circusnext works with a network of French and European partners who share a commitment to supporting emerging creative work.
These partner venues — creation and touring spaces, festivals, and networks — whether circus-specialist or multidisciplinary, pool their strengths to help artists build their professional careers both at home and internationally.
More broadly, they are actively engaged in welcoming and promoting the diversity of contemporary circus writing across Europe.
The Berlin Circus Festival began in 2015 as a major landmark for contemporary circus in Germany. This 12-day event showcases high-quality international performances in a variety of forms, for a wide audience. It also organizes public talks, professional meetings, and artist residencies.
The CIAM (Centre International des Arts en Mouvement) is an open, living space structured around 4 fields: teaching, innovation/research, support for artists, and presenting shows. With 18,000 beneficiaries each year, the CIAM explores the links between culture and society through circus art forms and via artistic and cultural education.
Since 2002, Cirko has been advocating for the development and promotion of contemporary circus in Finland. It supports circus professionals by providing workspaces and with its annual residency program, encouraging emerging artists to explore new forms of writing. Each year, it organizes the Cirko Festival.
Cirkorama is a collective of artists who promotes the development of contemporary circus in Croatia. They work in several areas: education, production and performance. They form a creative community committed to foster art as a mean for social inclusion. Together with Cirkusfera, they organize the itinerant festival Cirkobalkana.
As a key organization for contemporary circus and street arts development in Serbia, Cirkusfera organizes performances, workshops and events to engage both the public and cultural policymakers. Through international cooperation, it supports the recognition of circus arts in South-East Europe and co-organizes the Cirkobalkana festival.
Cirqueon is the leading organization dedicated to the development of contemporary circus in the Czech Republic. Its main goal is to support artistic creation and provide professional counseling for artists. Each year, Cirqueon organizes the international Cirkopolis festival and the local Nuselské Dvorky festival.
Founded in 2017 by artists Gry Lambersten and Rune Vadstrøm Andersen, Dynamo is an open stage and free artistic space. It hosts up to 20 companies in residence each year, offering workshops, training, performances and the Open Stage initiative for emerging artists. The Dynamo Circus Festival is held every two years.
Festival Circolo is one of the most important events for contemporary circus in the Netherlands and offers a rich program of family-friendly shows and experimental performances, providing a platform for emerging Dutch and international talents. In 2023 Circolo opened the Cirkus Kapel, a residency space in’s-Hertogenbosch, in partnership with Buro Piket.
La Brèche is dedicated to supporting creation by hosting companies in residency throughout the year for periods of creation or research. It also programs circus shows during the SPRING festival, which runs from mid-March to mid-April and presents over sixty performances across Normandy.
La Central del Circ is a space for creation, research, and training. Its mission is to support the circus arts, from daily training to creative residencies, as well as through support for production, distribution, and international mobility. It is part of the Creation Factories network of the Barcelona Institute of Culture.
La Grainerie is a circus arts factory dedicated to strengthening the circus field and supporting its stakeholders. It offers spaces for training, creation, and performance. It supports artistic emergence through the Studio-PACT and organizes cultural activities that foster connections between artists and local communities.
As the Center for Circus and Street Arts and the Performing Arts Center of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Latitude 50 presents about fifteen shows each season, organizes the Huy Street Arts Festival, and hosts some sixty companies in residence. It is a hub for creativity and exchange, serving both the general public and professionals.
Mercat de les Flors is a public institution that hosts, programs and promotes projects centered on movement in its entire contemporary spectrum. As a unique artist-oriented space, it highlights the various stages of the creative process and welcomes local, international and emerging companies.
Since 2020, On the Edge has been able to establish itself as an important event within the international circus landscape, promoting contemporary creation and innovation. The festival supports and showcases artists who blend circus with dance, performance, and visual arts, artists who dare to experiment, question boundaries, and engage with audiences.
PERPLX is a creation centre dedicated to circus arts in Flanders. It plays a key role in developing the field and supporting Flemish, international and emerging artists through financial support, creative residencies and artistic counseling. PERPLX also offers programming opportunities during their SOIRÉES and VITRINES PERPLX.
ROOM 100 is an artistic collective founded in 2010 by Antonia Kuzmanić and Jakov Labrović. In 2015, they created the residency space HALA 100 to strengthen circus arts in Croatia. The collective produces and distributes performances, hosts artists for residencies and work-in-progress presentations, and organizes the Peculiar Families festival.
Rīgas Cirks is an artistic center dedicated to the development, visibility, and professionalization of circus arts in Latvia, and more broadly in the Baltic region. It offers an artistic program throughout the year, hosts artists in residency, provides circus classes for all, and organizes the Re Riga! festival.
Founded in 1996, Sarabanda promotes sociocultural development in Italy. It supports and produces circus companies at cultural events and festivals such as Circumnavigando and CIRCUS ZONE. Sarabanda encourages the exploration of new artistic languages and fosters encounters between artists and audiences.
Subtopia is a creative hub of organizations working in the arts and creative industries. Its circus department supports creation, production and artistic research. Subtopia opened Hangaren, Sweden’s first contemporary circus venue, in 2010. In 2018, Subtopia launched the CirkusMania festival.
Founded in 2008, Teatro da Didascália is a cultural cooperative that produces and presents transdisciplinary projects as well as circus and outdoor art productions, particularly at the fAUNA creative space which is also run by the cooperative. It organizes the Territórios Dramático events and coordinates the Vaudeville Rendez-Vous festival.
The company Teatronas organizes the international contemporary circus festival Cirkuliacija. To challenge stereotypes on circus, the festival showcases diverse artistic forms in non-traditional spaces. Teatronas also runs Cirko Sapiens, a circus centre offering training for children, adults, and elderly people.
Founded in 2005 by Marco Chenevier, TiDA is a cooperative dedicated to the production, distribution and organization of cultural events such as Morg-Ex-machina and the Festival di teatro di strada. Since 2016, it programs the T*Danse – Dance and Technology festival, and manages the Art & Culture space at the Cittadella dei Giovani since 2019.
Founded in 1982 by Bernd Belschner and Britta Vehagen, Tollhaus Karlsruhe is a multidisciplinary venue that welcomes over 150,000 visitors each year. Alongside its regular programme, Tollhaus organized the contemporary circus festival ATOLL, hosts artists in residency, co-produces circus creations year-round, and hosts workshops, forums, and exhibitions.
L’Espace Périphérique is a venue dedicated to contemporary circus, puppetry and outdoor arts. Committed to supporting artistic creation, it offers residencies where companies are free to research and experiment without constraints.