En Fedec Miroir Project Part 2

Miroir project
part 2
AnAlysis of key skills
of young professionAl
circus Artists
FEDEC
european federation
of professional
circus schools
Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 1
feDec 03
preAMble 05
overview of the Miroir project 08

Miroir project: Parts 1 and 2 09
Miroir 2 – Section 1 - Complementary survey of employers 10
Miroir 2 - Section 2 - Survey of young professional circus artists 10
A deeper insight into key skills in order to improve training 10
01 Survey of employerS – profeSSionals from the circuS artS Sector 12

2008 | Miroir pArt 1 - section 2
survey of eMployers – professionAls froM the circus Arts sector 14
2009 | Miroir pArt 2 - section 1 | coMpleMentAry survey of eMployers 16

Identification of the market 18
Complementary survey 20
Results 22
conclusion 34
02 Survey of young profeSSionnalS – the new generation of circuS artiStS 38

survey of young professionAl circus Artists 40
Identification of the population 42
Reaching the young professionals 42
Problems encountered 43
Questionnaire 44
Skills 45
AnAlysis of the results 49

Background of the young professionals 50
The key skills - the reflection of young professionals 57
Open feedback 67
conclusion 70
03 DiScuSSion 72
overAll conclusion of Miroir pArt 2 - section 1 AnD 2 74
recoMMenDAtions 79
To improve professional integration channels 80
To improve training 81
suggestions for further reseArch 83
bibliogrAphy 85
AppenDix 87
AcknowleDgeMents 100
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission (DG Education and Culture - Programme for Education and Lifelong Learning).
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information
contained therein.
2 FEDEC Miroir project part 2
Miroir project
part 2
AnAlysis of key skills
of young professionAl
circus Artists
Author Zita Herman
FEDEC
european federation
of professional
circus schools
fedec
Created in 1998, the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools

(FEDEC) is a network that comprises 41 professional circus schools
and 4 partner organisations in 21 countries in Europe and beyond (Albania,
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, The Netherlands, Tunisia and United Kingdom).
FEDEC’s main vocation is to support the development and evolu-

tion of training pedagogy and creation in the field of circus arts
education with the following objectives:
- to improve the education provided in professional circus schools
- to reinforce the links between professional circus schools
- to represent these schools at european or international level
- to promote the work of young artists who have graduated from
these schools
To this end the feDec sets up different activities:

- facilitating a network of schools, allowing the organisation of
numerous bilateral and multilateral exchanges of students,
teachers and administrators each year
- assembling and distributing information of all kinds in the circus
arts education sector
- designing and coordinating european projects that aim to
improve the teaching practices of its members (in particular
through the production of teaching aids, seminars, professional
exchanges, dissemination of best practice)
- intervening with the authorities on a european or national level,
according to the demands and needs of the fedec or one or more
of its members

- organising and implementing events or demonstrations that aim to
increase the influence of creation and training in circus arts or to
improve contacts with associations and organisations working in the
fields of art, education, sport, economy, and the social sector
- equipping the federation with regulations and a code of ethics for
professional training in circus arts
FEDEC is supported by the European Comission (DG– Education and Culture - Lifelong
Learning Programme), the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA),
Cirque du Soleil, Franco Dragone Entertainment Group and Cirque Phénix.

Preamble
This publication contains the results and the analysis of a survey

of a group of young circus artists and circus employers, undertaken
by the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC).
It is the second survey organised by our network and illustrates our constant
desire to question the pertinence of the education we offer in our schools
in order to prepare students for a future as professional circus artists.
This will become obvious for the reader and reflects the fundamen-
tal philosophy of our organisation, where the common position that
links us all together can be summed up in one phrase: behind the
richness and depth of a form of artistic expression, there should
be a richness and depth of educational approaches to that art.
Each member of FEDEC has its own history and philosophy, they
each evolve in a different economic context and even though pro-
grammes vary from one country to the next, we remain convinced
that core educational aims – know-how, know how to be and know
how to function – are common to all programmes. The importance
that each structure assigns to each of these fundamental values
can change from one educational programme to another and can
determine different professional capacities from one individual to
another. In fact, we strongly believe that each school has the right
to personalise its programme and this affirmation of a specific
identity will be what a potential student will look for when deciding
on a school to audition for.
FEDEC schools develop their educational programmes through a

responsible engagement with each future circus artist, with the
will to provide each student with tools that will allow them to fulfil
themselves individually and artistically, but that will also allow
them to mature and to adapt to a professional context that is in
perpetual evolution.

We are well aware that the abilities that employers look for differ
depending on the type of performance and the economic context
in which it will be performed. There is not one reality, but sev-
eral European and global realities, at the heart of which the need
for profit and immediate efficiency directly influences the skills
needed by employers. While taking into account these realities, we
also have the obligation to accompany each individual throughout
their education so that he/she can make free and informed choices
for his/her career, the kind of artist he/she would like to be and the
context in which he/she would prefer to express his/her art: as a
member of an ensemble, as an independent artist, as a freelancer
or as a member of a much larger production. This multiple reality
reassures us and shows us that we contribute to the education of
individuals that are free to surpass conventional forms of expres-
sion, capable of seeing, understanding and seizing opportunities
that present themselves and able to make choices.
This survey is important to our network because we want to regu-

larly evaluate our educational methods and our artistic positions.
We believe that this will help to evolve the sector and will contribute
to placing Circus Arts alongside all the other major art forms. While
affirming that educational programmes are not put into place solely
for the needs of employers and that the educational sector should
remain independent, we, at the same time, defend the role that our
schools and partners play in the professionalisation of future gradu-
ates. It is for this reason that we have the responsibility to be in tune
with the professional world and to maintain a healthy dialogue.
Our programmes aim to prepare students to enter the world of

circus as young professionals. The information gained in our sur-
veys will assist us in making sure that each graduate will enter that
world in the best possible fashion, and on their terms.
Tim Roberts, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDEC

London, December, 1st 2009

Overview
of the Miroir project
The European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC)

has undertaken a survey of employers of the circus sector and of
former FEDEC school students now operating as artists, to identify the
key skills that a professional circus artist is currently required to master.
The goal of the survey, entitled the Miroir It is the FEDEC’s hope that the key skills iden-
project, is to gather a series of information on tified through the surveys will act as a start-
how the schools and the teaching they provide ing point for professional development, and
are viewed by the sector and by their former career and performance management in the
students, by creating an interaction between long-term, through the development of train-
the labour market and the former students. ing. This is the FEDEC’s main motivation for
undertaking the Miroir project.
The circus arts sector obviously requires its
artists to master and use a defined set of skills The first part of the Miroir project was com-
some of which deal mainly with technical and pleted in 2008. Two results were published: a
artistic know-how. As schools and training directory of all training schools and centres
centres are the main providers of these skills, for circus arts worldwide, and a survey report
it is crucial for them to benefit from up-to-date about the employers in the circus arts sector.
information about the evolution of the field. The directory, which lists 360 circus schools
Schools are where teaching, learning, train- and training organisations, covering both lei-
ing and improvement take place, but they do sure and professional courses, was published
not necessarily have the capacity or resources in print and will be soon available as a search-
to closely follow the evolution of the sector’s able database on the FEDEC website.1 The
requirements, especially if they are located survey of employers in the circus sector was
outside Western Europe. All schools have a conducted in collaboration with Pascal Jacob,
regularly updated curricula, and educational and resulted in the publication of a report
goals as well as skills that students should ide- entitled The Circus Artist Today - Analysis of
ally be able to achieve. the Key skills: What type of training is currently
needed? For what type of artist? In which field of
activity?”2. We will be using its conclusions in
the present study.
1 www.fedec.eu
2 A brief overview of the main findings is presented in part 1

In 2009, the second part of the Miroir project was Miroir 2 - Section 2 - Survey of
achieved, complementing the first set of findings. young professional circus artists
This second part is divided into two sections: Miroir 2 - Section 2 was aimed at young pro-
1 an additional survey of employers fessionals with 1 to 5 years of professional
2 a survey of young professional artists, all experience. The survey addressed former
former students of FEDEC member schools. circus school students, giving them the
opportunity to share their views about their
The survey was realised in collaboration with training and emphasising the key skills they
sociologist Zita Herman, and coordinated by acquired throughout that training. More pre-
Danijela Jovic, Project Coordinator at the FEDEC. cisely, the survey focused on the opportuni-
ties they were given to develop their skills
Miroir 2 – Section 1 - Complementary during the training courses, and how useful
survey of employers these skills turned out to be during the first
The additional survey was conducted by way few years of their artistic careers. In order
of interviews of the key players of the circus to allow young professionals to have easy
field, who could be referred to as the employ- access to the survey, the FEDEC set up a web
ers. The questionnaire highlights the key space dedicated to it, comprising two parts: a
skills a professional artist has to acquire personal page, and a questionnaire, available
and how the range of training courses could in French, English and Spanish. The online
be broadened. In order to obtain a deeper questionnaire was divided into 3 series of
analysis of the sector’s labour market, the questions: professional information; skills;
key skills identified in 2008 in the Miroir 1 - and personal information. The data used in
Section 2 report were used as a basis for the this document were collected from Septem-
second series of interviews. They were con- ber, 18 to November 18, 2009.
ducted in October and November 2009 with
a pool of key players of the labour market: A deeper insight into key skills in
employers in the strictest sense of the term, order to improve training
but also professionals involved in the circus For the FEDEC, the main goal of the Miroir
field producers, information and residency project - Part 2 is to provide its member
facilities managers. schools with an overall assessment, both
qualitative and quantitative, of the former
The additional survey was based on 18 inter- students’ feedback on their training. Anony-
views conducted in Auch (France), during the mous and general feedback from a group of
CIRCA festival in October 2009, and on 3 addi- former FEDEC school students was analysed
tional interviews conducted in November 2009 and put together in this report. The report was
plus two interviews via e-mail or telephone1. designed as a tool for the network schools to
use in order to question the relevance of their
curricula, training and educational projects in
1 The complete list of the interviewees can be found in the appendix.

relation to the various segments of the labour
market. Since the aim of the interviews was
to provide an overview of the information pro-
vided, the interviewees will remain anony-
mous and will be analysed on an overall scale.
It is the FEDEC’s hope that by conducting this

study and disseminating its results in the
present publication (available both in English
and French, in print, or to download from the
FEDEC website: www.fedec.eu) the informa-
tion exchange between schools and the cir-
cus sector in general will be improved. It was
with this intention in mind that a public pres-
entation of the ongoing analysis was held on
Thursday, October 29, 2009 at the Chambre de
Commerce et d’Industrie in Auch (France), in
the framework of the CIRCA festival.
Note to the reader:

It should be emphasised that the survey is not
intended to draw a comprehensive picture of
respondents and their backgrounds. Neither
the statistical nor the qualitative data allow
for a conclusion that are valid for the whole
circus arts sector, given that it is a very seg-
mented one. This is a limited snapshot; a tool
for further reflection for the network.

