the creation of a collective show.

This dual technical and artistic approach allows some students to then pursue their studies in major professional circus schools.

Several former students of the Piccola Scuola di Circo have thus entered higher education programs in Italy or other European countries and subsequently developed a professional career.

Institutional recognition

Institutional recognition of this activity has gradually increased.

In 2018 , the school obtained recognition from the Italian Ministry of Culture for its professional development activities.

In 2021 , she joined FEDEC, the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools, and also participates in the bodies of ACCI, the Italian association dedicated to contemporary circus.

Teacher training and pedagogical action

La Piccola Scuola di Circo also develops a training activity for teachers .

In particular, it offers a first-level training course dedicated to teaching circus arts and aerial acrobatics.

The school also works with educational institutions and offers educational activities allowing students to discover circus arts.

The scenic dimension

The stage dimension remains very important in the overall project.

Each year, amateur students present their learning during end-of-year shows , while students in advanced and improvement courses participate in more developed artistic creations.

The big top also hosts shows, events and professional artists, creating links between learning and contemporary creation.

Management and team

Today, Camilla Peluso is in charge of the direction, while Giovanni Spadaro Norella is in charge of the artistic direction, with a team made up of artists and teachers specializing in the different disciplines.

The Piccola Scuola di Circo is thus simultaneously a leisure school , a place for advanced artistic training and a space for the creation and dissemination of contemporary circus .

More than thirty years after the start of its activities, it remains an important reference in Milan and in the Italian circus arts scene, allowing both a child to discover their first discipline and a young artist to prepare for entry into a European professional school.