Mission

Ell Circo D'ell Fuego puts maximum effort into discovery, development and entrepreneurship.
We do so with particular attention to the diverse society in which we find ourselves.

Ell Circo D'ell Fuego, Fantastic Flying Fuegos, Dries Luyten, Circus Doen

In early 2000, Ell Circo D’ell Fuego (ECDF) sees the light of day in the Antwerp Dam neighborhood. A group of young people experiment with classical and contemporary circus techniques. During open community events, they pass on their knowledge and passion to young people from the neighborhood. ECDF is an outsider in the sector and specializes in a dynamic – verging on explosive – approach and view of circus. The collective is rapidly developing into a leading organization for circus in Flanders and beyond.

Today the ECDF has over 1,000 regular students in 50 regular class series, in five locations, with structural target group programs and structural school programs. The collective of yesteryear has grown into a haven for circus entrepreneurs. An organization that connects both young people and adults with circus. In doing so, it puts maximum effort into three pillars:

  1. discovery
  2. development
  3. entrepreneurship.

Discover circus, whoever you are

Discovering circus is seeing circus as well as doing it. Ell Circo D’ell Fuego wants to offer a valuable and qualitative fulfillment of leisure time, both inside and outside the walls of our training halls. Quality assurance, the breadth of the basic offer and special attention to the diversity of society are crucial elements in this. It is always about circus in an approachable, non-competitive way. Circus in which amazement, challenge, creativity, mental development, motor skills and cooperation are central. Much more than watching circus or learning circus, Ell Circo D’ell Fuego is about experiencing circus together.

Develop, circus as a tool and a means

Ell Circo D’ell Fuego wants to use circus as a tool for personal development of young people and adults. Motivated young people can choose to step into a program where they are intensively guided in their circus development.

We are also building a number of projects in which we use circus as a tool for competence development among specific target groups. In 2021, ECDF and Veilig Thuis/Family Justice Center partnered to launch a new project dedicated to competency building. TaRMaK is a circus program for children and teenagers in vulnerable home situations. The aim is for them to have positive experiences together, experience culture and have fun. At the same time, they subtly work on strengthening competencies. They learn to build hope, discovering new tools to deal with emotions and difficult situations.

Entrepeneurship, living the circus life

Finally, ECDF is committed to one of the most special aspects of circus: entrepreneurship.  We encourage and support young artists in the realization of their dreams. Furthermore, we want to be a stable home for our trainers. A house in which sustainability and continued learning are central. Moreover, as pioneers for circus in Flanders, we ourselves are persistent circus entrepreneurs.

Fantastic Flying Fuegos op Circus Boelaere

The ECDF Policy

Sounds good, doesn’t it? But how are we going to achieve all of this? With an amazing succession great plans that are nicely bundled in our policy plan for the period 2021-2025 (only available in Dutch)

Take a dive into our policy plan