01
Survey
of employerS
profeSSionals
from the circuS
artS Sector
MIROIR 1
2008 | Miroir pArt 1 - Section 2
survey of eMployers –
professionAls froM
the circus Arts sector
Miroir 1 – Section 2 was conducted by the that circus training must lead to an improved
FEDEC in collaboration with Pascal Jacob in integration of young professionals within the
2008, and focused on the opinion of employ- various segments of the market. The role that
ers in the circus sector. The aim of the survey the schools have to play in the preparation of
was to map the key skills employers expect the students is particularly important given
young artists to acquire, in order to provide the multiplicity of worlds and the variation of
the FEDEC member schools with some feed- the artists’ social and economic status from
back. The question brought up by Pascal one market and one country to another and
Jacob throughout his paper is a complex one: according to each segment of the market.
“What type of training is currently needed, for
what type of artist, and in which field of activity?” Following this initial seminar, circus profes-
sionals representing different segments of
This is not an easy question to answer as the the market and different countries completed
claim that there are distinctly separate fields a questionnaire on the key skills they deemed
within the sector is very hard to substantiate. essential for professional artists today (tech-
On the other hand, the study confirmed that nical and artistic qualities, entrepreneurial
in spite of the profound changes in the circus skills, teaching skills, etc.). The main con-
arts field and the evolution of the productions, clusion of the survey was that better com-
employers have been expressing a constant munication between training centres and the
wish to work with versatile young profession- circus sector employers is desirable. Several
als with highly developed technical skills. recommendations were thus formulated for
the FEDEC, all in favour of consolidating the
The survey was launched during the “Feat connections between employers and schools.
without mind or mind without feat? Which kind of Some of these recommendations were turned
training for which kind of artists for which areas into tools by the FEDEC network (web pages
of activity?”1 seminar at the Académie Fratel- about schools and their graduates, online
lini in La Plaine Saint-Denis, on May, 23 and news portal for schools) and some are still
24, 2008. The aim of the seminar was to iden- under consideration (international glossary of
tify the general key skills circus artists should circus terminology).
have, and the boundaries shared between the
teaching of these skills and the professional
integration of the artists.1 All parties agreed
1 A list of participants is available in the appendix.

MIROIR 2

coMpleMentAry survey
of eMployers
The employers surveyed in the framework The additional survey did not trace the flow
of Miroir 1 – Section 2 in 2008 mainly repre- of the young graduates’ distribution into the
sented large, well-known and recognised market’s various segments. The interviews
organisations of Western Europe. That’s why gathered the key skills these players expect
in 2009 the FEDEC felt that there was further to find in circus arts professionals who are
insight to gain from undertaking a second former FEDEC school students. Employers
round of interviews, bearing in mind the con- shared their working experiences with young
clusions of Miroir 1 – Section 2. The FEDEC graduates, thus providing an insightful appre-
drew up a list of different types of employers ciation of the weak and strong points of their
to be contacted, so as to represent the wide skills and abilities. They were asked to iden-
range of professional practices in Europe. tify which skills a professional artist must
Thus, the decision was made to interview acquire, to point out which skills the training
employers from Northern Europe (Sweden, courses might be overlooking, and to list the
Finland), South Eastern Europe (Croatia, Hun- most frequently recurring problems encoun-
gary), but also from countries where the main tered when hiring young professionals.
employers are established: the United King-
dom, Belgium and France. The methodology used to complete the survey
will be presented in the following chapter. The
The conclusions of Pascal Jacob’s survey market employers participating in all stages
formed the basis for the second round of inter- of the survey will then be more thoroughly
views. According to the author, professional defined and categorised. Therefore, a broader
schools aim to prepare their future graduates and more inclusive definition of the word
to make a positive first professional step into employer, in accordance with the specificity
the various labour markets, but the question of the circus field labour market will be put
remains whether their skills meet the require- forward. A brief introduction of the employ-
ments of the market’s segments. One might ers interviewed will be presented in the sec-
therefore wonder whether, thanks to the skills ond part of the chapter. Finally, the results
developed during training, this goal can be of the survey will appear in the third part.
reached. Also, the acquired skills do not hold Three crucial themes will be emphasised:
the same value according to the different seg- - casting methods
ments of the market. The employers inter- - expectations of the labour market
viewed stated that they do not always favour - more accurate feedback on the young pro-
young circus school graduates for the jobs for fessional artists employment and skills
which they should, in theory, be qualified.

The presentation of the complementary sur- segments of the sector. However many play-
vey will include the results of the 2008 survey. ers assume multiple parts throughout this
A few discrepancies were to be noted; a com- chain. Based on the ideas mentioned above,
parison of both surveys will therefore appear the Miroir 1 – Section 2 survey conducted
in the conclusion of this chapter. with the employers intends to widen the
categorisation envisioned by Pascal Jacob.
Identification of the market He identifies the following types of actors in
Endeavouring to identify the employers and the 2008 study:
employees of the field requires a clarification - classical circus companies
of what employment means in the circus arts - contemporary circus companies
world, and who the main players involved in Intermediate structures
that world are. - cabarets
- festivals – competitions
In the circus field, employment is atypical: it is - talent agencies
non-standard, very diverse and often precari- - casting agencies
ous. Moreover, it does not always fit the gen- - small circuses2
eral definition of the term. This is due to many
factors, including the segmentation of the sec- Developing this categorisation further,
tor, the growing legal intricacies for employ- one could strongly disagree about caba-
ment conditions and employers, flexible work- rets being intermediate structures, since
ing hours, geographical mobility, and - in spite cabarets hire artists directly with short or
of European regulations – the discrepancy long-term contracts just like the two non-
between the legal European framework and intermediate structures.
national-level restrictions. The present study
chooses not to deal with the diversity of current Thanks to the Miroir 2 – Section 1 analysis
legislation in the employment field.1 some missing elements were added to the
non-intermediate structures category:
For the purpose of this survey, the opera- - venues hosting contemporary circus
tional definition of employment is participation - non-competitive festivals
in the chain of actors leading to a paid perform-
ance or act, by a professional circus artist in an The categorisation of the sector was further
organisation or a venue. This means that the enriched by the addition of the following types
employers’ activity is conceptualised as a of actors:
chain of actors leading to a final product that - production agencies
is presented to an audience. The final product - artistic advisory agencies
is a show that a series of people have con- - administrative agencies
tributed to create. Yet the way this creation - residency centers
comes about varies according to the different - interest-representative organisations
segments of the sector, so this single concept (e.g. unions, associations) and
refers to different positions within different information centres

The creation of shows and acts can follow sev- young professionals can be employed in dif-
eral paths and benefit from different means of ferent capacities. The key words are adapt-
help: direct funding, contracts for the artists, ability and versatility.
introduction into networks, advisory serv-
ices, contribution in kind, etc. The different Circus is very international with a high level
types of employers take a more or less active of mobility for the artists and their shows.
part in the process by taking charge of one or Yet the dominant type of sector actors in
more parts of the creative process. However, each country shows a comparatively slow
our analysis does not describe any chains of evolution if one considers the mobility of the
formal or informal relationships between the artists and shows. In this structural respect,
employer organisations and the artists; nei- France is an exception. Since 1968 the old
ther does it depict the processes available to artistic models have petered out in France,
the most prominent performances currently leading to a renewal of both education and
on the market. production in the past 40 years. 4 Contem-
porary circus is the leading sector in France
In the present paper the categorisation of the and benefits from public funding. Contem-
products – the results of the chains of crea- porary companies prevail thanks to their
tion - is avoided as much as possible, since strong cultural-political influence, which has
a central feature of the whole sector resides resulted in extensive state financing of the
in the multiplicity of art forms, the opening- sector by the French State.5 A similar pattern
up to other artistic disciplines, and the func- can be observed in Quebec.
tional versatility of the artist throughout his/
her career. Moreover there is no clear-cut The circus schools stand at the very begin-
distinction between productions within the ning of the process. The FEDEC believes that
sector. 3 Nor is there any analysis of what the it has the best position from which to assess
different segments of the market need: e.g. and improve on the educational methods of its
individual performers as opposed to ready- members but also the relationship between
made acts or shows. In fact, the reality of the the schools and the market. Every vocational
sector is one in which professional artists can school has a special relationship with some
be both performers to be directed and artists of the market players, but obviously not with
creating their own acts or shows, according all of them. Nevertheless, as Pascal Jacob
to the employment conditions. There is also suggests, if the FEDEC wishes to highlight
no default role for young creative artists: the communication dysfunctions between the
1 For an analysis of the various issues, see Forette, 1998.

2 Small circuses were not addressed by the research in either year.
3 This question was explicitly explored in the FEDEC 2008 report: The circus artist today -Analysis of the key competences: What
type of training is needed today for what type of artist and in what field of activity?, P. Jacob.
4 For a detailed description of the process and the establishment of the field, see Cordier, 2007
5 Some of the employers interviewed in 2008 talked about the over-financing of certain mechanisms, highlighting that there are
too many companies and sometimes too many financial guarantees for artists, which has a counter-productive effect on the
non-subsidised market employment of artists who do not participate in funded schemes.

schools and the market, it will only be able to one-on-one meeting. In two cases, the
do so from this comprehensive perspective, answers to the questionnaire were returned
keeping in mind that schools do not necessar- by e-mail, because a one-on-one meeting
ily have to serve all the labour market players. could not be arranged.
Complementary survey The interviews fall into the category of the

Interview methodology ‘semi-structured interview’: the question-
Following last year’s seminar on key skills naire used last year served as a guideline,
and the email interviews conducted in 2008, or as a source of topics to be addressed dur-
the methodology chosen for the second round ing the interview (the questionnaire can be
of consultations was to collect the opinion of found in the appendix). In the course of the
another pool of key players in the field by way interviews, the questionnaire was adapted
of personal interviews. according to the type of organisation the
interviewee was representing.
The interviews were conducted by sociolo-
gist Zita Herman, during the CIRCA festival No hypothesis was put forward prior to the
held in Auch in October 2009, in Budapest interviews. The respondents were listened to
and at the Festival Novog Cirkusa in Zagreb without bias, so as to draw up a structured list
in November 2009. In total 21 people were of skills based on their answers. The resulting
interviewed individually, in a personalised list is presented in the next section.

The FEDEC selected a number of professionals from the list
of those present at the CIRCA Festival. Some additional professionals
were contacted following the advice of the FEDEC Board.
Special attention was paid to some key players from Eastern Europe.
Overview of interviewees Table 1

Thanks to its close partnership with the CIRCA Distribution of respondents
Festival (Auch, France), the FEDEC chose to by type of organisation
meet the majority of the survey respondents
in 2009, during ‘Circles’, its annual pedagogi- Type of organisation Number of respondents
cal and artistic meeting in Auch. The FEDEC Classical circuses companies 0
selected a number of professionals from
Contemporary circus companies 2
the list of those present at the CIRCA Fes-
Cabarets 02
tival. Some additional professionals were
contacted following the advice of the FEDEC Competitive festivals 2
board. Special attention was paid to some key Talent agencies 1

players from Eastern Europe.
Venues hosting contemporary circus 4
Non-competitive festivals 3 (8) 3

The results of the additional survey were
based on the interviews of 23 persons repre- Production agencies 1
senting 21 different organisations. Although Artistic counselling and support 1

one section of the interviews aimed to define
Administrative agencies 1
the respondents’ organisations, they will not
Residency places 3
be presented in detail in this study 1.
Interest-representative 3
organisations and information centres
1 The list of the professionals and the organisations they are representing can be found in the appendix.
2 The first three categories were well represented in the survey conducted in 2008.
3 Three participants were interviewed principally in relation to their role with a festival. The remaining 5 respondents
mentioned a festival for which they work, in the context of an interview on their work with a different type of structure.

