Zirkuswerkstatt Liestal – Liestal Circus School

Zirkuswerkstatt Liestal is an amateur circus school located in Liestal, the capital of the canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland. It develops a multidisciplinary teaching program allowing children and teenagers to discover the circus arts, develop their skills and participate in collective artistic projects.

The association mainly organizes its activities in the former gymnasium of the Rotacker school in Liestal.

Its program is based on regular courses organized by semester, supplemented by internships during school holidays, themed weekends and various public interventions.

The weekly classes welcome children from their first year of primary school. They take place mainly on Mondays and Tuesdays in the late afternoon and evening.

The subjects taught

The teaching allows students to explore several major families of circus arts.

• Floor acrobatics is one of the disciplines offered. It helps develop body control, coordination, flexibility, and confidence in movement.
• Juggling also plays an important role in learning. Through various object manipulations, students gradually develop their precision, concentration, and perseverance.
• Balance techniques are represented in particular by the unicycle, which allows for the development of stability, coordination and control of movements.

Aerial disciplines

Aerial disciplines constitute another important aspect of the program.

The school offers courses in aerial silks , or vertical silks , allowing participants to discover the climbing techniques, positions and sequences specific to this apparatus.

Other aerial activities, including trapeze , are also offered depending on the courses and workshops organized.

Specific groups allow children and teenagers wishing to deepen their practice to focus more on aerial techniques.

Artistic expression

Artistic expression complements technical learning, particularly through clown theatre activities.

Participants can thus experience different forms of play, develop their imagination and discover the expressive dimension of circus arts.

A school for all levels

Zirkuswerkstatt Liestal seeks to welcome both beginners and young people who already have circus experience.

The teaching team supports each participant in their progress, taking into account their abilities and interests.

The conviviality and the pleasure of practicing together are essential elements of his project.

The school encourages students to discover new disciplines, to experiment, to take on challenges and to gradually develop their self-confidence.

Training camps and weekends

Internships during school holidays allow students to supplement their regular classes.

Organised over several days, they offer an immersion in the world of the circus through various technical workshops, group games and activities promoting encounters between participants.

Training weekends are also offered at various times of the year.

They allow children, teenagers and adults to participate in specialized workshops, even when they do not necessarily attend weekly classes.

These meetings provide an opportunity to discover a new discipline or to devote more time to a particular technique.

Artistic creation and cultural life

Artistic creation and presentation before an audience are also part of the life of the association.

Zirkuswerkstatt Liestal participates in various local cultural events and organizes demonstration moments allowing students to present their learning.

She is notably present at the Kulturnacht Lichtblicke in Liestal, where she offers the public participatory workshops and short circus presentations.

These interventions allow the circus to be introduced to a wider audience and strengthen the local roots of the school.

The teaching staff

The teaching team brings together several contributors with complementary experience in teaching, artistic practice and youth circus.

• Karin Brodbeck is the president of the association and actively participates in the organization and supervision of activities.
• Pia Fullin , an artist and trainer who has been involved in youth circus for many years.
• Pascal Häring , professional circus artist and Youth+Sport coach.

This diversity of experiences allows the association to offer teaching that combines physical practice, artistic discovery and educational transmission.

An important structure for amateur circus in the region

Zirkuswerkstatt Liestal thus constitutes an important structure for the discovery and regular practice of amateur circus in the Liestal region.

With its semester courses, varied disciplines, internships and cultural projects, it offers young people a framework to develop their artistic and physical abilities while discovering the pleasure of practicing circus collectively.