A vibrant environment where they can dock – time and time again. To learn, to create, to connect with each other. So that they can get the best out of themselves every time they pass through.
Within our circushaven, we adhere to three basic principles:
ECDF is a STIMULATING HAVEN. Where you can experience circus in a unique way. By combining seeing, doing, and creating. And where we too—as an agile organization—challenge ourselves to continuously keep learning.
ECDF is a CREATIVE HAVEN. With the power of circus as a goal and a means. And the innovative drive to break through the boundaries that the circus community encounters.
ECDF is a WARM HAVEN. Where everyone on the circus spectrum feels welcome, safe, and seen, and can connect with others.
A stimulating environment
Ell Circo D’ell Fuego is working to create a strong foundation for circus in Flanders. We are developing an approach based on sharing inspiration and knowledge on topics that resonate both within the circus sector and more broadly in society.
At our Circushaven, we use circus to facilitate learning. Starting from humor, fun, imagination, and creativity, we work on perseverance, cooperation, and resilience. While seeking challenges and taking risks, we build confidence to enable self-development. It’s okay to shine, and it’s okay to stumble too.
We believe in the power of circus as a means of developing skills and are exploring how we can further develop and disseminate previously developed methodologies. We use our expertise in didactics and our high-quality infrastructure to offer circus professionals training on topics such as didactics, safety, and inclusion. In this way, we aim to address the shortage of circus-specific training programs, thereby helping to further professionalize the sector.
A creative culture for artistic research
Ell Circo D’ell Fuego supports artists in achieving sustainable growth in their creative process and taking control of their circus careers.
Artists who anchor with us gain access to our culture and infrastructure to experiment and maintain or further develop their technique. With a mix of research, technique, and creative residencies, we offer them a wide range of opportunities for sustainable growth. And we provide coaching, training, support, and tailor-made performance opportunities.
In addition, we support ambitious young people, starters, and established artists in developing their circus careers. Through various programs, we offer them a framework that enables them to make qualitative progress and/or learn how to market themselves. We do not limit ourselves to creators, but also focus on other (semi)professional players in the sector, such as circus trainers who also aspire to an artistic career or performing artists.
At the same time, we are looking for ways to enable these artists to give something back to the stimulating environment we cultivate within our organization. So that, together with us, they can actively inspire different generations of artists.
A hub for encounters
We create a warm place in the city. A home base where everyone feels welcome, safe, and seen. Personal contact throughout the process is crucial to this.
We also take a critical look at who we are not (yet) reaching and what barriers we can remove to make that possible. In this way, we want to evolve towards an inclusive approach that allows us—from our unique position—to plant the necessary seeds for an inclusive sector.
We support the circus community from the bottom up with space, projects, and activities that bring together circus practitioners from Flanders—and the rest of the world.