An interesting fact should be underlined: Results
although the interviewees were categorised The selection and casting process
according to their organisations, many of As mentioned above, employment in the cir-
them actually held several positions. The sur- cus field takes on various forms. Knowing
vey conducted with the employers revealed that it is atypical, it is crucial for schools to
two scenarios: either the person represented prepare their students to face very diverse
more than one organisation (this was the case employment conditions.
in at least 6 instances), or the organisation
represented by the person was multi-func- In this field, work is formalised through a
tional. The most frequent cases were those contract. Access to employment can be influ-
of organisations that set up a non-competitive enced by the mastery of a series of informa-
festival along with their annual programming tion beforehand:
(four respondents mentioned this activity). - what are the employer’s specific needs:
Another instance involves structures with what kind of artist, or what kind of show
socially and educationally-oriented circus are they looking for?
activities, especially in the field of technical - how can a dialogue between the parties be
circus training (this was the case for at least established?
3 of the respondents). The aspect that all
venues and non-competitive festivals have in Within this context, casting is usually used
common is the fact they all act as producers to signify the future selection of one or more
or co-producers. This last piece of informa- artists for the production of a show. Program-
tion gives a further nuance to the mapping of ming is used to signify the selection of shows
the circus sector. within an organisation venue festival. The two
processes differ in the way information is
As for geographical distribution, the FEDEC exchanged between the parties, and impact
endeavoured to contact employers from a wide upon the contents of the contract.
range of countries so as to reflect as many
on-site situations as possible. The distribu- As for the casting, the methods used to find the
tion of the interviews by country is as follows: right person are numerous and mainly depend
3 organisations interviewed from Hungary, 1 on the size of the organisation. Only the larg-
from Croatia, 1 from Austria, 2 from Sweden, 1 est ones need - and can afford - a casting
from Finland, 6 from France, 1 from the Neth- department, which was not the case for a
erlands, 2 from the UK, 2 from Belgium, 1 from large number of our respondents. Throughout
Monte Carlo and 1 European network. The rel- the survey, people have especially stressed
ative prevalence of French organisations is due the value of word-of-mouth and letters of rec-
to their predominance in the market, but also ommendation from networks they work with
to the fact that the majority of the interviews on a regular basis.
were conducted in Auch (France).

Some organisations advertise vacancies (by The artists’ publicity material was only men-
way of call-outs), then shortlist and audition tioned a few times as a casting tool but the
the selected artists, but this procedure has growing significance of video and of the Inter-
become less common in the past few years. net was underlined. You Tube appears to be
However, there are some indications concern- one of the most popular tools used to search
ing integration into the working world that for artists and shows outside the existing
tend to prove instead that the procedure is networks of recognised structures. Finally,
gaining weight within companies. competitive festivals are also specific events
where casting takes place.
Some organisations also run internship and/
or training programmes; this system entails Programming refers to the selection of shows
contact that can lead to recruitment. Some that will make up a season, a festival or an
of the respondents have stressed the impor- event. In most cases, one single person is
tance of intuition and of the rapport estab- in charge of the selection. However, in some
lished with the candidate during the final cases a selection committee is used, particu-
phase of selection. larly during festivals.

For programmers, festivals are also an esses. Other structures like Jeunes Talents
important venue to select shows for the Cirque Europe have taken on the task of trig-
future. Almost all respondents stated that gering and developing a new artistic scene.
they only bought shows they had seen at least It is both a casting and promotional process,
once. Some of the respondents explicitly said based on a structured informal network.1
that they try to see the shows twice or more.
Regarding the integration into the working
To summarise, festivals play an increasingly world through both casting and programming,
important part in the integration of young a great majority of the respondents stated
graduates into the working world. They act that they being a circus school graduate is not
as powerful levers for two main reasons: the necessarily relevant for selection and does
first is that they enable the introduction of not directly affect employment. However, they
freshly graduated students, of new forms of also declared that they sometimes hire young
performance (including acts) and of new aes- graduates based on their first communication
thetics. The second is that they represent a tools (graduation publicity material) or after
strong networking potential. seeing their shows. More detailed feedback
on their working experiences with young cir-
One can also observe the increasingly sig- cus school graduates is presented below.
nificant role of new information and commu-
nication technologies in the dissemination The skills employers
of information on artists and performances. consider to be important
These channels of information are a great Given that the qualities and skills required
help to festival directors, who emphasised exclusively make reference to a person’s
their wish to be the first to present artists and qualities, the methodology used to analyse
shows, which they consider to form a part of the skills does not attempt to treat artists and
their role within the sector. their productions separately. Also, the artistic
and technical quality of the shows and acts is
The main idea that can be concluded from taken as read. The objective of the survey is
the interviews conducted with the employers to take a step further and learn more about
is that there seems to exist, within the sec- the skills that are required above this level. As
tor, a somewhat structured informal network well as the skills required by the employers,
based on personal connections, on which the criteria that allow the young artists to get
casting and programming largely depend. a job will be presented.
Some organisations (the most significant
being the Circostrada Network, Territoires du The present complementary survey of
Cirque, and to some extent the European Cir- employers is focused on the main skills and
cus Association) aim to formalise these proc- additional factors expected by the field in the
context of a professional collaboration.
1 Jeunes Talents de Cirque is a competition that invites applications from young artists with a plan for a performance.
JTC helps successful candidates to produce and promote their shows: casting here refers to the selection
of the 10 supported applications.

Aside from the main skills required, addi- Almost all of the required skills can
tional factors were highlighted many times be classified within three main categories:
as having a great impact when hiring an art- - savoir- faire
ist or buying a show and/or act. The addi- - savoir-être
tional factors mentioned include incidental - savoir-vivre
and travelling expenses, administrative con-
tingencies (visas etc.) as well as knowledge When a general skill was mentioned, respond-
of circus equipment, past experience with ents were always asked to define it in their
the employer, etc. Even though the present own words and illustrate their definition with
analysis does not focus on these factors, it specific examples. Consequently, the catego-
is important to underline the essential role risation of the skills does not stem from prior
they play in the hiring process. Employers’ research but from a summary of the skills to
existing expectations in terms of skills play which the participants alluded. Most of the
a significant part in the selection of a par- answers referred to at least two out of the
ticular artist and his/her production. Either three categories, and sometimes even three
they have already worked with the artists and out of three.
therefore know what skills they have, or they
will search out information about artists they
haven’t encountered yet through the struc-
tured informal network.
The present complementary

survey of employers is focused
on the main skills and additional
factors expected by the field
in the context of a professional
collaboration.
Aside from the main skills required,
additional factors were highlighted
many times as having a great impact
when hiring an artist or buying
a show and/or act.

Le savoir-faire Le savoir-être
The answers and explanations concerning Under the general heading of savoir-être,
savoir-faire (the most frequently mentioned the skill that was considered to best repre-
aspect of which was professionalism on sent this category was the ability to work in
stage) seem to suggest that two main features a team. Respondents brought up cooperation,
are required by employers: positive attitude and work ethic/discipline as
general skills that allow a project to develop
Firstly, the so-called “right attitude”, in the best possible conditions. Here are some
defined by: examples of the specific elements that were
- being entirely involved in one’s project and brought up: punctuality, the ability to work
completing it collectively in a team or a company, the ability
- giving 100% on stage every time to communicate and to solve conflicts. Savoir-
- showing initiative être also implies mastering other skills such
- being independent and determined as time-management and physical training
(i.e. warming up properly and sticking to an
Secondly, the most frequently mentioned appropriate diet).
skill was a sound knowledge of the technical
requirements linked to each line of work. Savoir-vivre
Employers stressed the following elements: Different aspects of what employers mean
- being able to accurately list a show’s spe- by savoir-vivre were brought up: being con-
cific technical requirements nected to the informal networks (the phrase
- having a total understanding of safety “big circus family” was used several times),
regulations and constantly putting them moral values such as loyalty towards the
into practice profession, tolerance and mutual under-
- being familiar with the technical require- standing, as well as the ability to settle the
ments of a show problems that arise when working in a team.
- having a general understanding of back- All of these skills were underlined in this
stage and technical aspects, such as sound section. Employers stressed how difficult it
and lighting is for young graduates to adapt quickly to the
professional world and to establish and sus-
Both of the above features are crucial for tain a lasting trust between partners.
the respondents; each of them mentioned at
least one element from the two categories of
savoir-faire.
Employers stressed how difficult it is for young graduates

to adapt quickly to the professional world and to establish
and sustain a lasting trust between partners.

An additional skill which does not directly During the survey conducted with the employ-
affect employment but which can be viewed ers, this question led to the creation of a pro-
as a general requirement from any artist was file of the “ideal artist”, based on 5 criteria:
mentioned several times: an idea of one’s - the artist must be creative yet this
own position in the artistic world, entailing creativity must be based on a high level
an awareness of other forms of perform- of technical ability
ances and also the ability to talk about his/ - the artist must demonstrate an exceptional
her own work. level of technical ability, yet this technical
ability should be transcended by creativity
Finally, although it is not a skill per se, many - the artist must be able to disregard all
mentioned the importance of each individu- previous learning in order to focus on the
al’s personality, especially his or her open- collective creation
mindedness and general cultural back- - the artist must be able to adapt to working
ground. In this same category, some of the methods and styles that he/she sometimes
players have stressed the importance of the doesn’t know
artist’s personal outlook on society and the - and finally, the artist must be able to adopt
outside world. a lifestyle linked to the requirements of the
market to which he/she belongs
The sample group of employers was asked to
rank the proposed skills in order of prefer- In the additional survey conducted in 2009, the
ence so as to obtain a classification (see ques- definition of adaptability was further quali-
tion 17 in the appendix). One skill was added to fied (ability to adapt, open-mindedness), and
the initial list established in the 2008 report: availability was not mentioned. From a total of
having outstanding technical know-how. 23 people representing 21 organisations, 22 1
The total list of skills included: agreed to classify the skills by order of impor-
- availability (i.e. being available to work tance based on their own preferences when
when necessary) hiring young circus professionals.
- open-mindedness
- creativity You can see the responses from these 21 dif-
- outstanding technical know-how ferent organisations in the table below.
- ability to adapt to the field’s requirements
1 The SCC (Syndicat du Cirque de Création) did not respond to this question because of their role as an interest-representative
actor. The two professionals representing Winterfest completed the same classification of competencies but their results
count as one.

Table 2 Ranking of skills, answers to question 17 of employer survey 1
1st place 2nd place 3 rd place 4th place 5 th place Score
Availability 1 1 2 4 13 36
Open-mindedness 3 4 3 8 3 59
Creativity 11 4 4 1 1 86
Exceptional technical level 2 6 7 5 1 66
Adaptability 4 6 5 3 3 68
The skills are listed in the first 5 lines on the a total score obtained by multiplying the
left. At the top, we can find the ranking accord- rankings by the number of respondents
ing to the order of preference for each compe- (where 1st place is worth 5 points and 5 th
tence (from 1 to the 5th position). The number place is worth 1 point).
in front of each competence shows how many
people ranked this competence in the 1st, 2nd, This table shows that creativity (86 points)
3rd, 4th and 5th position. The last column repre- comes first and foremost. Adaptability comes
sents the sum of results for each competence in second. Aside from the additions made to
that are calculated on the following basis: the the definition of the term in 2009, examples
1st position is equivalent to 5 points and 5th concerning adaptability to a particular life-
place equivalent to 1 point. This calculation style were mentioned (adapting to life on the
allows us to see the order of preference for road or to specific technical requirements).
each competence; the highest score signify-
ing that this competence is the most impor- A very close third is the demand for outstand-
tant for the entire group of respondents. ing technical know-how. Next comes open-
mindedness and last, the availability of the
The first 5 columns present the number of artists and their shows and/or acts (e.g. a
participants having ranked a given skill at show is free to be scheduled at the preferred
given position and the last column presents time by a programmer).
This table shows that creativity (86 points) comes first and foremost. Adaptability
comes in second. Aside from the additions made to the definition of the term in
2009, examples concerning adaptability to a particular lifestyle were mentioned
(adapting to life on the road or to specific technical requirements).
1 The score was calculated by multiplying each ranking by its position (with 1st place equivalent
to 5 point and 5th place equivalent to 1 point). In this system, if one competence was placed in 1st position
5 times, the skill is ‘worth’ 25 points. The sum of points was calculated for each competence.
The results are relative to each other and there is no absolute measure.

