Tuppercutes

Tuppercutes — circus school in Saint-Nectaire

Tupercutes is a non-profit organization (under the French law of 1901) and a circus school located in Saint-Nectaire , in the Puy-de-Dôme department of the Auvergne region. Its mission is to promote art and culture and to enable as many people as possible to discover, practice, and explore different forms of artistic expression, primarily circus arts and percussion. It caters to both children and adults and develops its activities through regular classes, workshops, outreach programs, performances, and various cultural projects.

Establishment in a rural area

One of Tupercutes' distinctive features is its rural location. The school's regulations explicitly state that its objective is to provide arts education in rural areas. To achieve this, the association has developed a flexible and mobile structure: some activities take place in the Saint-Nectaire town hall, while other programs can be organized directly with schools, associations, or various other organizations in the region.

A circus school founded on popular education

Tupercutes defines his school as an art school and a space for popular education. His approach is based on the principles defended by the French Federation of Circus Schools: a school accessible to the greatest number, respectful of each individual, and using circus arts as a true educational and artistic tool.

The association notably advocates for reducing inequalities in access to art and culture. Activities are tailored to different audiences to allow for discovery, initiation, and in-depth exploration.

Circus arts are considered a way to simultaneously develop human, physical, and artistic qualities. Concentration , coordination , motor skills , self-confidence , listening skills , solidarity , respect , and mutual support are integral parts of the learning process.

The five major families of circus arts

The teaching is intentionally multidisciplinary. Throughout the year, students explore the five main families of circus disciplines:

• acrobatics
• object manipulation
• balances on objects
• aerial disciplines
• stage expression

This diversity allows students to discover several practices before gradually developing their preferences and skills.

Juggling and object manipulation

Object manipulation allows, in particular, for working on movement coordination, body perception in space, dissociation and gestural precision.

Tuppercutes uses many traditional juggling accessories for this purpose:

• scarves
• balls
• clubs
• rings
• devil's stick
• diabolo

The exercises can be done individually or in groups.

Balances on objects

Students also discover different techniques for balancing on objects, which require concentration, body control and an understanding of one's center of gravity.

The equipment used by the school includes, in particular:

• the balance ball
• the rolla bolla
• the thread

Acrobatics and lifts

The family of acrobatics includes both ground acrobatics and acrobatic lifts.

Students can gradually learn elements such as:

• the rolls
• the wheel
• the tripod
• the roundoff

The lifts, for their part, allow us to address different notions of collective work, including the roles of base, flyer and spotter.

These disciplines develop core strength, breathing, muscular capacity and body awareness in different positions and situations.

Aerial disciplines

Aerial sports also play a significant role. Participants can discover, in particular:

• the trapeze
• the aerial hoop
• aerial fabric

Suspended work helps develop strength and core stability, but also teaches breath control and balance in space. This approach gradually allows individuals to understand height, risk, and fear while building self-confidence.

Stage performance and creation

Tupercutes also gives real importance to stage performance.

Body language, gestures, facial expressions, verbal communication, and performance exercises allow participants to discover the artistic dimension of circus arts. This work can help overcome shyness, build confidence, and learn to express emotions or portray characters.

The educational project thus gradually tends towards street performance and artistic presentation, rather than purely technical or sporting practice.

Courses for adults

Tupercutes also offers an amateur practice intended for adults.

Participants can discover or practice the five main circus disciplines through a technical and artistic approach. Each participant then retains the option to focus more specifically on a discipline that particularly interests them.

The association promotes a practice based on relaxation, kindness and self-improvement.

A circus school that goes mobile

Tupercutes does not limit its activities to a single location. The association develops a veritable mobile school and intervenes, depending on the projects, in very different structures and locations.

This mobility directly addresses the association's objective: rather than systematically waiting for audiences to come to the school, art and circus can come to them.

The two main speakers presented by the association also have accreditation from the National Education system , which notably allows the development of activities in schools.

The Circassian Farm and the Big Top

Another unique feature of Tupercutes appears during the summer season. From May to September, the association sets up its big top at the Ferme Circassienne , in Treizanches in the commune of Saint-Nectaire.

The place is presented as an ecological and alternative space dedicated to the encounter between art, culture and territory.

During the summer, school activities continue under the big top. Students can continue to train and consolidate the learning they have done during the year.

Circus workshops and camps during the summer

The season under the big top also allows for the organization of numerous circus workshops.

Courses and camps can be offered for full or half days. They allow participants to learn or improve their skills in the school's five main disciplines.

The instructors create different programs for each workshop and adapt them to the participants' abilities. Adult-child meetings and sessions are also offered to allow families to share a circus activity together.

A place for residence and creation

The circus tent at Ferme Circassienne is not only used for classes and workshops. Tupercutes also hosts artists in residence there.

The space then functions as a laboratory, allowing artists to create, experiment, and develop new projects. Residencies may conclude with public presentations and meetings.

This artistic presence thus brings amateur practitioners closer to the world of entertainment and professional creation.

The Tohu Bohu batucada

Tupercutes' activities are not limited to the circus. The association also develops a significant musical dimension with its Batucada Tohu Bohu .

Open to beginners as well as experienced individuals, the workshop allows children and adults to discover collective percussion in a friendly and festive atmosphere.

The work draws inspiration from samba do enredo and Brazilian percussion traditions associated with carnival. Each participant learns to find their place within the group in order to collectively build the different rhythms and polyrhythms.

This musical dimension complements the association's circus project particularly well, especially in its focus on street arts.

Qualified speakers

• Joëlle Meunier holds a BPJEPS (Brevet Professionnel de la Jeunesse, de l'Éducation Populaire et du Sport) in Circus Arts and is accredited by the French Ministry of Education. A circus performer for many years, she trained at the CIAM (Centre International d'Arts et de Musique) in Toulouse. Her specialties include aerial disciplines – hoop, trapeze, silks – clowning, and group activities, notably Icarian lifts and passing. She also teaches at the Clermont-Ferrand Municipal Circus School.
• Raphaël Moreau is an artist, musician, and circus performer, holding a BPJEPS LTP (a French professional qualification in youth, sports, and cultural activities) and also accredited by the French Ministry of Education. His musical background is primarily linked to jazz and percussion, with training at Jazz à Tours and the Orsay Conservatory. He works with diverse audiences and specializes in traditional Brazilian, African, and Cuban percussion.

A school integrated into the FFEC network

Tupercutes is currently a member of the French Federation of Circus Schools (FFEC) network and the FREC Auvergne. The FFEC currently lists Raphaël Moreau as the organization's contact person.

The structure also pursues a quality approach: the FFEC's 2024 activity report cites Tupercutes among the schools committed to a quality approach "Amateur Practice".

The school also participates in regional network meetings. The FREC Auvergne Regional Meetings held in Tuppercutes brought together six schools and 104 participants.

A circus school deeply rooted in its territory

Tupercutes ultimately offers a rather unique approach to circus school. His project combines regular teaching, touring, rural setting, big top, workshops, artistic residencies, performance and music.

By offering courses in Saint-Nectaire during the year and then a real life under the big top at the Ferme Circassienne during the summer, the association allows children and adults to discover the circus in a lively and friendly environment.

His desire to make culture accessible, his work in schools, his multidisciplinary practice and the encounters with artists make Tupercutes a place where the circus is considered as a physical practice, a means of expression, an educational tool, a collective activity and a performing art.