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| Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque |
| Established | 1980s |
| Type | Conservatory |
| Location | Lyon, France |
| Country | France |
| Students | ~200 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Red and Black |
Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque
Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque is a higher education institution in Lyon dedicated to professional circus arts training, performance creation, and research. The school engages with international companies, national theaters, municipal cultural services, and contemporary choreographers to place graduates into circuits such as Cirque du Soleil, Théâtre du Châtelet, and Les Subsistances.
Founded in the 1980s amid a revival led by practitioners from Philippe Genty, Paco Fernández, Aldo Giacomoni, the school consolidated practices emerging from Cirque Plume, Archaos, and Nexus. Early collaborations involved residencies with Centre national des arts du cirque, Maison des Arts de Créteil, Théâtre de la Ville, and funding from Ministry of Culture (France), Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Conseil général du Rhône. The 1990s saw exchange programs with École nationale de cirque in Montreal, partnerships with National Centre for Circus Arts (UK), and invitations to festivals including Festival d'Avignon, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Biennale de la Danse, and Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain. Institutional recognition followed accreditation trends influenced by European Higher Education Area, Bologne Process, and coordination with conservatoires like Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. Artistic directors have included figures connected to Cirque Éloize, Compagnie XY, and practitioners from Pina Bausch's circle.
The school occupies facilities near cultural hubs such as La Croix-Rousse, Confluence, and rehearsal centers like Les Subsistances and Maison des métallos. Facilities include high-roofed aerial studios influenced by designs used at Cirque du Soleil training centers, floor space comparable to studios at Palais Garnier, and equipment accredited by manufacturers associated with Cirque Plume rigging teams. Residency spaces link to municipal venues such as Théâtre du Rhône, Opéra de Lyon, and itinerant tents modeled on systems from Circus Roncalli. The campus also maintains archive collections alongside libraries like those at Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon and collaborative lab spaces akin to La Manufacture and La Friche de la Belle de Mai.
Program structures draw parallels with curricula at École nationale de cirque, National Centre for Circus Arts (UK), Codarts, and conservatoires like Conservatoire de Paris. Degree pathways combine practical diplomas analogous to DNAP, artist residencies similar to Maison des Auteurs, and partnerships providing traineeships with companies including Les 7 Doigts de la Main, Cirque Éloize, Compagnie XY, and Cirque Plume. Modules cover specialized techniques derived from methods by Gilles Bruni, David Dimitri, and research strands inspired by Jerzy Grotowski and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Assessment panels have included guests from Festival d'Automne à Paris, Helsinki Circus House, and Montreal Circus School adjudicators.
Pedagogy blends physical conditioning influenced by approaches of Mourad Merzouki, William Forsythe, and Maurice Béjart with technical circus practices traced to Tony Henderson, Nicolas Luque, and Marco Monzino. Aerial training, juggling, hand-to-hand, acrobatics, and clowning are taught alongside dramaturgy with mentors connected to Ariane Mnouchkine, Robert Lepage, and Jan Fabre. Workshops incorporate scenography input from designers linked to Stéphane Ly-Cuong, lighting from technicians with credits at Théâtre National de Chaillot, and composer residencies akin to collaborations with Laurent Petitgirard and Max Richter-adjacent ensembles. Physical therapy and injury prevention programs reference practices from Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance and rehabilitation methods used by companies like Cirque du Soleil.
Alumni have joined or founded companies such as Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Éloize, Compagnie XY, Les 7 Doigts de la Main, Cirque Plume, Archaos, Nexus, Les Arts Sauts, and CirkVOST. Faculty and visiting artists have included professionals from Paco Fernández, Philippe Decouflé, Sergio Blanco, Cécile Richard, Volker Jeck, Gilles Jobin, Karin Schneider, Jean-Baptiste André, Sasha Waltz, Emmanuelle Huynh, Clotilde Graves, Marta Becket, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Jackie Kannon, Ertuğrul Özkök, Zevs Mannheimer, Olga Ryzakova, Nicholas Perrin, Isabelle Schad, Christophe Lemaire, Rina Muzyka.
Students and ensembles regularly perform at events including Festival d'Avignon, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Biennale de la Danse de Lyon, Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, Festival du Meilleur Spectacle de Rue, La Biennale de la Marionnette, Nuits de Fourvière, Festival Les Nuits de l'Alligator, Sziget Festival residencies, and touring circuits such as Le Printemps de Bourges and Trans Musicales. Co-productions have been staged at Théâtre National de Strasbourg, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra National de Lyon, La Scala Milano, and international venues linked to Sydney Festival, Tokyo International Arts Festival, and Lincoln Center. The school curates annual showcases modeled on formats from Cannes Film Festival fringe events and participates in exchange showcases at Montreal International Circus Arts Festival.
Partnership networks extend to École nationale de cirque (Montreal), National Centre for Circus Arts (UK), Codarts (Rotterdam), Helsinki Circus School, Escuela Nacional de Circo (Mexico City), Carampa (Madrid), CircoArts (China), Grec Festival (Barcelona), CIRCA Festival (Australia), Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), BITEF (Belgrade), and collaboration projects funded through Creative Europe, Erasmus+, and residencies at ARKA Foundation. Student exchanges have included joint labs with Université Lumière Lyon 2, Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique, and research partnerships with CNRS and Institut Français cultural diplomacy programs.
Category:Circus schools