Feedback about the skills of the young Overall, respondents were happy with the
professionals young professionals they have worked with.
After mapping the skills they expect from Although no negative experiences were men-
young circus schools graduates, employers tioned, they could all point at elements that
were asked to reflect on their own work expe- could be improved. The most important of
rience with them. They were asked to share these elements was the young graduates’
the methods used when working with young ignorance of the realities of the labour mar-
professionals but also to list the problems the ket. It was stressed that this fact might stem
collaborations arose, or the skills and way of from the schools’ policies regarding the inte-
working that need improving. gration into the working world and their “will-
ingness to provide – or not – a safe, protected
cocoon for creation and learning”. This remark
was brought up by several respondents;
according to most of them, this ignorance of
the realities of the employment field is indeed
a hindrance for collaboration.

Further problems that have been mentioned - they are not prepared to tour the same
by the interviewees are the following: show for two to three years, in other words,
- young professionals are often unaware of they are not ready “to exploit it”
how to find work
- they often lack the skills and knowledge to In the first category of skills, savoir-faire i.e.
sell themselves and their work according to employers the “professionalism
- young professionals have a poor knowl- on stage”, nearly a quarter of the respond-
edge of the field in general and sometimes ents mentioned problems caused by a lack
only basic ideas about what the market of knowledge of the technical equipment.
expects from them Employers also stressed that young pro-
- their knowledge of the field should fessionals do not know enough about the
also be broadened to other art forms backstage requirements. Light and sound
(such as theater and dance), mostly techniques were mentioned several times.
because many venues host different types Moreover, it was also stated that young pro-
of performing arts shows. It is therefore fessionals are not always aware of the differ-
crucial for them to be aware of the ent stages and processes of production, but
opportunities they are offered as it was stated several times, this is probably
- they have little or no understanding of the true at the beginning of their careers since
cultural politics that prevail in the field this knowledge comes with experience.
- more often than not, they are not prepared
to work on short-term events Most employers have brought up the difficulty
- they are not prepared to work in a team that young professionals have problems in
working as a team and often cannot meet the

complex challenges of collective work. As for On the other hand, the sense of belonging to
the lifestyle, young professionals are not aware the circus world and professional involvement
of the costs of life on tour, and life in a caravan. did not seem to be problem areas.
Another aspect mentioned by a large number Nevertheless, all the interviewed employ-
of respondents is that many young profes- ers agree on the fact that young graduates
sionals are not prepared to perform five or need time to adapt to the professional world.
more times per week. It was sometimes sug- Adaptation is a learning process: some skills,
gested that they were not trained for it and aptitudes and the savoir-vivre cannot only be
that some of them weren’t even willing. In taught at school. Young professionals need
some cases, this can seriously hinder the time to successfully reconcile their talent
professional relationship. and artistic vision with the opportunities of
the sector. To quote one of the interviewees:
In spite of the young professionals’ short- “Maybe they need time to grow up and mature
comings in terms of administrative manage- after they graduate from school and get some
ment, the employers were not able to agree advice from the professional sector, outside of
on whether these young professionals should the school world”.
be asked to manage their own paperwork or
to let professional administrators handle it. Opinions on vocational schools training
However, it was agreed that young profes- The FEDEC wished to collect some feedback
sionals definitely need to be able to manage from the employers on school training and
their career and employment conditions, its impact on the integration into the working
therefore they should either be taught these world. In order to get the employers’ insight
skills or they should know how and where to on that topic, a section of the questionnaire
find an administrator. This is expressed as was devoted to the pros and cons of training
a requirement from the employers’ point of in vocational schools. One of the issues raised
view: they asserted their need to have a quali- by the respondents was that evaluating the
fied contact person at all stages of the nego- knowledge and skills of a certain type of art-
tiation. According to them, this prevents many ist meant evaluating the school he/she has
misunderstandings regarding contracts, tax attended. The training in professional schools
issues, and so on. Furthermore, minimal was stressed as being important, and so were
understanding of finances and budgeting is the preparatory schools: employers have
also needed and lacking in many cases. expressed the utmost respect for them.
Moreover, it has been mentioned that daily Today, professional school training seems to be
collaboration can be hindered by language the “normal” path to becoming a circus artist, a
issues: young French artists in particular fact none of the respondents even questioned.
seem to have a hard time using any other lan- They stressed the fact that students not only
guage than their own. acquire a number of specific circus-related
skills at school but other abilities too, that will
be very useful along their career, such as:

- the ability to initiate successful and fruitful Most of the negative feedback was expressed
exchanges in an international environment in reaction to the French context which
- an overall professional attitude according to the respondents, circus schools
- a follow-up from some schools to ease are well-established and recognized institu-
their students’ introduction into the tions in France and, many countries in Europe
working world and around the world are not as fortunate and
- multidisciplinarity and additional skills for have to fight first and foremost for their train-
the students ing courses to be recognized.
- a higher technical know-how
- originality However, it is interesting to mention that the
- conceptual and theoretical knowledge employers answered this question by reflect-
ing on the training situation in their countries
To some extent, training and schools tend to before sharing their views about the privi-
“brand” the artists. Employers have noted cer- leged position of the French schools, which
tain types of attitudes in the young artists trained are regarded as a point of reference.
in vocational schools that could be improved:
- sometimes too much artistic research is
undertaken at the expense of technical
expertise
- young professionals sometimes overrate
themselves after graduating
- they have unrealistic expectations con-
cerning their future income
- as they have easy access to a lot of organi-
sations and facilities, they tend to be less
experienced when it comes to fighting for
a contract
- they are not really trained to work
in larger companies as there are almost
no connections between schools and
professional circuses In spite of this critical appreciation of
- schools are not focused on the market and
vocational school training,
its needs
all respondents stated that training
In spite of this critical appreciation of profes- in a vocational school
sional school training, all respondents stated is an excellent starting point
that training in a vocational school is an excel- from which to successfully enter
lent starting point from which to successfully the diversified labour market.
enter the diversified labour market.

Conclusion

Conclusion
After the results of the complementary survey of employers were

summarized and added to those of the 2008 survey, a series of additional
conclusions were expressed by the respondents, while some other topics
and issues were brought up by both sample groups in 2008 and 2009.
As far as casting goes, the 2009 results show show was clearly mentioned in the first study
slight differences in following respects: as a real publicity tool and as having a great
role in helping integration in the working world.
1 In 2008, festivals are the top venue for casting.
This was reasserted in the 2009 additional survey, 4 The 2009 survey helped to further enhance
while it also stressed the importance of informal the listing of skills required on the labour
networking and informal recommendations. market and to redefine them: as the refine-
ment of notion of adaptability or the highlight-
2 The non institutionalised selection processes ening of the importance for young profession-
correspond to an internal logic that are not ran- als to be able to “blend in”, which was linked to
dom. Indeed, the 2009 additional survey results the “feeling of belonging”, a notion the circus
indicate that the selection process follows a world wishes young graduates to perpetuate.
logic based on informal networks. In the 2008
report, Pascal Jacob mentions “preferential When the respondents were asked to detail
ties”, yet the 2009 answers clearly show that the the specific problems faced while working
informal networking is more and more resorted with young professionals, a number of situ-
to and increasingly structured. ations were brought up. But overall, employ-
ers confirmed that the mentioned skills and
3 Respondents to the complementary survey knowledge were usually acquired after gradu-
did not explicitly mention graduation shows ation and that they were improved once put into
as publicity tools helping young graduates to professional practice. All respondents view
be hired. It has to be stressed that this type of the initial problems as challengers to be made
through time by those who decide to remain
active professional artists.
Listing the skills by order of importance This dichotomy appears in both surveys.
brings out some important precisions about We can therefore conclude that eventhough
the employer’s preferences and confirms the school training does not necessarily guaran-
2008 conclusion stating that in the end, the tee employment, artists who graduated from
human qualities mentioned are as important vocational circus schools will most probably
as the artistic ones. According to the inter- play an essential role in the labour market in
viewed employers, technical and artistic skills the next few years1.
are a prerequisite, but the importance given
to human qualities is worth noting. However, Besides, creativity is also closely linked to the
the information about employers’ prefer- quality of the training and thus to the school
ences must be treated with caution: as pre- itself. The matter of connections between the
viously mentioned, employers think that the schools and the market has yet to be defined.All
pool they select from is composed of artists the recommendations resulting from the 2008
who have all reached the pre-required level. survey pointed at improving the connections
As a consequence, they select on the basis of between vocational schools and their graduates
additional criteria. and the different segments of the market, espe-
cially by facilitating information flow.
Finally, as regards the benefits of vocational
school training, both surveys conducted with At that time, the interviewees stressed the
the employers showed that school training is importance for the key players to get a bet-
not a decisive factor for professional collabo- ter understanding of the training world, so
rations. Today, young professionals are rarely as to develop and improve integration of
directly cast by a programmer. What usually their graduates into the working world. This
happens is that shows or acts are bought as was not mentioned in so many words during
ready-made products. In that case, there is the 2009 additional survey, but the idea of
no direct relation; employers stress that they a greater collaboration should be favoured
don’t always know each artist’s individual between the labour market and vocational
skills. Nevertheless, they all agree on the fact training was expressed.
that most of the outstanding products they are
interested in are the work of artists trained in
vocational circus schools.
1 This was explicitly stated by the Casting Director of Cirque du Soleil during the seminar organised by the FEDEC “Feat without
mind or mind without feat? Which kind of training for which kind of artists for which areas of activity?”, at the Académie Fratellini
in La Plaine Saint-Denis, on May, 23 and 24, 2008.

When the respondents were asked to detail the specific problems
faced while working with young professionals, a number
of situations were brought up. But overall, employers confirmed
that the mentioned skills and knowledge were usually acquired
after graduation and that they were improved once put into professional practice.
All respondents view the initial problems as challengers to be made
through time by those who decide to remain active professional artists.

02
Survey
of Young
Professionals
the new generation
of circus artists
MIROIR 2
2009 | Miroir part 2 – Section 2
Survey of young
professional circus artists
Miroir 2 – Section 2 is a consultation of former FEDEC member school

graduates who are currently working as professional circus artists.
The objective of the survey is to learn about their opinion on key skills
of the circus artist today.
Having surveyed the employers during the have a better knowledge of the training and
first phase of the project (Miroir 2 - Section professional route, information on self-defini-
1), the aim of this second phase was to consult tion was collected but also information about
the other side of the market - the employees – their training, their career and their mobility.
in order to link the results of the two surveys
and create a dialogue between them. The core of the questionnaire was composed
by a series of questions concerning skills.
The survey was conducted among young cir- These questions focused on two aspects:
cus artists, graduates of FEDEC schools with - firstly, whether the artists were taught
between 1 and 5 years’ professional experi- the given skill during their training
ence. FEDEC gave these young artists the in the FEDEC members schools
opportunity to share their experiences and - secondly, how useful they find that skill
reflections on their training, but also their in their career
professional experience and further train-
ing in the years following their graduation. If the surveyed artists declared they did not
The aim of the survey is to get a feedback of learn the skill, a further question was asked
young professionals on the use and utility of in order to establish whether they were
the key skills acquired during their training in given the option to learn it at school or not.
professional contexts in order to rethink the This additional question allowed us to see
contents of the curricula having in mind their whether the training leading to the master-
suggestions for improvement. ing of the skill was given by the school and
if the fact that the student did not learn was
The online questionnaire, realised by the the student’s personal choice. Some addi-
associate sociologist and the FEDEC, was tional information was asked in order to
available in 3 languages (English, Spanish and be able to gain an overview of the personal
French). The online questionnaire was com- professional background of these young
posed in 3 parts: professional information, professionals. It was deliberately chosen
skills and personal information. In order to to survey the students individually. Thus

