L'ÉCOLE NATIONALE DE CIRQUE : World of the Circus

The National Circus School is 25 years old. A quarter century of passion and commitment, of tremendous joy and feats of daring. Désir(s) de vertige is the title of a book that relates the many adventures of this unique institution.

Pascal Jacob and Michel Vézina - authors of Désir(s) de vertige, l'École nationale de cirque, 25 ans d'audace - tell the story of this singular school. Over the years it has come to be considered as one of the great circus schools on the planet. Forever passionate about the circus, Pascal Jacob today is a respected circus arts historian. He has taught in the advanced schools of Montreal, Brussels and Châlons-en-Champagne, and is the author of numerous works and articles on the subject. He is also artistic director of the Phénix circus and the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain. Michel Vézina comments on literature and theatre for the local cultural weekly ICI, as well as for Vous m'en lirez tant radio show broadcast on Radio-Canada. An author of a novel and contemporary literature, he has been a clown (Bérurier noir), street performer, and he founded Cochon souriant, a traveling theatre company. More recently he is a director of les éditions Les 400 coups, which published Désir(s) de vertige. Founded en 1989, les éditions Les 400 coups specializes in illustrated books for young people and adults, as well as works on the visual arts and comic books. Les éditions Les 400 coups also publishes Mille-Îles, Zone convective, Mécanique générale, and Sport Mille-Îles.

To write the history of a school such as this one, is to write the story of a different circus, in synch with the world around it, a circus that is a player in the country, the continent, the planet. Enter into history, enter the School, enter life... Bon voyage!

Book available at National Circus School and in all better bookstores.
Information: info@enc.qc.ca or 1.800.267.0859

by Pascal Jacob

The circus arts are undoubtedly one of the most widely shared cultural treasures on this planet. Primarily developed in the West, the sources upon which they have drawn are innumerable. A great number of techniques have origins in the Far East, but their dispersion throughout the world was very rapid: the Silk Road in particular played a determining role in the propagation of several acrobatic disciplines in Europe. Thousands of years old, tightrope walking, acrobatics, balancing, and juggling objects were to become the most prominent circus arts by the end of second half of the 18th century.

Origins
In Lambeth, a suburb of London, a demobilized cavalry officer traced a circle in the grass and dust, crystallizing influences that were at the same time aristocratic and derived from travelling acrobats. By juxtaposing trick equestrian performers and jugglers, he began to shape the foundations of a new form of spectacle. It was there, between two drum rolls and a tumbler's diatribe, swept along by the horses' gallop and the acrobats' virtuosity, that the circus was born. All accomplished in a track 13 metres in diameter, covered with earth and sawdust for optimum flexibility and resiliency. The show was composed of equestrian numbers, some acrobatic performances and the first comic elements. Animals in costume would come much later, and at the end of the 19th century the circus underwent a decisive change in its performance codes.

The Modern Circus is Born
Taking refuge in the shelter of buildings of wood, stone and steel as they go, jugglers, clowns and acrobats traveled through Europe. The introduction of the circus tent in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century will give the circus independence and freedom. It became also that much more popular. The reserve until then of a certain societal elite, it now sought to conquer increasingly larger audiences. It is the time of gigantism in Germany and of boundless expansion in the United States. Beginning in the 1930s, the circus also played an important role in the development of cultural policy in the Soviet Union; the opening of the Moscow Circus School is a major event, instituting an unprecedented pedagogical and artistic vehicle for the West. It is also as decisive a development for circus arts as the emergence of exoticism 50 years earlier, or the supremacy of the big top as an essential vector of communication, at the same time an aesthetic convention and performance arena.

An Era of Renewal
At the beginning of the 1970s, the circus arts experienced a new revolution, initiated on the heels of the political and social upheaval at the close of the 1960s. In France, the United States, Australia and Scandinavia, many existing models were questioned, and the circus undergoes an extraordinary revival there. The experiments that evolve in these countries do not all hold the same importance; some will be transitory. But an alternate understanding of acrobatic moves, a new artistic significance granted to technique, will become intrinsic over two decades and contribute to the circus arts gaining a major place on the playing field of Western culture.

