Spazio Circo Bergamo

Spazio Circo Bergamo is a school and permanent center dedicated to circus arts located in Seriate , in the Bergamo metropolitan area in Lombardy.

The structure presents itself as Bergamo's first permanent circus center .

A story that began in 2006

Its story begins in 2006 with four founders passionate about circus arts, theatre and education.

Over the years, the project has grown considerably.

Today, Spazio Circo brings together a team of approximately fifteen instructors, artists and technicians .

Around a hundred members also use the facility to train.

The project combines several dimensions: circus school, educational center, sports practice, social circus, artistic creation and cultural dissemination .

The founders

The founders have particularly complementary backgrounds.

Manlio Casali

Manlio Casali is a circus arts teacher and artist.

Trained in theatre and juggling, he notably develops educational circus projects for schools.

He also participates in the staging and shows produced by the organization.

Stefania Sala

Stefania Sala is a circus arts teacher and theatre artist.

With a degree in educational sciences and in theatre education, she develops educational, theatrical and circus projects for school and extracurricular audiences.

Fausta Sala

Fausta Sala is also a co-founder and teacher of circus arts.

Its activity is particularly oriented towards pedagogy and educational projects carried out with schools.

Marco Menichini

Marco Menichini completes the founding team.

Rigger technician and unicycle instructor, he is responsible for the safety of Spazio Circo.

He has specific qualifications for working at height and working on ropes.

This diversity of skills allows the school to offer a circus practice that is technical, artistic and educational .

Classes for younger children

Children can start from the age of three with the Piccolo Circo .

This course is intended for children aged three to five.

Circus arts are used there to develop agility, balance and coordination .

The activities are adapted to the motor skills of very young children.

They can gradually discover aerial disciplines, balancing, acrobatics and juggling.

From the age of six , children can delve deeper into certain subjects.

A specific aerial acrobatics course is offered to children aged six to ten.

The groups are organized according to age.

The students are discovering, among other things, the aerial hoop.

The trapeze is also one of the apparatuses taught.

Aerial fabrics complete this journey.

The school also offers acrobatics classes for children and teenagers.

Participants gradually work on jumping techniques.

The exercises also help to develop balance, coordination and strength.

The work is done using body weight but also with various equipment.

Private lessons and technical disciplines

Spazio Circo has a technical offering that goes far beyond just group classes.

Private lessons allow you to delve deeper into many disciplines.

• Acrobatics can be practiced from beginner to advanced level.
• The verticals also have three levels of progression.
• Juggling can be taught through specific individual instruction.
• Unicycling is another important specialty of the organization. Several team members specialize in teaching it.
• Balancing on a ball is also among the techniques offered.
• Rola-bola can be practiced up to the intermediate level.
• The tightrope complements the disciplines of balancing.
• Spazio Circo also teaches scala libera, a discipline of balance on a free ladder.
• Aerial disciplines can also be studied individually: aerial hoop up to an advanced level, aerial trapeze, aerial silks with several levels.

This diversity makes Spazio Circo a truly multidisciplinary school.

Juggling

Juggling plays an important role in his educational project.

In its workshops, the school notably uses scarves .

The balls allow us to approach the basics of manipulation.

Rings are also used.

Clubs allow for more technical juggling.

Chinese plates are among the materials used in educational activities.

Balancing act

Balancing acts are just as diverse.

• Students can experiment with the taut wire .
• The pedal boat is used particularly in discovery workshops.
• The balance ball allows you to work on another form of stability.
• The rola-bola completes this set.
• Unicyclists can gradually develop movement, control, and autonomy.
• Stilts are also used during workshops, activities and events.

Acrobatics

Acrobatics is approached in different forms.

The youngest children discover small acrobatics adapted to their development.

More advanced practitioners can benefit from much more technical training.

Human pyramids are also among the activities offered during internships and camps.

Clowning and the theatrical dimension

Spazio Circo is also developing a genuine practice of clowning .

The clown is present in educational workshops but also in the structure's shows.

This theatrical dimension is important in the school's identity.

Circus arts are not only viewed as a sporting activity.

It also constitutes a language that allows us to communicate, tell stories, and create.

Projects with schools

This approach is particularly evident in the work done with schools.

Spazio Circo offers activities for preschool, primary and secondary schools.

Classes can travel directly to the center to experience a full day centered around circus arts.

The students then participate in several workshops.

They can become jugglers, tightrope walkers, tightrope walkers or acrobats in turn.

The objectives are simultaneously motivational, psychological and relational .

In terms of motor skills, the activities develop eye-hand coordination, peripheral vision, ambidexterity, balance, strength and agility.

On a personal level, they require concentration, intuition, self-esteem, creativity and perseverance.

Students also learn to better control their emotions.

The relational dimension is based on trust, collaboration, contact and mutual support.

Among adolescents, circus techniques are also used as tools for communication and group cohesion.

Participants can gradually learn to pass on certain games or activities themselves.

The social circus

This teaching method clearly illustrates the concept of circus championed by Spazio Circo.

The goal is not necessarily to discover or train future artists.

In social projects, the team clearly explains that the circus is primarily used as a method and as a tool .

The activities aim to promote individual and collective well-being.

The differences between participants can then become resources.

Coordination, concentration, balance, acrobatics, juggling and clowning are adapted to the needs of different groups.

Spazio Circo is therefore developing a genuine social circus activity.

The school is also working on projects that promote inclusion and socialization.

In particular, she participates in the Re-Play program dedicated to circus arts, educational networks and youth development.

This social dimension naturally extends the educational experience accumulated since 2006.

Internships and camps

The organization also organizes internships and camps.

For example, the Sport & Circus Camp welcomes children and teenagers aged six to fourteen.

Participants discover numerous sporting and circus activities.

The program includes aerial acrobatics, juggling, balancing, human pyramids and clowning.

Circus arts are associated with other practices such as parkour, dance, skateboarding, yoga, team sports, and martial arts.

The shows

Spazio Circo also has a professional entertainment business.

The team creates several shows combining circus and theatre .

Some creations particularly highlight juggling and clowning.

Others combine contemporary circus and literature.

Commedia dell'Arte can thus encounter circus disciplines.

Other shows combine storytelling, aerial acrobatics and theatre.

The Circus Cabaret, for its part, brings together several technical acts of balancing, aerial acrobatics, juggling and fire.

This artistic activity allows teachers to maintain a direct link with the stage.

Events and external interventions

The organization also intervenes during external events.

She can set up a real temporary circus school during a party or event.

The public then discovers balancing, tightrope walking, juggling, unicycling, Chinese plates, pedal boats or stilts.

Parades with stilt walkers and unicyclists can also be offered.

Spazio Circo also organizes team building activities using circus disciplines.

The circus then becomes a way to work on cohesion and trust in a professional context.

Artists can also perform at corporate events.

A broad conception of circus arts

Spazio Circo's identity is therefore based on a particularly broad conception of circus arts.

• The school welcomes children who discover their first circus activities at the age of three .
• It then allows for further study of acrobatics, juggling, balance, unicycle or aerial disciplines.
• She works in schools.
• She uses the circus as an educational and social tool.
• She creates and distributes her own shows.
• She also participates in numerous events in the Bergamo area.

Since its beginnings in 2006 , Spazio Circo Bergamo has thus developed a true permanent center around circus arts.

Its location in Seriate now allows it to have a stable place for courses, internships, workshops and projects.

Its longevity, the diversity of its disciplines and the strong educational and social dimension of its project make it an important structure for the practice of circus arts in the Bergamo region.