the data presented here does not allow any als who have studied at member schools,
conclusions to be drawn about the young FEDEC concluded that the total population of
professionals as a group: this was not the young professionals with 1 to 5 years’ expe-
intention of the survey.1 rience - having graduated between 2003 and
2008 - is no more than 1200, i.e. about 200
In this chapter, the methodology of the graduates per year. This number is probably
research will be described in detail, and some lower for the earlier years, given that some of
of the difficulties encountered during the the schools were created more recently.
setting-up of the first survey among young
graduates from vocational circus schools will Reaching the young professionals
be presented. The online questionnaire was available from
September, 18 to November 18, 2009, on a cus-
This is followed by the presentation of the tom-built space on the website www.fedec.eu.
results of the online survey in two parts: The former graduates were contacted both by
- professional and personal background the FEDEC office via an electronic letter (e-let-
information of the artists ter), and by e-mail by the FEDEC schools direc-
- their feedback about the skills tors. The questions were available in French,
Spanish and English and young professionals
At the end of the chapter, a summary of the were invited to answer in one of these lan-
findings can be found. guages. A totally secure system was built in
order to allow a safe gathering of data and also
Identification of the population to ensure to the respondents that the question-
The target population of the survey is com- naire is anonymous.
posed by former graduates of the FEDEC
schools. The total population surveyed is The online tool was composed by two parts in
a group of former graduates who are no order to allow the consultation, and the set-
longer studying in any professional cir- ting up of a database of the former gradu-
cus school, and who have worked and/or ates: a personal page and the questionnaire.
are currently working in the circus sector. The personal page allowed the respondent to
The former students have been contacted create his/her account, enter his/her contact
thanks to the contact lists sent to the FEDEC and also upload promotional documents of
by its member schools. his/her work, then to enter the questionnaire
anonymously and answer the questions. This
We do not have exact statistics nor a complete first page acted as a online CV giving the young
list of all students graduating each year from professionals the opportunity to upload docu-
the schools, we can only make an estimation of ments (photographs, short résumés, CVs) in
the size of the population. In the introduction order to allow their dissemination through
to the report on the survey among employers the FEDEC network through printed or online
in 2008, Pascal Jacob estimates that there publications and communication tools.
are a few hundred graduates per year. When
compiling the database of young profession-

The decision to undertake the questionnaire online was motivated
by a series of factors, the most important of which being time restrictions
and the geographical distribution of potential respondents.
Despite the problems encountered, which are described below, creating
an online questionnaire was the quickest, most cost-effective available method
to reach as many former students as possible, given their mobility.
In total, 73 completed questionnaires were also with the conventions of online ques-
validated. Nevertheless, 173 young profes- tionnaires. Young circus artists are rarely
sional artists created a personal card and ini- solicited to participate in such research. The
tiated the FEDEC database of former profes- team invited one young artist to complete the
sional school students. Thirty seven of them online questionnaire, in order to assess how
used the uploading tool and did upload a lot of the questionnaire would be understood and
their visual material. received by young artists.3 There were two
major points of consideration arising from
Problems encountered this experience: firstly, that former students
The decision to undertake the questionnaire are likely to reflect on their entire training his-
online was motivated by a series of fac- tory and do not make a distinction between the
tors, the most important of which being time last school that they graduated from and the
restrictions and the geographical distribu- earlier schools that they attended. Secondly,
tion of potential respondents. Despite the that many of the skills are explained in terms
problems encountered, which are described that seem to be too abstract for them. Also,
below, creating an online questionnaire was a further difficulty arose in relation to the
the quickest, most cost-effective available definition of the skills: the young professional
method to reach as many former students as struggled when trying to assess whether the
possible, given their mobility. However, young skills were acquired while training in school,
professionals are not always familiar with and if they are useful in the professional con-
surveys nor with the FEDEC network; a direct text. This problem seemed to be a result both
relationship between the FEDEC and former of the tool and of the difficulty to separate
students is almost nonexistent.2 what was learned while training and what was
gained through long-life learning. Question-
Indeed, one of the significant limits of the use naires only capture a limited and structured
of an online survey was the lack of familiar- segment of reality. This type of analytical and
ity of the group not only with the FEDEC, but quantitative approach is quite rare in the field:
1 In order to consider the young professionals as a group, a much larger representation of this population would need to be
identified, and this would require greater resources than were available for the present study.
2 With the exception of those who have participated in the Circle project since its creation in 2007.
3 These test responses were not saved in the system.

very few studies on this subject have been The questionnaire
conducted nationally or internationally,1 a The questionnaire was composed of three
European study led by FEDEC is an innovative main sections.2
initiative. Also, language was probably still a - professional information
barrier to many of the young professionals, - skills
despite the fact the e-mail containing links - personal information
leading to the survey was written in three dif-
ferent languages. Even though most young In the third section, as well as classic socio-
professionals can generally speak English, demographic data, such as year and place
the specific vocabulary of the questionnaire of birth and gender, a series of questions
and the invitation e-mail may have played focused on mobility, and potential mobility,
a role in excluding the opinions of certain of the young professionals. The respondents
groups especially those whose native tongue were asked to specify their discipline and sec-
is neither of the three languages the survey ondary discipline. These questions used the
was available in. categorisation of disciplines established by
the FEDEC Directory of Circus Training Organi-
The survey also suffered from a problem sations – Europe and beyond. Finally, there was
common to sociological studies. It lacks a a series of questions about their educational
motivational incentive for the respondents, background: number of years spent in train-
as they would gain no direct benefit from the ing, schools attended, and additional training
results in any sense. The issue at stake is the and workshops they might have taken part in.
improvement of training for future genera-
tions. Moreover, the rate of responses from The professional section of the questionnaire
young professionals was largely dependent focused on employment and continuing edu-
on their relationships with their former voca- cation. As far as occupation is concerned,
tional training school. a specific perspective based on self-defi-
nition has been adopted in order to give us
an idea of the professional identity of the

young artists in relation to their main source The first step was then to identify the com-
of income. The exact question is: “What is petencies and classify them between several
your main occupation? (The occupation that is groups. The construction of the list of skills
currently your main source of income)”. This was undertaken in several steps. Firstly,
is followed by a question about secondary starting from the Key Competences for Lifelong
occupation. The question about workshops Learning, European Reference Framework 3 two
gives us an idea of the continuing education of the main skills mentioned were adapted to
undertaken and its contribution to the devel- the circus context:
opment of skills, although in some cases the - namely the specific civic and social skills
very short time-span of these workshops - the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship
does not allow us to draw any definitive con-
clusions regarding their actual impact. The Another basis for the list of skills groups and
workshops denominations may point out their definitions was the Council of Europe
though the actual needs for further training. Competency Inventory.4 The list contains 10
skills, for which key skills and competence
Skills indicators are identified. This, again, was
The core part of the questionnaire focused on adapted to the circus context.
the key skills of the young professionals. As
mentioned earlier, these skills do not include At the same time the schools themselves
an assessment of the artistic and technical worked together on the list of major skills
know-how of the young professionals, but they think young professionals should
rather constitute additional key skills. acquire whilst training. The list proposed by
the schools consists of the following skills:
The starting point was the notion of compe- 1 outlook on professional environment
tence. Competence refers to professional 2 professional and technical competence
conduct: in other words, ways of working. 3 artistic skills
Thus skills are a combination of knowledge, 4 physical/athletic skills
skills, attitudes, values and behaviour that lead 5 teaching skills/supervision/training
to successful performance in a job, and which 6 managerial skills
can be acquired by doing, learning, training and 7 interpersonal skills
coaching. The specific requirements of the 8 communication and linguistic skills
sector should be identified in terms of skills. 9 personal attitudes
10 personal values
1 A publication on a similar subject is actually being completedbased on the survey of Finnish circus graduates Riikka,
Å., 2009 Survey about circus education and work life through the eyes of the Finnish circus graduates, Finnish Circus
Information Centre / Arts Council of Finland.
2 A complete copy of the questionnaire is available in the appendix.
3 Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, European Reference Framework, European Commission Education and Culture
DG, Lifelong Learning Programme, available to download at http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/
doc42_en.htm
4 Competency Inventory – Competency Management, Council of Europe, Human Resources Publication
https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=993922&
SecMode=1&DocId=1113966&Usage=2

Specific skills within these categories were following final list of skills is comprised of six
listed by the schools.1 major skills and 33 sub-category skills to be
included in the questionnaire:
Taking a step further towards the final list in
the questionnaire, half of the 2nd item and the Physical skills
3rd and the 10th item were omitted. Technical - the ability to keep fit and
and artistic skills were excluded for reasons in the best condition to work
already outlined, and “personal values” are not - a good understanding of your body
skills, but personality traits. Key skills were - the ability to judge the safety
picked from the lists provided for each compe- of a working environment
tence. A first draft of the list was thus created.
Next, the above list was compared to Pascal

Jacob’s results, and to a series of pedagogi-
cal programmes from member schools.2 The

Reflection on your work and Creation of your work
on that of others - the ability to create your own work
- the ability to analyse and interpret the - the ability to use acting in your
performance of others performance
- the ability to recognise the elements that - the ability to use music in
influence your work your performance
- the ability to analyse your own work - the ability to perform in
- the ability to use circus vocabulary multidisciplinary contexts
- the ability to contextualise your perform- - the ability be creative in your work
ance within the field – to see where your - the ability to create a costume that
work belongs is both practical and fits in
- the ability to speak in public about your with the dramaturgy
work - the ability to produce an act
- the ability to manage your professional - the ability to think about the lighting
development of your work
- the ability to be able to communicate with
Artistic knowledge – related fields your audience through your work
- the ability to dance
- the ability to play a musical instrument Organisation of circus work
- the ability to act and administration
- the ability to teach circus arts to others - team work
- foreign languages
Theoretical knowledge - to be aware of the financial and legal con-
- knowledge of the dramaturgy text you work in and the practical implica-
of circus shows tions
- knowledge of the history - management – organising/
and aesthetics of circus arts managing time
- scientific knowledge linked to circus arts: - creation of promotion material
physics, anatomy, psychology, etc. for yourself
- an understanding of the traditions and the - digital video skills
concepts and principles
of your discipline(s) In order to avoid similar answers to each skill
of a group, the respondents were asked about
the different skills in a random order.
1 This document is not published in the appendix as it is an internal FEDEC document

2 These documents can be found on the websites of most member schools. Direct links to all member schools are provided on
the FEDEC website - www.fedec.eu

As mentioned earlier, two questions were
asked about each skill. Firstly whether the
skill was learned in school (it was possible
to answer this question with either “Yes” or
“No”). For each competence two sub-ques-
tions were asked according to the answer.
If the respondent answered “Yes”, the sub-
question allowed us to know how useful the
skill has proven to be in his/her professional
career on a scale of 1 to 6. If the respondent
answered “No”, he/she was asked whether
he/she had the option to learn the given skill
in school or not.
At the end of the block of questions on skills,

the last question was an open question, giving
the respondents the chance to reflect on all
of the questions so far, and to suggest other
skills freely: answering the question “Which
skills would it have been useful to have learned
at school, looking back with what you know from
your professional experience?”.
At the end of the block of questions on skills, the last question

was an open question, giving them the chance to reflect on all of the questions
so far, and to suggest other skills freely: answering the question
“Which skills would it have been useful to have learned at school,
looking back with what you know from your professional experience?”.