The most ancient techniques, revisited and transcended by several generations of creators, will acquire artistic autonomy and be put at the disposal of a global community. Today, juggling, acrobatics, clowning or the flying trapeze are regarded as essential disciplines in conceiving a potential performance. It is no longer necessarily the juxtaposition of numbers that ensures the quality of the show, but increasingly a single discipline that broadens and enlivens a creation.

Fragmented, evolving, the circus appears somewhat divided, from the point of view of its techniques and artists, and also of its audience. Multiple, changing, it lives.

18^th century

1768	Birth of the modern circus In London the initiative of a demobilized soldier, Philip Astley, sees the first spectacle linking trick horseback riders and acrobatic prowess. Nevertheless, its creator was not to baptize it as such: it was not until 1782 and Charles Hughes that the term "circus" would come to identify an equestrian and acrobatic show.
1779	The ring is born For the first time the ring inside a building expands to a diameter of 13 metres. From this time forward, this dimension will be universal.
1782	Baptism of the term circus Charles Hughes, a rival of Philip Astley, opens the Royal Circus. Equestrian and acrobatic acts find an identity.
1793	The modern circus arrives in America British equestrian Bill Ricketts settles in Philadelphia with his troupe. He builds a resident circus there and establishes this new form of spectacle in America.
1797	Establishment of the circus arts in Quebec British equestrian John Bill Ricketts visits Montreal for 6 months and introduces circus arts to Quebec.

19^th century

20^th century

21^th century

The ever-expanding employment market for circus artists is global in scope and increasingly diversified.

The circus, in both its neoclassical and contemporary forms, continues to attract growing audiences in most countries around the world. There is in fact a shortage of circus artists in Canada, the United States, Europe and Oceania. The employment outlook is therefore quite promising for artists with a solid background.

Up-and-coming circus artists will be able to forge careers within an international network of both neoclassical and contemporary circus companies. Artists may explore opportunities with emerging and smaller circus companies through partnerships or by forming collectives with other artists. Opportunities for freelance artists abound within the European cabaret and international festival circuits. It is also possible to create a niche within the private show and special events markets, where booking opportunities are also available. Creative professionals increasingly have come to integrate circus arts into other spheres. Thus circus artists may be called upon to collaborate in the creation of dance, theatre or musical works.

Profile of a Circus Artist

A prospective circus artist must demonstrate a great capacity to adapt to changing circumstances. This person also should be multi-talented, open to the world and able to function autonomously, along with possessing ample determination and self-discipline. Since the labour market is international in scope, it follows that the artist should enjoy travel and the opportunity to experience different cultures. The artist is aware of the various circus and related theatrical art forms, and seeks to expand upon this knowledge. A capacity to constantly reinvent him or herself insures a constantly evolving career and professional resilience as a circus artist.

"Within the first months following graduation, more than 90% of students who complete the diploma programs find employment."

ACROBATICS

Hand to hand (dynamic)
Contortion
Hoop
Chair
Ladder
Russian Bar
Russian Swing
Chinese Pole
Korean Board
Teeterboard
Trampoline
Bicycle
Icarian Games
Rebound Straps
German Wheel

BALANCE

Hand to hand (static)
Balancing
Ball
Chair
Stilts
Ladder
Unicycle
Perch
Rola-Bola
Tight Wire
Slack Wire
Tight Rope

AERIAL

Cradle	Aerial
	Korean
	Spanish

Web	Single
	Double
	Triple
	Cloud Swing

Trapeze	Balancing
	Fixed
	Dance

Roman Rings
Straps
Hoop
Tissus

MANIPULATION

Juggling
Foot juggling
Devil Stick
Diabolo

CLOWNING ARTS