Documents 

En 2000, Cirque du Soleil creó un programa de formación en circo social destinado a instructores de circo y a trabajadores sociales. Estos instructores y trabajadores sociales, que trabajan con miles de jóvenes, utilizan las artes circenses para ayudar a estos jóvenes a recuperar su autoestima, iniciar un cambio de trayectoria y a desarrollarse en los planos personal y social. Desde el inicio del programa, cientos de instructores y trabajadores sociales han podido, gracias a estas formaciones, familiarizarse con el planteamiento del circo social. Frente a este creciente interés, el Cirque du Soleil ha querido dotar a formadores, trabajadores sociales e instructores de un material de formación adaptado.

Esta guía forma parte de una serie de herramientas pedagógicas que permitirán a los numerosos organismos interesados en el circo social beneficiarse de la experticia adquirida por el Cirque du Soleil y sus socios desde 1995. Este documento, destinado a los formadores, está dividido en 14 módulos que tratan contenidos esenciales para la formación básica de un instructor o de un trabajador social en circo social. Cada módulo presenta los objetivos que se contemplan, los mensajes clave y el testimonio de un experto. También presenta textos de referencia pertinentes y actividades de animación que permiten a los participantes de las formaciones experimentar la pedagogía del circo social del Cirque du Soleil. [Resumen del editor]

In 2000, Cirque du Soleil created a social circus training program for circus instructors and community workers. These individuals, who work with thousands of young people, use the circus arts to help youth regain their self-confidence, transform their lives and grow both personally and socially. Since the beginning of the program, these training courses have enabled hundreds of instructors and community workers to familiarize themselves with the social circus approach.
Faced with such widespread interest, Cirque du Soleil decided to provide trainers, community workers and instructors with suitable training material.

This guide is part of a series of educational tools designed to enable the numerous organizations interested in social circus to benefit from the expertise developed by Cirque du Soleil and its partners since 1995. Designed for trainers, this 14-module document covers the essential components of basic training for social circus instructors and community workers. Each module outlines objectives, key messages and testimonials from social circus practitioners. It also provides pertinent reference texts and facilitation activities to help training participants explore the educational aspects of the social circus approach of Cirque du Soleil. [editor summary]

En 2000, le Cirque du Soleil™ a mis sur pied un programme de formation en cirque social destiné aux instructeurs de cirque et aux intervenants sociaux. Ces instructeurs et intervenants, qui travaillent avec des milliers de jeunes, utilisent les arts du cirque pour les aider à reprendre confiance en eux, à amorcer un changement de trajectoire et à se développer sur les plans
personnel et social. Depuis le début du programme, des centaines d’instructeurs et d’intervenants sociaux ont pu par ces formations se familiariser avec l’approche en cirque social. Devant cet intérêt croissant le Cirque du Soleil a voulu doter les formateurs, les intervenants et les instructeurs d’un matériel de formation adapté.

Ce guide fait partie d’une série d’outils pédagogiques visant à permettre aux nombreux organismes intéressés au cirque social de profiter de l’expertise développée par le Cirque du Soleil et ses partenaires depuis 1995. Destiné aux formateurs, ce document est divisé en 14 modules traitant des contenus essentiels à la formation de base d’un instructeur ou d’un intervenant en cirque social. Chaque module présente les objectifs visés, des messages-clés et
un témoignage de praticien. Il propose également des textes de référence pertinents et des exercices d’animation permettant aux participants des formations d’expérimenter la pédagogie du cirque social du Cirque du Soleil. [résumé de l'éditeur]

The public face of social circus in Ecuador, especially in the capital city, Quito, is shaped by the shows performed by the various artists and aspiring artists that social circus attracts and cultivates. While the main focus of social circus is the transformation of social relations, self-conceptions, and experience of embodiment that occurs through workshops (the replicas), it is with shows and presentations that the “process” emerges as a “ product.” In Ecuador, as around the world, there is frequently a tension between process and product. This tension highlights ongoing debate concerning the goals of the program and the nature...