Analysis
of the results

Analysis
of the results
In this chapter the results of the online survey

will be presented in two main sections.
Firstly, the general background information Background

of the respondents (the questionnaire sec- of the young professionals
tions on personal and professional informa- The first question that arises about the grad-
tion) is presented in order to give the reader uates surveyed is to what extent they are
a general idea of the composition of the pool young professionals within the circus sector.
of young professionals who completed the Being a professional within the circus sector
questionnaire. Please note that the general might have various meanings. In the frame-
statistics are not taken from a random sam- work of this survey, the following definition
ple but based on the present respondents’ was applied: persons who earn at least part of
answers, and therefore they cannot claim to their livelihood from circus-related activities are
be representative of the entire population of professionals, given that all of them are former
young circus arts professionals, neither of students of professional circus schools. Accord-
FEDEC graduates. Thus no conclusions about ing to this definition, teaching is also a circus-
the whole population of young professionals related activity.
can be made from the data presented below.
The total response rate was 73, of which 11 The table below presents the primary and
were completed in English, 49 in French, and secondary occupations of young profession-
13 in Spanish. als. We can observe that 66.3% of them are
working in the sector full-time, 50.9% earn
Secondly, complex analyses of the skills sec- their entire living from the sector but exclud-
tion of the questionnaire are presented, with ing teaching activities, and the additional
a view to providing information and possible 15.4% teach different circus disciplines. On
recommendations for schools to improve the other hand, 21.1% earn part of their live-
their training offer. The analysis is done in lihood from circus activities. Thus we can
three steps: firstly, the implications of the conclude that circus is the principal source
answers are suggested and discussed; then of livelihood for 87,4% of young professionals
a clustering of the respondents according to who participated to the survey.
skills is presented; and finally, one of the most
useful parts of the survey, the open question
about the skills that young artists qualified as
lacking, is presented in detail.

Table 3 The way the respondents define themselves professionally:
principal and and secondary occupation
Self identification Secondary occupation, categories

of respondents no secondary circus - except teaching other Total
occupation for teaching circus
circus artist 19,70% 5,60% 2,80% 28,20%
circus artist with discipline 2,80% 1,40% 1,40% 5,60%
circus discipline 9,90% 8,50% 2,80% 4,20% 25,40%
circus - teacher 1,40% 1,40% 2,80% 5,60%
circus -other forms 9,90% 2,80% 12,70%
other 7,00% 8,50% 1,40% 5,60% 22,50%
Total 50,70% 18,30% 14,10% 16,90% 100,00%
Table 4 Groups by profession

according to the self-definition of respondents
%
full time circus activity 50,9
teacher 1,4
teacher and artist 14,0
circus and something else 16,9
teacher and other 4,2
out of profession 12,6
Total 100,0

Regarding the self-definition of participants in As for the rate of young professionals with a
relation to the main occupation, 28.2% define secondary occupation, it is 50% 16.9% have
themselves with the exact words “circus art- secondary occupations that are not related
ist”, 5.6% add to this their discipline but keep to circus sector. The secondary occupations
the words “circus artist”. In total 33.8% iden- related to circus have been divided into two
tify themselves as circus artists or specialized groups: teaching on one hand and on the other
circus artists. This information on self-defi- hand other circus activities, such as produc-
nition is very revealing in terms of definition tion or creation, 18,3%. We see that the lat-
of their profession and the values instilled by ter is somewhat more common than former
their training.1 Indeed, the majority of FEDEC (14.1% for the category “teaching”).
schools claims they intend to form circus
artists. The self-definition of the young pro- The information about professional identity
fessionals here, provides direct feedback on and integration into the market presented
whether (or not) the former students incorpo- above shows that most of the young profes-
rate the definition when it comes to their pro- sionals who participated in the survey are
fessional identity. active within the market, and circus is their
principal activity.
Another quarter (25.4%) identify them-
selves by their discipline, 5.6% say that they Focusing on how much professional experi-
are circus teachers, and 17.7% also identify ence the group of respondents has, the first
themselves within the circus sector, but not graph shows that many more recent gradu-
within these terms: they either say that they ates responded to the survey (see graph 1).
are artists, or identify themselves with two This is due to the fact that young graduates
disciplines at once, or add another profes- usually have a closer relationship with their
sion into their principal profession (e.g. cir- former school and feel more concerned when
cus artist and dancer). This third category it comes to participating to projects linked to
was formed to regroup less clear-cut cases. the school. Moreover, some FEDEC schools
Persons who have declared to be teachers do not have graduates corresponding to the
have been excluded from this analysis, as they entire target years (2003-2008) since they are
do not play the same role in the market and it younger. Also, it is very valuable to also gain
is a skill on its own in the skills list. an insight into the activities of mature profes-
sionals with over 3 years’ professional expe-
rience, even though a comparatively small
number responded to the call.
The information about professional identity and integration into the market presented
above shows that most of the young professionals who participated in the survey are
active within the market, and circus is their principal activity.
1 In a sense, this points towards the 10th item on the skills list the schools created together (p. 46), which was later removed

Gender distribution of the respondents was The graph below outlines the distribution of
as follows: 49.3% of the graduates were male respondents’ ages. Most of the professionals
and 50.7% female. These figures indicate that are between 25 and 30 years old. These fig-
there is a higher representation of women. ures correspond to our expectations, since all
Although as far as the FEDEC is aware, no of the participants entered the profession in
exhaustive statistics have been compiled in their early twenties.
relation to young professional circus art-
ists, Emilie Salamero, amongst others, calls As the circus arts are an itinerant art form,
attention to an over representation of men in mobility plays a central role in the sector.
schools and in the sector in general (Salam- Today, this mobility seems to begin during the
ero, 2008). Marine Cordier estimates that men training: respondents had lived in an average
make up as much as around 66% of the whole of 2.07 countries before they had finished their
profession (Cordier, 2007). Consequently, the training. This means that they have moved at
rate of participation by gender is apparently least once, and this is probably due to their
balanced, but it is not compared to the reality will to complete their training in another
of the profession. Men were less motivated to country. This hypothesis is also underlined by
answer the survey. the countries of origin of respondents as pre-
sented in the following bar chart.
01 Number of years of professional 02 Distribution of the participants

experience after graduation according to their age
Number of persons Number of persons
20 20 15
13
17
12
15
8
9 8 7
11 8
10
9 9 7
6 6
7
4 3
5 2
3 2
years 1 2 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
age

The bar chart shows that a lot of young pro- speak two languages, 26% speak three, and
fessionals from France and Canada. They are the remaining 24.7% speak four or more lan-
are exceptions in terms of mobility as they do guages. One respondent speaks seven lan-
not have to move to another country to access guages. Only 11% of respondents speak just
high quality training. As for the occupational one language: English or French.
mobility after the period following their grad-
uation, following an average of 2.4 years’ pro- As far as the educational paths of the young
fessional experience the young circus artists professionals are concerned, 68% only
had worked in 3.73 countries on average. This attended one school during their training. One
high occupational mobility is partly enhanced person declared having attended five schools.
by a high rate of multilingualism: 38.4%
03 Country of origin of respondents 04 Number of schools attended in total
Argentina 2 Number of persons

Austria 1
Australia 1 50 42
Belgium 2
Brazil 1
Bahamas 1 40
Canada 12
Switzerland 3 30
Chile 2 19
Germany 2
Spain 8 20
Europe 1 9
Finland 1 10
France 20 0 1
UK 3
1 2 3 4 5
Italy 6
Number of schools
Mexico 1
Poland 1
Portugal 1
Sweden 1
San Marino 1
USA 2
05 10 15 20

The number of schools attended reflects also
05 Number of years of training
the fact that students mostly trained for three
to five years. The number of schools attended Number of persons
depends also from the student’s training
pathway before the vocational school. The 20 17
level required for a vocational school can be
achieved in formal training circumstances in
preparatory schools, which explains longer 15 12 12
periods of training.
10 7
5 5
05
2
1 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 10 13 15
Number of years of training

Regarding specialisation, the following factors” for the specialisation of young gradu-
remark on disciplines chosen was already ates. If a person wishes to learn a specific dis-
made in the 2008 survey: “trends in popularity cipline, he/she will try to gain a place at the
and also the capacities of schools are significant school which is known as specialised in.
In the pool of young professionals surveyed, the following disciplines are present:
06 Specialisation of young professionals
Number of persons
14
15
12
11
12
09
06 4
3 3
2 2 2 2
03 1 1 1
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In the group of respondents there were no The key skills - the reflection
graduates specialised in Russian bar, Russian of young professionals
swing, highwire, unicycle, flying trapeze or The answers of the core part of the question-
equestrian art. The three most popular disci- naire dedicated to the key competencies will
plines are swinging trapeze, followed by static be presented in this section. In the next sec-
trapeze, rope and silk, and finally juggling. tion, reflections of the young professionals on
Be sides, 72% of participants declare having key competencies will be presented.
been trained in a secondary specialisation.1
In the table below, all the skills mentioned in
Moreover, 21.9% of the respondents stated the questionnaire are recapitulated accord-
that they participated in an exchange pro- ing to the theoretical groups in which they
gramme during their training. The over- were classified while constructing the ques-
whelming majority of them have subsequently tionnaire. For all of the skills the percent-
found this experience useful during their age of participants who learned the given
career and employment. skill is presented, followed by the average
of how useful that skill has proven to be in
Finally, in relation to tendencies in continuing their professional careers (on a scale from 1
education, 47% of respondents have partici- to 6). Subsequently, the percentage of those
pated in workshops. Apart from workshops who declared not having learned the skill is
on strictly circus related themes, the most presented, answering the question “Have you
significant percentage of artists have com- learned the following skill during your training?”
pleted extra training/workshops in dance and along with a general indicator of whether
contact improvisation. there was any opportunity to learn than skill
(as an answer to the question “Did you have
had the opportunity to learn this competence
07 workshops attended during your training?”). The general indicator
by young professionals representsb a mean score of all answers to
% the question where 0 represents “No” and 1
circus technique 11,1 represents “Yes”.
workshop / training
circus aesthetics 4,2 Later, a series of graphs display the number of
dance and contact-dance 9,7 skills learned by the respondents in each cate-
other artistic workshops 2,8 gory. The two sets of statistics allow us to gain
other 4,2 an overview of the acquisition of skills accord-
more than one workshop / 4,2 ing to the young professionals of circus arts.
training in more than one category
1 A table containing the different combinations of specialisations is included in the appendix.

The general information that can be taken at school, they answered that they did not had
from the answers is that young professionals the opportunity to learn it during the train-
find the skills that they learned at school useful ing. Nevertheless, this information cannot
even very useful for their professional career: be checked as it is the result of respondents’
all the averages are over 4.2 on utility scale. personal opinion.
The three skills that obtained the lowest mean Looking at the skills related to the body i.e.
are in ascending order, digital video, history the physical skills, nearly all respondents
of circus arts, and playing a musical instru- answered they learned them and found them
ment. Other notable exceptions are: light- very useful. The skill entitled “A good under-
ing, costume, recognising artistic influences, standing of your body” attained the highest
speaking in public, contextualising your per- mean score of all the skills in the survey.
formance in the field, foreign languages, digi-
tal video, financial and legal context, creation Another important indicator is that 21% of the
of promotion material, management of pro- respondents said that they did not learn how
fessional development, project coordination, to judge the safety of a working environment
playing a musical instrument and dancing. during their training.
Here, where respondents did not learn a skill
Physical Skills
Keep fit and able to work Judge safety Better understanding
while working of your body
Ratio of persons 0,932 0,792 0,958
who learned the given skill

Mean of usefulness 5,382 5,526 5,725
on a 1 to 6 scale
Ratio of persons who did 0,068 0,208 0,042
not learn the given skill

Mean of possibility where 0 0,400 0,200 0,000
means no and 1 means yes

Theoretical Skills
Dramaturgy Scientific History / Traditions /concepts
of circus shows knowledge linked to aesthetics of circus arts
circus arts of circus arts
Ratio of persons 0,778 0,822 0,775 0,710

Mean of usefulness 5,000 4,867 4,436 4,490
on a 1 to 6 scale
Ratio of persons who did 0,222 0,178 0,225 0,290

