Zirkusschule Pirouette – Buchs / Sursee

Zirkusschule Pirouette is a Swiss circus school located in Buchs, in the canton of Lucerne, near Sursee. It offers regular circus arts instruction for children, teenagers, and adults in a family atmosphere that emphasizes movement, creativity, and the joy of learning together.

Founder

The school was founded by Olalla Fernández , an artist and educator originally from Spain. After growing up between Galicia and Tenerife, she trained in socio-cultural activities, sports coaching and bodywork.

She also holds a Swiss Youth+Sport (J+S) certification in gymnastics and youth sport.

Before creating Pirouette in the Sursee region, Olalla Fernández had already organized circus classes, themed weeks in schools, shows, and various artistic projects in Tenerife. She then continued her work as an artist and teacher in several Swiss circus schools.

His personal project gave birth to Zirkusschule Pirouette, with the ambition of offering a creative alternative to traditional sports activities.

An approach tailored to each age

The school welcomes participants in deliberately small groups in order to promote individual support and progress adapted to each person's abilities.

Early childhood

Special attention is paid to early childhood.

Pirouette develops activities to discover movement from the age of 18 months , combining music, body games and first circus elements.

Parent-child classes allow younger children to discover the circus with an accompanying adult, in a reassuring and fun environment.

The Zirkus Minis groups then provide a first approach to acrobatics, balance and juggling.

These sessions aim to progressively develop motor skills, coordination, body awareness and self-confidence.

Children

For older children, the school offers multidisciplinary circus courses allowing them to explore several major families of disciplines.

Juggling plays an important role in learning and helps develop concentration, precision and coordination.

Balance exercises complement this practice, particularly through the discovery of the unicycle.

Pirouette has unicycles of different sizes and also offers a rental service to allow students to practice outside of classes.

Ground acrobatics is another important aspect of the teaching.

It allows children to discover new bodily possibilities, improve their flexibility and gradually develop their physical abilities.

Aerial disciplines also occupy a central place in the school's identity.

Pirouette offers aerial silks, aerial hoop and trapeze classes, with groups adapted for beginners as well as more experienced practitioners.

These activities help develop strength, mobility, coordination and body control while discovering the artistic dimension of aerial arts.

Classes combining floor acrobatics and dance also allow children to work on movement, rhythm and the creation of small choreographies.

The school also offers specific activities focusing on balance, breathing, and body awareness.

Teenagers

For teenagers, circus classes allow them to pursue a multidisciplinary practice and to progressively deepen the techniques acquired.

A Zirkus Ensemble group is also intended for motivated children and teenagers wishing to participate in a genuine collective creative process.

Participants work together to create a show, discover how a troupe works and develop their artistic expression.

This stage dimension allows us to go beyond technical learning to address the construction of an act and its presentation in front of an audience.

Adults

Adults also have a regular offering.

Aerial Fitness & Training classes combine aerial silks, hoop, muscle strengthening, stretching and mobility exercises.

The goal is to offer a complete physical activity, accessible to different levels of physical fitness, without imposing a competitive logic.

An inclusive and caring pedagogy

Pirouette's pedagogy is based on an inclusive and caring conception of the circus.

The school believes that each participant should be able to progress at their own pace, develop their own skills and find their place within the group.

Creativity , cooperation and mutual support are encouraged on the same level as technical learning.

Workshops, training courses and external interventions

In addition to weekly classes, Pirouette organizes occasional workshops, training courses and various event activities.

The school develops interventions in educational institutions, from kindergarten to secondary education.

These projects allow students to discover juggling, balancing, unicycling, aerial and ground acrobatics, as well as clowning.

Two specific formats are offered to establishments: Zirkus Feeling , dedicated to a one-off discovery of the circus, and Zirkus Rulle , organized as a full week of circus creation.

This second formula allows children to discover different disciplines, to train collectively and to prepare a final performance.

Pirouette also organizes workshops for families and businesses, in which circus techniques become tools for cooperation, communication and group cohesion.

The school thus constitutes a true place for the transmission of circus arts in the Sursee region.

With its teaching from early childhood, its multidisciplinary courses, its aerial specialization, its support of teenagers towards creation and its numerous external interventions, Zirkusschule Pirouette offers a complete approach to the amateur practice of circus in central Switzerland.