SBOCC – Scuola di Circo, L’Arte che Sboccia

SBOCC – L'Arte che Sboccia is a contemporary circus school located in Cardano al Campo, in the province of Varese in Lombardy, near Gallarate and Milan-Malpensa airport.

The school was created in 2016 by the Impronte Creative association, after several years dedicated to organizing courses, shows and artistic events in Italy.

A creation by Marco Raparoli and Luana Facchetti

The project was notably developed by Marco Raparoli and Luana Facchetti . They wanted to create in the Varese region a permanent place entirely dedicated to the discovery, learning and development of contemporary circus arts.

Marco Raparoli is the artistic director of SBOCC. A circus artist and educator, he began his training at the Piccola Scuola di Circo in Milan before obtaining training as an artist and teacher of contemporary circus with Cirko Vertigo in Turin.

He has worked for many years as a juggler, clown, street artist, teacher and artistic director of events dedicated to circus and street theatre.

Luana Facchetti is responsible for the organizational management of the school and is particularly involved with the youngest children in circus motor activities.

A broad audience, from early childhood to adulthood

Today, SBOCC welcomes a particularly wide audience, as its activities begin in early childhood and continue into adulthood.

For children aged 4 and 5, the school offers Circomotricità , a first fun and creative introduction to circus arts.

Children experience juggling, balance, acrobatics and aerial acrobatics through exercises adapted to their age.

The goal is less to immediately seek technical performance than to develop motor skills, coordination, concentration and the pleasure of discovering the body's possibilities.

Older children can join general circus classes .

These courses allow you to gradually discover several families of disciplines and acquire a sufficiently versatile base before possibly choosing a more specialized practice.

The subjects taught

Juggling is one of the fundamental skills taught. It develops coordination, concentration, rhythm, and object manipulation.

Balance disciplines also occupy an important place in the program.

Floor acrobatics is another essential component of the training. Students begin with fundamental elements such as rolls, cartwheels, and verticals before gradually progressing to more complex figures.

The school also uses the trampoline to support certain acrobatic learning activities.

Aerial acrobatics

SBOCC has a particularly well-developed offering in aerial acrobatics .

Students can practice aerial silks , aerial hoop and trapeze .

These disciplines are offered at several levels and for several age categories, from children to adults.

Teenagers have access to beginner, intermediate and advanced groups, which allows for technical progression over several years.

Adults can also start aerial acrobatics or join more advanced groups.

The Chinese pole and the acrobalance

The Chinese pole is another important specialty of the school.

This discipline is offered to teenagers and adults, again with different levels allowing both discovery and technical development.

SBOCC also offers acrobalance for adults.

This practice is based on lifts and acrobatic figures performed in pairs or groups. It simultaneously develops technique, trust between partners, and artistic dimension.

Circus and theatre: the same philosophy

The school frequently combines circus arts and theatre.

The Circo Teatro course allows you to experience juggling, balance, acrobatics and theatrical improvisation in a single course.

It is open to both beginners and people who already have circus experience.

This theatrical dimension is important in SBOCC's philosophy. Circus technique is not considered solely as a sporting performance but as a tool for building stage presence and personal expression.

The school also offers theatre classes for teenagers and develops various bridges between stage performance, movement and contemporary circus.

A team and a community of artists

The students are accompanied by a team made up of artists and professionals with different specialties.

Several SBOCC teachers themselves started as students at the school before continuing their training and becoming artists or educators.

This continuity allows us to create a real community around the school and to offer young practitioners examples of possible career paths in the field of contemporary circus.

SBOCC also regularly hosts external artists for workshops and masterclasses .

These meetings allow for in-depth exploration of specific disciplines that are not necessarily offered in the form of weekly courses.

For example, the school organized workshops dedicated to verticals, acrodance, clowning and visual comedy, as well as various aerial disciplines.

Shows and artistic dissemination

Artistic practice regularly leads to performances.

The students prepare end-of-year presentations which allow them to discover the different stages of creation and performance in front of an audience.

SBOCC also has a genuine artistic production and distribution activity.

The school and the Impronte Creative association organize events dedicated to street theatre and contemporary circus.

These events can include juggling, acrobatics, music, dance, puppetry, fire, soap bubbles and clowning.

The aim is therefore to introduce the public to a very broad conception of street arts and contemporary circus.

A professional company also emerged directly from the school.

In 2017 , several teachers from SBOCC founded the company EffeR8’s , developing creations blending movement, acrobatics and contemporary circus.

This bridge between school and professional creation helps to create a vibrant artistic environment around the students.

A social and accessible dimension

SBOCC also develops actions with a social dimension.

Marco Raparoli is involved in circus projects with young people with disabilities, using circus arts as tools for meeting, expression and personal development.

The school more generally advocates an accessible conception of the circus: the courses are presented as open to people with no particular skills to begin with.

Motivation, curiosity, and a desire to experiment are considered more important than a prior physical or technical level.

This philosophy is particularly visible in circus-theatre classes, which are open to both beginners and experienced practitioners.

A permanent location and a progression over several years

The school now has a permanent location in Cardano al Campo where regular classes are held.

The weekly schedule includes activities from Monday to Friday and distinguishes between children, teenagers and adults as well as several technical levels.

This organization allows for real progress to be built over several years .

Young children can start with circus motor skills, then join circus classes, and eventually specialize in aerial acrobatics, Chinese pole, ground acrobatics, or other disciplines.

Regular classes, internships, shows, companies, events, street theatre and social projects allow students to discover different facets of the circus world.

Since its opening in 2016 , SBOCC has established itself as an important place for the practice and dissemination of circus arts in the province of Varese.