Mean of possibility where 0 0,125 0,154 0,188 0,200
Creative Skills
Perform in Use acting Be crea- Commu- Creation Use music Create Think Lighting
multidis- in your tive about nicate of your in your and about of your
ciplinary perfor- your with you work perfor- produce costume perfor-
contexts mance work audience mance an act mance
Ratio of persons 0,959 0,945 0,930 0,833 0,932 0,795 0,958 0,653 0,625

Mean of usefulness 5,286 5,333 5,515 5,483 5,632 5,241 5,507 5,170 4,844
on a 1 to 6 scale
Ratio of persons who did 0,041 0,055 0,070 0,167 0,068 0,205 0,042 0,347 0,375

Mean of possibility where 0 0,333 0,250 0,000 0,167 0,400 0,267 0,333 0,120 0,185

Analytical skills
Recognize Speak Contextualize Analyze Analyze/ Use circus
artistic in public about your perfor- your own work interpret per- vocabulary
influences your work mance formances
in your work of the others
Ratio of persons 0,739 0,589 0,662 0,877 0,819 0,944

Mean of usefulness 4,784 4,628 4,532 5,297 4,763 4,925
on a 1 to 6 scale
Ratio of persons who did 0,261 0,411 0,338 0,123 0,181 0,056

Mean of possibility where 0 0,222 0,100 0,167 0,222 0,154 0,000
Organization and management skills

Foreign Knowledge Team Financial/ Creation Management Coordina-
languages in digital work legal of promo of professio- ting produc-
video context of tional tools nal develop- tion
your work for your ment
work
Ratio of persons 0,643 0,271 0,959 0,528 0,643 0,529 0,309

Mean of usefulness 5,356 4,211 5,529 4,658 5,044 5,162 5,143
on a 1 to 6 scale
Ratio of persons who did 0,357 0,729 0,041 0,472 0,357 0,471 0,691

Mean of possibility where 0 0,160 0,078 0,333 0,088 0,120 0,091 0,064

Related artistic skills
Play a musical instrument Dance Act
Ratio of persons 0,130 0,973 0,959

Mean of usefulness 4,444 5,197 5,457
on a 1 to 6 scale
Ratio of persons who did 0,870 0,027 0,041

Mean of possibility where 0 0,167 0,500 0,000

The second group of skills is the theoretical
08 Physical skills
skills group. Two skills of the group focused
on the conceptualisation of a show and back- Number of people
grounds needed for creation work. The other 60 53
two focused on direct theoretical knowledge.
Thus 82% of the participants to the survey 50
acquired the scientific background of circus
disciplines, 78% said they learned skills in 40
dramaturgy, 77% said they learned general
history of circus arts, and 71% the history and 30
concepts of their discipline. The latter two 16
were judged to be relatively less useful than 20
other skills of the group. 4

10
Looking at the group of creative skills which

1 2 3
contains 8 items, we cannot dissociate their
Number of skills learned out of 3
acquisition and their utility expressed by
young professionals from the expectations
of the employers. Indeed, the employers
declare that this category of skills is the
most important and the most valued by the
professional sector.
09 Theoretical skills
One can argue whether or not creativity can
Number of people 30
be learned during the training in school. How-
ever, 93% of the young professionals indicated 30
that they learned some precise elements of
24
creative skills during their training. The core
25
of creativity is creation generally speaking.
The most common form of in the sector is
the act. We observe that 96 % of participants 20
declared they learned to create and produce
an act, and 93% to create their own work. Both 15
of these skills have a mean of over 5.5 on the 10
utility scale. The only other skill that nearly 8
10
all respondents said they acquired was to use
acting in their performances (95%). Fewer
respondents said they learned to use music in 05
1
their performance, and to communicate with
the audience. Still fewer indicated that they
1 2 3 4 5
learned about two other aspects of creation:
costume and lighting. Those who declared

they did not learn the latter two skills, i.e.
10 Creative skills
around a third of the total respondents, they
said that they had no opportunity to learn it in Number of people
their school. 25 23 23
Following the analysis of the skills in relation

to the creation of one’s own work, we’ll now 20
focus on the analytical skills. At first glance
15
we can say that fewer people acquired these
skills. It appears that the respondents find 15
them less useful than the creative skills, and
more useful than the theoretical skills.
10
The exception is circus vocabulary; 94% of
respondents declared they learned, while 4 4
the utility mean is just under 5. Over half of 2
05 1 1
the young professionals indicated that they
learned 5 or 6 out of the 6 analytical skills.
No skill stands out as being widely unavail- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
able. The skill acquired by the lowest num- Number of skills learned out of 8
ber of people is speaking in public about

your own work.
According to this structured feedback, the

skills that are taught the less in schools are
the skills linked to organisation and manage- 11 Analytical skills
ment. Fewer than 75% of respondents stated Number of people
they learned the skills related to organisation 23
25
and management except team work, and only
20
31% stated they learned about coordination of
different aspects of production. The opinion 20
expressed by young professionals on their low 14
level of mastering of coordination skills match 15
with the remarks expressed by the employers
of the sector. The 69% who said they did not 8
10 7
learn this skill clearly indicated that they did
not have the opportunity to do so (only 6.4%
declared they had the opportunity to learn it 05
1
at schools, but did not learn).
1 2 3 4 5 6

Digital video skills were learned by 27%, with
12 Organisation and management skills
the same rate of opportunity. However, it must
be underlined that this skill is that the few Number of people
who have learned it do not find it very useful in
20 17
their professional life.
15
Relatively more have learned to create pro- 13
15
motional material and to undertake financial 11 11
aspects and management. The results sug-
gest that those who did not learned the skills, 10
stated they did not have the opportunity to
acquire them in school.
3
05 2
The number of skills acquired by individuals 1
ranges all the way from 0 to 7. These results
suggest that the access to the skills related to 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
organisation and management might need to Number of skills learned out of 7
be improved and taken into consideration for
the pedagogical programmes and the making
of the curriculum of the vocational schools.
Finally we will present the results obtained by

the artistic skills associated with the circus
arts field. Three such skills were included:
13 Related artistic skills
acting, dancing and playing a musical instru-
ment. Acting is the most mentioned: nearly Number of people
every respondent acquired it as a skill, and
respondents found it useful in their profes- 80
sional careers. 70 62
60
Dance is more delicate to analyse because
although nearly all respondents studied 50
dance in school, many have participated in
40
dance workshops since graduating.1 These
results lead to the conclusion that perhaps 30
the content of this teaching is not totally ade-
20
8
quate for the needs of the young profession-
10 1 2
als. Very few have learned to play a musical
instrument, and have not found this skill to be 0 1 2 3
very relevant to their circus arts careers.

Teaching was extracted from the related skills
to stand alone as a separate skill because the
self-definition of many of the respondents
indicated this separation. 42% learned how to
teach and found it quite useful.2
1 Given that only two people indicated that they did not study dance, the 0.5 result concerning the utility of the skill in a profes-
sional context should not be interpreted in any way.
2 There was no significant relationship between learning how to teach during training and whether the person is currently
teaching.

Finally, we regrouped the respondents into The third cluster gathers the participants who
a quick cluster1 to check for skill sets that received a very good basic training (physical,
are learned simultaneously. 2 The cluster- theoretical and creative skills), but in whom
ing provides a snapshot of the relationship miss certain skills. This sub-group of partici-
between the different skills within the group pants masters on average a skill less at least
of respondents. This useful multivariate than those of the first cluster. Their organisa-
tool allows us to view hidden relationships tional skills are extremely poor. It is the sub-
between variables. group with most members.
Clustering leads to three distinct groups Table 3 Indicators on acquisition

of young professionals. The table below of skills by category of skills
presents the cluster centers for the three and clusters of respondents
clusters according to the variables it was cre- (Maximal value here is 1,00)
ated from. There are 22 cases in both the first
and the second cluster, and there are 29 cases Cluster
in the third cluster. skills 1 2 3

physical 0,95 0,78 0,91
The first cluster is a sub-group of participants
who acquired the highest number of skills. All theoretical 0,92 0,45 0,89
the scores (except for organisation and related creation 0,91 0,71 0,83
skills) are over 0.9, which means that these
analytical 0,90 0,57 0,77
respondents were only lacking approximately
organisation 0,79 0,44 0,38
one skill from each group. Although organisa-
tion and related skills have lower scores, they related skills 0,73 0,68 0,64
still have comparatively high scores within the
given skill set, as we have already noted. These
participants consider all of their training (and
the acquired skills) as being the most complete
and useful to their career.
The second cluster gathers the participants

who acquired least skills during their train-
ing. However, this sub-group of participants is
more competent as regards of the organisa-
tion and the associated skills than in the third
cluster. This result concerning the associated
skills could be due to the fact that these par-
ticipants come from schools where musical
instruments courses are given.

Open feedback
The last question of this section asked the
young professionals to provide open feed-
back. 73 out of 73 of the young professionals
consulted had something to say, and most of
them made more than one suggestion. The
exact wording of the question was: “Which
skills would it have been useful to have learned
at school, looking back with what you know from
your professional experience?”. Respondents
did repeat some of the skills and skills that
had been asked about earlier, and if they did
so that suggests that the given skill is all the
more important. The suggestions had been organised
into main groups, as follows:
All the suggestions from this section will be - facilitation of professional integration
presented in categories. Any further details - financial and administrative knowledge
are presented as sub-points within each - additional circus knowledge
category: these are part of the general cat- - related artistic skills
egory, or are paraphrases that do not have
entirely the same meaning. Firstly, many of the respondents would have
liked to have been better prepared for profes-
When the same meaning was suggested more sional integration. Generally they think that
than once, the number of times it was men- as recent graduates they lacked both infor-
tioned is indicated in brackets at the end of mation and skills to find work, and that the
the point. It was later conceptualised that the school should have prepared them better. One
number at the end of a main category means of the respondents described this knowledge
that the category was also mentioned as well simply as the one of “the world outside school”.
as the sub-points. Another suggested that he/she would liked to
be “better prepared for the world of work”.
1 Cluster analysis seeks to identify homogeneous subgroups of cases in a population to establish groups and then analyse
group membership and differences between the groups. Quick clustering is one of the clustering methods based on analysis
of variance (ANOVA) between the items. For further information see Cluster Analysis, Chapter 16, Noruis, M., J., SPSS 17.0
Statistical Procedures Companion, Prentice Hall, 2010.
2 As quick-clustering is not limited by sample size, we were able use this method to basically group together similar individuals
within our relatively small sample group.

