Planet Circus

Planète Cirque is a recreational circus school located in Chalon-sur-Saône and the greater Chalon area of Saône-et-Loire. Founded in 2012 , it has a unique identity as it is part of the EEDF, a secular movement for popular education and scouting. It is also affiliated with the FFEC and belongs to the FREC Bourgogne network.

This dual affiliation strongly influences its educational project. Planète Cirque does not consider the circus solely as a physical or artistic activity: the practice also becomes a support for popular education , collective life and learning autonomy .

A circus school created in 2012

Planète Cirque was created in 2012 with the aim of developing a recreational circus school in the Greater Chalon area. Its recent association project indicates that it has more than 75 members aged 3 to 55 years .

However, the school is not limited to a fixed practice location. It also has a truck and a big top , which allow it to develop itinerant projects and travel around the region.

This mobility is an important characteristic of Planète Cirque and allows it to combine the activity of a traditional school with that of circus stays and projects organized in the great outdoors.

The circus and popular education

The Planète Cirque project is directly influenced by the values of the EEDF (French Equestrian Federation) and those of the network of circus schools. The association notably emphasizes the following principles:

• Solidarity
• Co-education
• Democracy
• Secularism
• Eco-citizenship

These values are developed through regular workshops, as well as during internships, holiday programs, and trips. Circus arts practice then serves as a support for learning to progress individually while participating in a collective project. Mutual support is particularly important: students learn to observe others, to work together, and to contribute to the safety of their partners.

Juggling and object manipulation

Planète Cirque allows you to discover many juggling and manipulation techniques.

• Balls
• Diabolos
• Clubs
• Devil sticks
• Bolas

These disciplines develop coordination, concentration, precision, and perseverance. They also allow for highly individualized progress: each person can experiment with several objects before choosing those with which they wish to deepen their practice.

Balances on objects

The school also offers a wide-ranging exploration of balances on objects.

• Thread
• Balance ball
• Unicycle
• balancing canes
• Rola-bola

These practices help develop balance and body control, but also teach participants how to manage failure and apprehension. Planète Cirque's teaching method emphasizes perseverance and the opportunity for gradual experimentation.

Acrobatics and lifts

Acrobatics is also one of the fundamentals offered.

• Ground work
• Mini-trampoline
• Pyramids
• Doors

Collective practices take on a particularly interesting dimension in the school's educational project: making a pyramid or a lift requires trusting others, listening to instructions and taking into account the safety of one's partners.

Aerial disciplines

Planète Cirque also has equipment allowing it to tackle several aerial disciplines.

• Trapeze
• Aerial fabric
• Chinese pole

These disciplines allow participants to experience heights and develop strength, coordination, flexibility and confidence.

Theatre, clowning and stage performance

The artistic dimension doesn't stop at learning the apparatus. Planète Cirque also incorporates theatre, clowning, physical expression, and various stage games into its projects. The goal is to allow participants to use the techniques they've learned to gradually develop a genuine artistic expression.

From discovery to the creation of a show

Collaborative creation plays a central role, particularly during workshops and retreats. Participants begin by exploring different disciplines before choosing those they wish to delve deeper into. They then work in small groups to create pieces linked by a common theme.

The process can include creating the act, staging, rehearsals, a full run-through, and then the presentation of a collective show under a big top. This approach helps to give meaning to technical skills: a move or a manipulation gradually becomes an element of a creation intended to be shared with an audience.

An opening towards sound creation

Planète Cirque also develops bridges between circus arts and other forms of creation. During some stays, children can, for example, participate in creating the soundscape of the show and discover computer-assisted music.

They then have access to computers, microphones, recorders, controllers, and instruments to work with the sounds and music accompanying their acts. This approach allows them to discover the various components necessary for creating a show, beyond just the circus performance itself.

Internships during the holidays

In addition to its regular activities, Planète Cirque organizes workshops during school holidays. The school's website offers registration for various periods throughout the year and even announces workshops for 2026. These workshops allow children to discover the circus arts or to practice more intensively over several days.

Camps and stays entirely dedicated to the circus

Holiday camps are one of Planète Cirque's key features. For summer 2026 , the school is organizing a camp for 6-12 year olds in Arcenant, Côte-d'Or, combining tent living, outdoor activities and the discovery of circus arts.

• Trapeze
• Aerial fabric
• Juggling
• Balances on objects
• Body language
• Stage games

The children practice these activities before preparing a final performance under a big top at the end of their stay. The circus thus becomes the central theme of a genuine holiday experience and a shared living experience.

Circus and life in the great outdoors

Planète Cirque's camps are not designed solely as technical training. Children live in small groups under canvas and also participate in outdoor activities, large-scale games, arts and crafts, and various evening activities. This structure is directly linked to the school's EEDF (French Equestrian Federation) identity.

Autonomy and empowerment

Planète Cirque aims to develop autonomy, mutual support, and responsibility among its participants. During their stays, children participate in the daily life of the group. Regular discussion sessions also provide opportunities to talk about activities and rules.

This approach aligns with the principles of co-education advocated by the EEDF: children are not merely consumers of an activity organized by adults, but gradually become active participants in their stay and their artistic project.

Learning to manage failure and apprehensions

The educational project also places importance on how the child experiences their progress. Circus arts naturally involve failure before success: a ball falls, a balance is lost, or a move must be repeated.

Planète Cirque uses this particularity to develop perseverance, learn to overcome certain apprehensions and gradually build self-confidence.

A strong ecological dimension

Eco-citizenship is also one of the values promoted by Planète Cirque. During their stays, this commitment is reflected in various practices:

• Raising awareness about sorting and reducing waste
• Composting
• Use of environmentally friendly cleaning products
• Packaging reduction
• Seasonal menus
• Seeking local producers whenever possible

Outdoor activities also help raise children's awareness of their environment. This ecological dimension distinguishes Planète Cirque from many schools more exclusively focused on circus training.

A mobile school

An active school within the EEDF

Planète Cirque also participates in major EEDF gatherings. During the Grand Bivouac organized in 2025 , the school, for example, offered children workshops allowing them to discover several practices.

• Juggling
• Diabolo
• Aerial tissues
• Devil sticks
• Chinese plates
• Trapeze
• Balances

These initiatives allow the school to reach a much wider audience than just its regular members.

A school accredited by the FFEC

Planète Cirque is part of the FFEC network. The FFEC currently lists it under the name Planète Cirque (EEDF) , within the FREC Bourgogne, with approval number 71311 .

A unique identity blending circus, holidays and popular education

Planète Cirque ultimately possesses a rather unique identity within the landscape of circus schools. It combines the practices of a recreational circus school with the methods of popular education and secular scouting. Technical training thus exists alongside artistic creation, living in tents, outdoor activities, participation in collective tasks, and environmental awareness.

• Juggling, acrobatics, partner acrobatics, balancing acts, trapeze, aerial silks, Chinese pole
• Theatre and stage performance
• Autonomy, creativity, solidarity, perseverance
• Courses, workshops, stays, truck and traveling tent

With its courses, workshops, stays, truck and traveling big top, Planète Cirque is a circus school firmly rooted in the values of popular education in the Greater Chalon area and more broadly in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.