Yet another wonderful CIRCLE edition!

The shows performed by the 10 schools participating in CIRCLE were hugely appreciated by over 4,000 spectators gathered under the Big Top at the foot of the Cathedral. And, as always, the discussions, which followed these performances, demonstrated the interest spectators, circus students, artists and professionals have in the creation process in circus arts training programmes. Once again, congratulations!

We will let you know, particularly via Facebook when the videos of the CIRCLE performances filmed by the CNAC and the photos taken by Ben Hopper are available.
Please get in touch with Ben Hopper (therealbenhopper@gmail.com) if your school or your students would like to buy some photos.

Be there in 2016 to celebrate with us the 10^th anniversary of that wonderful project!

“Off the Record” Session with Circostrada

The FEDEC and Circostrada met up once again to explore and discuss specific issues shared by both the education and the professional sector.

This session focused on the next launch of MIROIR03 and started the discussions around the issue of training, skills and transition to employment between Circostrada members and FEDEC focus group members nb. 4-5. The objective was to jointly identify the evolutions, questioning and challenges of the sector when we speak about the key competences required for the main circus artists of today.

MAILLONS workshop, Student support – 22.10.2015

Focus group nb.3 has continued its work on skills development of directors by focusing on the artistic pedagogyaspect of the ongoing theme Student support/guidance. This workshop focused on the artistic and psychological dimensions of the support, based on short presentations by Tim Roberts (FEDEC vice-president, National Centre for Circus Arts) & Anne Morin (focus group nb.2 & INTENTS committee leader, Centre de les Arts del Circ Rogelio Rivel).

The repertory of creation exercises and experiences is available online well !

Encounter with the professional world (HorsLesMurs, Jeunes Talents Cirque Europe & a young company Alula Cyr) – 22.10.2015

A new activity this year dedicated to students participating in CIRCLE & from FEDEC schools present at CIRCa.

This encounter was an opportunity to address issues of artistic and professional paths but also to present some tools and partners that will accompany them towards professionalization. We had the testimonies of 3 young women from Alula Cyr (2014 CIRCLE participants and newly graduates from the National Centre for Circus Arts), Thomas Maud from Jeunes Talents Cirque Europe & Magali Libong from HorslesMurs who gave students some tips and tricks in order to present and better defend their artistic and professional projects.

INTENTS – Partnership meeting, public workshop and focus groups held by CEREP & ICQP experts – 20-23.10.2015

The third meeting of all 33 partners of the project was the occasion to celebrate its 1^st year, to follow up on the activities and future quality activities and publications that are directly responding to the sector’s needs.

The public workshop was an opportunity to meet the French Erasmus+ Agency, discover the programme and present through our project what strategic partnerships can bring to the sector (exchanges, mobility, common educational tools). Followed by a Q&A session with the speakers.

Experts from the CEREP (Centre for Study and Research on Employment and Professionalization) at Rheims University and from the ICQP (Catalan Institute for Professional Qualifications) at the Catalonia Ministry for Education were in Auch and held individual interviews as well as two focus group meetings with some teachers from the network’s schools to identify the profession’s specific work situations and draw up a European profile of the profession of circus arts teacher.
 

The FEDEC Encounters at CIRCa are also an opportunity to have more formal meetings with national and European authorities:

• The political representatives of Catalonia Eloïsa Anglada (ICQP – director) and Olga Adroher (Head of Artistic Studies Within The General directorate for VET and Artistic Studies) honored us with their presence. We had the chance to present them different schools and educational approaches and the students. They told Anne Morin that they were impressed by the professionalism andthe structuring of the network and schools.
• Eugenio Delfino, project manager for the Executive Agency EACEA of the European Commissionwhich supports the FEDEC, paid an official visit to the project. He met the network, saw our activities and learned about the networking between the FEDEC, the FFEC, EYCO and Circostrada for structuring the path toward professionalization. The FEDEC is the only network of education and training in the arts supported by the KA3 program of the European Commission and is an important network contributing to development strategies of innovative learning methods.
• Estelle Duprat, Chargée de Développement Formation professionnelle Education des Adultes for theFrench Agency 2e2f that supports the INTENTS project, presented the Erasmus+ programme during the public workshop held on Friday October 23^rd.