REFLections and Exchanges on Circus arts Teaching Erasmus Project

Project Title

REFLections and Exchanges on Circus arts Teaching

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Pedagogy and didactics; Recognition (non-formal and informal learning/credits); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The REFLECT project was born from a reflection of several years within the FFEC and FEDEC (www.fedec.eu) networks on the need to update and to reinforce teachers’ competences.

There is a need for exchanges between these professionals because:

– the training of professional artists relies on them, who are these pioneers and self-taught and the history of teaching and different currents or teaching methods has not been written yet;

– we are witnessing a change of generations with the departure of the pioneers and the arrival of their former students – mostly artists – as teachers, but without initial teacher training;

– the circus arts are rapidly expanding: innovation artistic and technical evolution make REFLECT exchanges essential because they are the only current means for the profession to evolve.

REFLECT wished to remedy these shortcomings and respond to the needs identified by teachers, directors and policy-makers by:

– organizing 5 partnership meetings, 9 steering committee meetings, 5 directors’ discussions in order to:
• manage the project by providing a space for feedbacks, cooperation, consultations, monitoring of the calendar and the budget, collective decisions;
• disseminate the tools developed thanks to former INTENTS project;
• allow the partners to address the issue of how to document the teaching of artistic creation.

– Organizing 4 Labs based on peer-to-peer exchange to improve, question and discuss artistic education and pedagogy in the circus arts. The Labs were transversal in terms of participants and topics, and they welcomed experts from other artistic fields.
1. Lab 1: “The role of the teacher in a creative process of the student’s personal project”, March 2018 – FLIC, Turin, Italy
2. Lab 2 : “Creation processes with students: observation, analysis and testimonies based on the CIRCLE project”, October 2018 – CIRCa Festival, Auch, France
3. Lab 3: “The role of the teacher in a creative process of the collective project of students”, April 2019 – CODARTS, Rotterdam, Netherlands
4. Lab 4: “Creation process with professionals: observation, analysis and exchanges”, October 2019 – October 2018 – CIRCa Festival, Auch, France

– Disseminating and testing the publication “SAVOIRS01- a core European profile for the circus arts teaching profession”. A framework of competences for circus arts teachers developed through former project INTENTS.

– Developing tools and materials for continuous training and exchange of good practices in the circus sector.

– Strengthening cooperation in the sector and with external partners or experts (for training content and future partnerships).

– Promoting the development of an international community Circus education professionals.

The project brought together 27 partners, including 25 professional circus schools, from 12 European countries. REFLECT lasted from 4 September 2017 to 3 December 2019.

The main participants of the project were:
-Teachers from the partner schools (70 persons)
-External teachers or experts in artistic pedagogy, peer-to-peer exchanges or documentation (6 persons)
-Schools or organizations directors (networks, festivals) (29 persons)
-Students (150 persons)

The project management methodology was the result of the collaboration between the FFEC and the FEDEC. The project coordinator, based in Brussels and employed by FEDEC, ensured the ordinary management of activities and the dissemination of results, as well as budget monitoring in collaboration with the administrative manager of the FFEC. In addition to that, a Steering Committee was created, composed of 7 members from the FFEC, the FEDEC and the other partners of the project. The committee was the decision-making body at the heart of the project.

The impact and benefits were:
– A higher quality of training in circus arts thanks to the development continuing education for teachers. The continuing education sessions will be based on a consultation of employees/employers of the circus education sector about the mismatch between teachers skills and the skills required by the professional sector.

– Reflecting artistic excellence and aesthetic diversity, recording the pedagogical evolutions ocurrent teachers, creating a common but evolving heritage.

– Contribute as a sector to the evolution of the profession and its recognition through long-term collaborations with decision-making bodies at national/EU level.

– Contribution to European vocational training policies such as the Agenda for New Skills for Europe, Rethinking Education and Opening Up Education for OER and ESCO tools.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 176697,1 Eur

Project Coordinator

Fédération Française des Ecoles de Cirque & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Ecole Nationale de Cirque de Châtellerault
• Associació de Circ Rogelio Rivel
• Codarts, University for the Arts
• Centre des arts du cirque Balthazar
• FEDERATION EUROPEENNE DES ECOLES DE CIRQUE PROFESSIONNELLES
• DIE ETAGE – Schule für die Darstellenden Künste e.V.
• National Centre for Circus Arts