In community-engaged arts practices, facilitation is always embedded in a social politic. The facilitator never brings a pedagogical vision into action in neutral conditions; the burdens carried by those in the room become core elements of community arts practice. Social circus, as we saw in the last chapter, embodies a pedagogy that holds much in common with Freire’s “pedagogy of the oppressed” and Boal’s “theatre of the oppressed,” navigating trust, risk, and play. While debriefing sessions between participants and instructors are a key component, social circus is not a verbal, logic based activity, but rather an affective, embodied, and reflective...

Creating a human pyramid – as each one of us seeks a footing, a hand up, shifting one’s balance in relation to the group – the lesson lies not in the building of the pyramid, but rather in the metaphorical implications of how individuals need to cooperate and listen to create something together. Each individual has an equally valuable role and place in the pyramid. An acrobatic exercise becomes a pedagogical opportunity for participants to work collaboratively, to learn the importance of trusting others, to experience the benefits of solidarity and the importance of communication.

Social circus – from juggling and acrobatic skills...

The arts have been employed in community development initiatives for decades (Belfiore 2002), and the value of creativity in promoting healthy communities has long been recognized by practitioners and scholars alike (Hancock 1983; Guetzko 2002; Clift 2012). It has been argued that the arts are of great value to building social capital (Newman et al. 2003), improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities (Cameron et al. 2013), enhancing cohesive social bonds, and creating a shared identity (Lowe 2000). However, despite growing interest in the impact of programs using the arts, there remains considerable controversy regarding how such initiatives...

Since the beginning of the millennium, artistic practices have been increasingly used as a response to austerity measures and policies of social exclusion. While social movements are drawing upon creative protest techniques, community organizations are launching arts-based social programs to offer tools to youth for surviving the ubiquitous culture of alienation. Whereas policies within this late capitalist (neoliberal) era tend to promote individuality, many of those resisting market-driven governance advocate for collectivity–that is to say, for acting together to navigate the various challenges and possibilities encountered. Sometimes social movements and artistic social a programs work in tandem toward a...

Par cet outil qui se veut à la fois pédagogique, informatif, didactique et ludique, Cirqu’Conflex souhaite partager son expérience en valorisant et en clarifiant le concept de cirque social. Les objectifs, ainsi que le processus présentés dans cet outil, sont transposables dans divers contextes. Ils sont le fruit d’une perpétuelle évolution et permettent à chacun de s’approprier les techniques et les pédagogies actives qui en découlent. [résumé de l'éditeur]

This article collection is the product of the Culture Has an Impact! seminar that was held in Tampere, Finland in December 2013. This celebration seminar was the high point of a 5-year run of two national social circus projects administrated by Tampere University’s Centre for Practise as Research in Theatre. The seminar was organized partly in collaboration with the Aladdin’s Lamp network of Pirkanmaa region and the Effective Circus project. The Effective Circus project (2011-2014) continued the work started with the national Social Circus
project (2009-2011). Both projects were funded by the European Social Fund (through the North Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, Finland). In these projects we established social circus as a permanent part of the Finnish circus scene and the wellbeing services purchased by municipalities. While the first project focused on finding the good practises in social circus teaching, the second project went a little further. The aim was to prove that there are indeed wellbeing effects that can be reached with social circus. The Culture Has an Impact! seminar served as a platform for the project to both broadcast its results,
and to ignite an international discussion on the future of social circus studies globally. As an immediate result of the seminar, a network for circus researchers, The Global Institute for Circus Studies was formed. This publication can be thought to be the first practical product of this new network, as it showcases the work done by many of the founding members of the network. These articles introduce different social circus projects and evaluations going on around the world, from New Zealand and Canada to Finland, France, Italy, Ireland and even afghanistan. We are proud and happy to present this publication and hope it to be the first of many to come! [editor summary]