The last decades circus in Flanders developed significally: from a small circus scene with mostly travelling tent circuses to a diverse art form practiced by many people and programmed by different organisations and cultural centres. The Flemish policy on circus grew also the last years, with the formation of Circuscentrum and the start of the Circus Decree.

Originally, nomadic circuses are migratory families that bring a 'traditional' performance: a series of circus acts, connected by the ringmaster's speeches (usually the circus manager). Even though such circuses in Flanders prospered mostly in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, there are still a number of active nomadic circuses: Circus Barones, Circus Bavaria, Circus Pauwels, Circus Picolini, Magic Circus, Circus Rose-Marie Malter and Wiener Circus.

Still, there are other circus companies that focus on new forms of circus arts (circus theatre, dance, street theatre) and feel attracted to travelling around with a circus tent. Among those are: Circo Ripopolo, Circus Marcel, Circus Ronaldo, Cirque Cirq'u'laire, Hendrik & Co, Théâtre d'un Jour and Cie Circ'ombelico, although, the latter travels with a rebuilt old-timer truck.

So, roughly two kinds of nomadic circuses can be distinguished: the 'traditional' and the 'modern' kind. Beside the composition (subsequent acts vs one contiguous performance), the set-up is an important difference: the traditional nomadic circuses travel from town to town at their own risk, whereas the modern nomadic circuses are commissioned by organisations and programmers (festivals, cultural centres, events,...).

>> Overview Flemish circus artists

Apart from nomadic big top circuses, there are a range of companies and artists performing indoors or out in the open. Indoor performances in particular have a close connection to other performing arts such as theatre and dance: circus in a hall is no longer a production solely by artists; a director, dramaturg, set designer, lighting artist, choreographer, composer and sometimes even a cineast are of vital importance, too. More and more, cultural centres follow the lead of e.g. De Spil (Roeselare), De Warande (Turnhout) and Dommelhof (Neerpelt) and include circus arts in their programming.

However, circus will always remain an art form fit for the open air. The roughness and unpredictability of the street suit the artists and companies that compose their performance of improvisation, humour, audience participation and impressive visual acts. Not surprisingly, street theatres and urban festivities teem with circus performances.

>> Circusagenda

For a non-professional circus arts course, you can join a so-called circus studio. Those generally aim at children and youngsters, however, some of them also offer specific courses or training for adults. Circus studios are very important; beside the positive influence of circus on body and mind, many of today's circus artists and students took their first steps in a circus studio. You can find the circus studios supported by the Circuscentrum here.

Every year, the Circuscentrum offers interesting courses for amateurs, young talent, instructors and artists in cooperation with circus arts partners: the Training for Instructor in the Circus Arts, the Youth Counsellor Course for Circus Arts, the ESAC-training for young talent, the Christmas Training for circus arts instructors and the Master Classes for circus artists.

Apart from the elaborate network of circus studios and the Circuscentrum's initiatives, there are two other circus arts courses in Flanders: the postgraduate course CREA-tainment at KHLim (Limburg Catholic University College, Hasselt) and the secondary school for circus at Atheneum Redingenhof, where first-degree students can choose the optional subject 'Circus Skills'.

In Brussels, too, there are a number of important circus arts courses: Espace Catastrophe and Ecole de Cirque de Bruxelles both offer extra training for those wishing to specialise in circus arts, and the Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque (ESAC, University College for Circus Arts) is one of the world's most renowned circus arts university colleges.

>> Overview circus studios
>> Educational programme Circuscentrum
>> Continuing Educational Programmes

The biggest group in the circus scene is the circus studios: together they offer weekly classes to over 3,000 children and youngsters from all over Flanders. The circus artists however form the most visible group: they perform at cultural centres and festivals both in Belgium and abroad, and therefore have become a showpiece of our region. The Circuscentrum as a knowledge hub and anchor, professionalises the circus scene and seeks to facilitate all conditions necessary to improve the quality of the circus arts in Flanders. Obviously, those are the three leading figures.

Since several years, the Flemish authorities provide crucial incentives to the support of circus arts in Flanders: through the formation of the Circuscentrum and the introduction of the Circus Decree, the authorities illustrate their know-how and interest. Artists, companies, nomadic circuses, festivals and students can receive financial support for their circus project through the Circus Decree.

There are three major festivals considered as pioneers of the propagation and promotion of circus arts: Theater op de Markt (Hasselt/Neerpelt), Humorologie (Kortrijk/Marke) and MiramirO (Ghent). In recent years, many other festivals have brought circus arts into focus: Circo Roma (Borgerhout), Cirque Plus (Bruges), Internationaal Straatkunstenfestival Kempen (International Street Arts Festival, Mol) and the Youth Circus Festival during the Ghent Festivities, Cirk! (Aalst) and De Zomer van Antwerpen (Antwerp) among others.

Moreover, a number of cultural centres systematicalle include circus arts in their programme: De Warande (Turnhout), De Spil (Roeselare), De Roma (Borgerhout), CC Ter Vesten (Beveren), CC Deurne, CC Knokke-Heist, De Schakel (Waregem),...

Furthermore, since a few years the importance of circus arts in theatre productions and – festivals has increased: Villanella and the BronksFestival for example, Laika, Ensemble Leporello, Luxemburg npo, HETPALEIS, Theater FroeFroe, les ballets c de la b,...

In conclusion, there are several important actors and networks in the circus scene itself: het Huis van Alijn (the House of Alijn), de Circusvrienden, André De Poorter, Roland Vermeylen, Straatheater.net, Circostrada, FEDEC (European Federation of Professional Circus Schools), ECA (European Circus Association), Circomundo, Hors les Murs etc.

>> Links
>> Partners Circuscentrum

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