Roots and Circus

Des Racines et du Cirque is a circus school and a place for artistic creation located in Sous-Parsat , in the heart of the Creuse department.

The school welcomes children, teenagers and adults under a permanent big top specially designed for the practice of circus arts. It offers regular classes , workshops , programs for schools and specialized organizations, as well as facilities for professional artists .

The 100 Roots Company

The project is closely linked to the company 100 Racines , a circus company created in 2009 around Pauline Savy and Thomas Petrucci .

Professionally trained in circus arts, the artists of 100 Racines have developed an original research around "circus-climbing", combining circus disciplines, aerial work and movement on vertical structures or surfaces.

After several years of creation and touring, the company settled in permanent residence in Sous-Parsat in 2014 .

This establishment marks the beginning of the development of a genuine circus project in the Creuse region. Around the presence of the company, a circus school, introductory and advanced training courses, educational activities, hosting of professional companies and residency performances are gradually developed.

The arrival of a big top in 2023 will significantly boost this activity.

Des Racines et du Cirque now has a covered space of approximately 250 m2 , equipped with rigging points allowing the practice of aerial disciplines up to approximately 5.50 meters in height.

The circus school

The school offers regular courses designed for different age groups.

• The youngest children can start from the age of 4 .
• The groups are then gradually organized for the 6-7 year olds , the 8-10 year olds and the 11-14 year olds .
• There are also specific courses for older teenagers and adults.

The teaching is intentionally multidisciplinary .

Students discover different families of circus arts in order to develop their physical abilities, coordination and creativity before gradually delving deeper into certain disciplines.

The subjects taught

Acrobatics is one of the fundamentals of the practice.

It is complemented by acrobatic lifts , which allow working with one or more partners and introduce notions of trust , listening , cooperation and responsibility .

Juggling and object manipulation are also among the disciplines taught.

Balancing acts on objects play an important role in the educational project. Unicycles and tightrope walking are among the activities explicitly presented by the school.

Aerial disciplines constitute another major focus.

The marquee has been specifically designed to allow the installation of apparatus at height and to offer conditions suitable for learning them.

This significant presence of aerials is directly linked to the team's professional background. Pauline Savy has been developing a practice for many years that combines aerial disciplines, smooth rope , vertical work and circus climbing.

The framework

The school thus benefits from a particularly strong connection with professional practice.

The courses are led by Pauline Savy and Lucille Brunet , both professional circus artists and holders of the State Diploma for circus teachers.

This qualification is an important element of the project: amateur practitioners are accompanied by artists whose activity combines teaching, creation and professional practice of live performance.

Educational objectives for children

For children, the goal is not simply the acquisition of a series of techniques.

The different disciplines also serve to develop confidence , autonomy , balance and the ability to evolve within a group .

Children's classes emphasize tightrope walking, balances and unicycling, but also concepts such as confidence, autonomy and the pleasure of practicing.

Internships

The school also organizes internships dedicated to different themes.

They allow you to discover circus arts or to deepen certain practices outside of weekly classes.

A strong territorial dimension

The educational project of Des Racines et du Cirque also has an important territorial dimension .

The team works with preschools and elementary schools, but also with middle schools, high schools and higher education institutions.

Projects are being developed in particular with university institutes of technology (IUTs).

The association has an accreditation from the Departmental Directorate of National Education Services for its interventions.

The establishments can travel directly to Sous-Parsat to practice under the big top.

The team can also travel to the establishments with its equipment.

The interventions can go beyond a simple discovery session and lead to the construction of workshops over several sessions as well as the creation of a show .

This ability to build an artistic project with the participants makes it possible to combine technical learning and stage experience.

Des Racines et du Cirque also works with medico-educational institutes (IME).

The practice is then adapted to the characteristics and abilities of the participants.

This opening towards IME complements the work carried out with schools and allows the school to reach very different audiences.

A professional creative space

One of the main features of Des Racines et du Cirque is, however, the coexistence, on the same site, of an amateur school and a genuine professional place of creation .

The site hosts artists and companies throughout the year.

Professionals can come to Sous-Parsat to create a show, build or test scenery or equipment, conduct artistic research, train, write, or simply have a quiet space to develop a project.

The workspaces include the marquee but also a barn .

Lighting and sound equipment can be made available and various accommodation options exist directly on site or nearby.

The site is also accessible to heavy goods vehicles , which facilitates the accommodation of travelling companies with trucks or caravans.

The companies being hosted

Several companies and professional artists have already worked in Sous-Parsat, including:

• the Rouage Circus
• the Pépin Circus
• La Fauvette Company
• Azurkam
• Silembloc
• Cetaceans
• The Flayed 23

This professional activity creates a rather unique environment for the students of the school.

Amateur practitioners frequent a place where shows are actually created, where artists come to train, and where equipment and sets are built.

The construction workshop

The site also has a construction workshop .

This activity originates from the work developed by Thomas Petrucci , who designs and manufactures structures, sets and equipment for circus, theatre and dance companies.

The place thus brings together several components of circus life: transmission , training , creation , construction and dissemination .

Circus evenings are also organised, at least once a year, allowing for opportunities to meet and present the activities of the venue.

The 100 Racines company: the vertical circus

The company 100 Racines continues its own artistic work in parallel.

Created in 2009 , it has been developing research around vertical circus and circus climbing since its beginnings.

His creations have notably explored working on vertical structures, cliffs, cranes, rope and other devices allowing circus techniques to be moved outside the traditional ring.

This artistic presence helps to give the school a unique identity .

Des Racines et du Cirque remains a school for amateur practice, but it evolves in an environment directly connected to contemporary creation and the professional world .

A route for all audiences

A child can therefore start practicing from the age of 4 , discover different families of the circus, continue in the children's groups then teenagers and then continue in the teen-adult course.

The internships allow one to complement this practice and to deepen certain techniques.

For schools and specialized institutions, the venue also constitutes an educational resource capable of accommodating groups under a marquee or moving its speakers.

For professional artists, Sous-Parsat also offers a space for research , training , construction and residency .

This articulation between amateur circus school , professional company and place of creation constitutes the main singularity of Des Racines et du Cirque.

In a rural area like Creuse, the association thus contributes to maintaining a regular practice of circus arts while welcoming artists and companies from other areas.