The items of this group were the following: As a second group, the young artists men-
tioned that they would have liked to learn
Better knowledge of the circus sector / much more about the management and
the market (4) administrative aspects of their work. Spe-
Promotion of one’s work (10) cific areas where improvements are needed
- know how to present one’s show (4) according to their experience and expecta-
- know how to sell one’s show (8) tions are the following:
- improve knowledge of digital video (8)
- improve knowledge of web-design (2) Administration of work (10)
Know how to face unemployment - international tax laws
- Networking (13) Financing of a production (14)
- know how to talk to programmers (2) - learn about grant applications (5)
- strategies in talking to an employer - financial aspects of having a tent
Self-analysis Legal background of artistic work (3)
- know where you stand in the artistic con- Logistics
text - where to buy equipment
- be able to step back from your own per- Knowledge of technical terms in other lan-
formance guages
Career management
- know your price on the market (3) Thirdly, as for the additional circus knowl-
- draw limits, and say no, when you need to edge, skills and knowledge connected directly
to daily circus work are listed:
Preparation for an itinerant life-style

Preparation for working in groups/compa-
nies and team work (3)
Deeper knowledge of lighting and sound
techniques (7)
Better understanding of safety issues (4)
- rigging (2)
Better acrobatic foundation
Discipline and self-discipline
How to adapt your act
Foundations for a second act (3)

In the survey with young professionals, a lim- Teaching different circus techniques (3)
ited number of theoretical skills or related How to build your own equipment
artistic skills were mentioned (7 skills all
More “passing” - group juggling
in all). It is very interesting to note that the
3rd category of skills (related artistic skills) Mechanics
young artists suggested is a much longer Sign-language
list of artistic skills associated with the field. Independent research
This category contains skills and knowledge
Yoga
which could be qualified as abstract or as
connected skills. The number of skills men-
tioned here is rather high, but few of them
were mentioned more than ones or twice.
We notice that one of the categories of skills
here is relative to a particular discipline. The
suggestions for a bigger access to the fol-
lowing skills were made:
More milestones in creating

a performance (3)
- deeper knowledge of circus writing (3)
Mise-en-piste (circus staging)
- choreography
- scenography (2)
- dramaturgy
Costume creation: conception and sewing (3)
Ability to play a musical instrument (5)
- music (2)
Knowledge of the circus field
and related art forms
- circus (2)
- theatre and directing (2)
- film history
- street arts
Anatomy
- understanding of the body
- body analysis
- body management
Dance (4)

conclusion
Conclusion
of Miroir 2- Section 2
The aim of the online consultation of young professionals was to create

a dialogue between the FEDEC, the young graduates from which they graduated
from. The dialogue was made possible through a posterior evaluation of the key
skills learned during their training in vocational schools.
The survey allowed the young professionals to Thus, it can be concluded that the students’
express themselves anonymously and to freely opinions on the weaknesses of their training
formulate suggestions to improve training cur- are in accordance with their suggestions.
ricula for the future generations of students.
They could reflect on their professional experi- Unfortunately, due to the low response rate,
ence (1 to 5 years) and on new skills. we were not able to analyse the skills in rela-
tion to the respondents’ background infor-
The results of the survey indicate that the mation nor to draw conclusions on the whole
respondents learned the majority of skills population of young circus professionals.
mentioned in the questionnaire at school.
Moreover, the young professionals find these
skills useful to their work career. The mobile
and polyglot participants were very eager to
communicate their opinions in the open ques-
tion. Their feedback was very complete and
precise, allowing their suggestions to be clas-
sified into several groups. their suggestions
are very detailed for skills that they believed
they hadn’t acquired, such as organisational
and management skills and artistic skills
related to circus. Their suggestions are very
detailed for skills which they stated not to have
acquired like organisational and management
skills and artistic skills related to circus.

03
DISCUSSION
final conclusion

final concluSion
Miroir | Part 2 - Sections 1 and 2
The following section aims to initiate a dialogue between the two principal
actors of the labour market (employers and employees), with the additional
contribution of the FEDEC representing professional circus schools.
It will be based on the juxtaposition of the problems identified by the sector
and questions and suggestions formulated by the young professionals.
A comparison between the results obtained from the young professionals
and the categories of skills identified by the employers will be
the first element of the dialogue.
First of all, it is important to underline the To return to the skills required of young circus
high degree of coherence between the con- professionals in more detail, the employers
tents of the schools’ teaching programmes, stressed the following skills: professional-
the skills the employers want when employ- ism on stage, the ability to work easily within
ing young professionals, and the skills the a team and the capacity to create bonds and
young circus professionals described as relationships in a community. The latter skill
essential to be imparted during training. was not mentioned by the young profes-
These three elements agree that essential sionals. As far as professionalism on stage
skills are technical knowledge, artistic qual- is concerned, the main issues are safety
ity and the human factor. The results of the and equipment. A quarter of the employers
two surveys allow us to confirm that these underlined difficulties because of the lack of
three sets of skills are universally present knowledge of the young professionals in this
among graduates. The richness of the area. Indeed, 21% of the young professionals
present study lies in the debate and the sug- stated that they had not acquired the skill of
gestions made on the complementary and evaluation of the level of safety in a working
related skills that the artists need to acquire environment. Moreover, the control of safety
in order to integrate more easily into the pro- and the equipment was mentioned 6 times by
fessional circus world in Europe and beyond. the young professionals as a skill that should
be better taught.

another skill which deserves to be developed that young artists participated in training and
within the curricula is knowledge of lighting additional dance workshops after graduation:
and sound techniques. The former students they underlined that dancing skills had not
did not mention this skill as such, but rather been developed enough at school. In answer to
centred on the lighting techniques of their the open-ended question, they also came back
own shows. 63% of the participants learned to the fact that this skill was missing in their
about lighting, and this skill was mentioned school curricula. The efforts of young profes-
7 times in the open-ended question as miss- sionals underline that this skill is really needed
ing from the curricula. It is also not by chance for a career as a professional circus artist.

The expression “to work easily in a team” per- Promotion material is a common issue for
sonal values and attitudes, such as open- both the sector and the young professionals.
mindedness, flexibility and external skills for Employers mentioned that they constantly
interacting within the work. Some employ- use promotion tools and they also insisted
ers asserted that teamwork was a problem on the importance of informal channels as
for a large number of young professionals. communication tools for casting and for their
This statement seems to be confirmed by the selection of shows. However, young profes-
results obtained in the survey: in spite of the sionals stated that they would have been very
fact that 96 % of them declare that they learnt happy to have a better understanding of the
this skill, three people declared that team- market when graduating. The most significant
work was not developed enough at school. open feedback focuses on this field.
This probably can be explained by the fact that
teamwork is approached through from vari- Consequently, the majority of the young pro-
ous angles and at various levels. fessionals underline the lack of possibilities
during their studies for building professional
Consequently, it would be interesting to exam- networks, which highlights that the role of
ine in detail how teamwork or work in groups is structured but informal networks identified
taught within schools and how it can be applied by the employer is of capital importance in the
in professional contexts (collective creations, sector. In the field of direct promotion tech-
adaptation within a company, etc.). Lack of niques, many young professionals would have
knowledge of the requirements of an itinerant liked to have had better skills and knowledge
lifestyle was also raised. Students as well as especially in digital video and website creation
employers mentioned it as a field where lack in order to create their own promotional mate-
of relevant skills can be a problem during col- rial. However, the participants who had access
laboration. The next issue is administration to this type of training did not find it very useful
and management. The schools’ dilemma has in general. Thus, a careful approach to intro-
already been mentioned: whether students ducing this type of course into the curricula
should be taught to manage and organise their is crucial: the specific course must serve the
work or not. Looking at the former students’ actual needs of students.
feedback, the answer is a clear “Yes”. These
skills are generally poor and nearly half of When the employers were asked to rank
the respondents mentioned them in the open selection criteria, creativity scored the high-
question. The definitions of the skills that the est. From the survey of young professionals,
young professionals feel they are lacking are creativity was the skill with the highest rate of
sometimes too general, but in other cases, acquisition. This suggests a harmony between
where the students have learned some general schools and the broader sector about the pri-
skills, they specified more precise require- mordial importance of this skill.
ments. This is the case for administration and
paperwork for instance: young professionals
expressed a wish to learn more about interna-
tional tax laws.

In general, the sector is satisfied with young When the employers were asked to rank
graduates and although professional inte- selection criteria, creativity scored the high-
gration is not always smooth from the out- est. From the survey of young professionals,
set, young professionals eventually learn the creativity was the skill with the highest rate of
skills that they are lacking through practice. acquisition. This suggests a harmony between
Of course, this could be improved by prepara- schools and the broader sector about the pri-
tion at school. The results of this survey aim mordial importance of this skill. In general, the
at providing the schools with useful starting sector is satisfied with young graduates and
points for their reflections on and evaluation although professional integration is not always
of these issues. smooth from the outset, young professionals
eventually learn the skills that they are lack-
Of course it is up to each school to decide ing through practice. Of course, this could be
whether these skills should form part of their improved by preparation at school.
curricula or not. But it seems that the young
artists think that school is the best place to
learn these skills. According to them, the
teaching of these skills in vocational schools
would prepare them for their professional life
in a more optimal way.
When the employers were asked to rank selection criteria,

creativity scored the highest. From the survey of young professionals,
creativity was the skill with the highest rate of acquisition.
This suggests a harmony between schools and the broader sector about
the primordial importance of this skill.

Recommendations

Recommendations
To improve professional - maintain a special section of the FEDEC

integration channels website dedicated to graduates of member
FEDEC’s mission is to provide a common schools
language for dialogue between profession- - undertake studies and finance research on
als from the circus sector, and especially transversal themes of vocational training
between schools, students, professional art- in circus arts
ists and their current or future employers. - organise regular FEDEC roundtables
between the education and
FEDEC can play the role of facilitator in order professional sector
to help improve communication between the - improve the relations of circus arts
sector and training institutions. As a Euro- schools with other art schools or depart-
pean and international network representing ments to create bridges with other
interests of vocational schools, FEDEC is in a performing arts (dance, theatre) in order
position to initiate the construction of more to share the reflexions on topics such
structured bridges between the two parties. as skills or professional inclusion
Some specific recommendations that have - to establish privileged contacts with
been highlighted as relevant by the studies other European networks working for the
conducted over the last two years. As all com- improvement of the vocational training
munication is at least two-directional, the
market also needs to approach the schools in Secondly, it would be useful for the schools
order to create a fruitful dialogue. To achieve to follow former students more closely.
this, the visibility of the schools needs to be This would increase the schools visibility
strengthened. within the professionals’ networks, would
allow easier integration of new graduates,
The following actions should be undertaken or and would also keep the school informed of
continued by the FEDEC to increase visibility: developments in the sector. The FEDEC has to
- continue online update and newsfeed about act as a link taking part in the communication
member schools - www.fedec.eu between member schools, their graduates
- continue to present the pedagogical and and the sector through mutualised tools.
artistic work of the FEDEC schools through
communication tools and within the Finally, we would like to emphasise Pas-
framework of international pedagogical cal Jacob’s recommendation for the crea-
and artistic exchanges and professional tion of an international glossary of techni-
festivals cal terms. This is not a project that would
single-handedly provide opportunities for
communication, but it would help to improve
the quality of communication between the - formally analyse the role and the perform-
different segments of the sector, through ance of each student in the graduate shows
the facilitation of the highly technical com- - provide more opportunities for internships
munication already taking place between and other forms of direct experience in the
the various actors of the field. professional sector
- provide more opportunities for students
To improve training and teachers to see shows and analyse
The present analysis and the skills inventory them provide more formal or informal
established can be used as: opportunities to participate in exchange
- a tool for the FEDEC schools for future programmes between schools
reflexions on the professional integration - provide consultations and lectures
of young graduates with health professionals on psychological
- a reference point gathering key skills for and physical aspects within the circus
professional artists in order to facilitate artist profession
further professional development
- a tool for employers and other profes- The FEDEC wishes to continue the work initi-
sionals of the circus arts for successful ated in this study and to question skills which
human resources management at all we divided here into savoir-faire, savoir-être,
stages of the selection (recruitment, and savoir-vivre. If the first series of skills
staff development etc.). more obvious to characterise, the two other
are related to personal values and attitudes
The young professionals surveyed made and are more difficult to qualify but also to
some suggestions about how to resolve some transmit because they do not have theoretical
of the issues identified in the open question: or technical support. They are linked to edu-
- ask graduating students to write a project cation and can be transmitted through spe-
and to set up a fundraising strategy for the cific pedagogical approaches and relations.
given project
The FEDEC wishes to continue the work initiated in this study and to question
skills which we divided here into savoir-faire, savoir-être, and savoir-vivre.
If the first series of skills more obvious to characterise, the two other
are related to personal values and attitudes and are more difficult to qualify but
also to transmit because they do not have theoretical or technical support.

The improvement of training in vocational cir- - create projects and support students to
cus schools also goes through a more signifi- discover the production techniques, tour-
cant development of these two “knowledges”. ing, communication, administration and
technical requirements and related fields
The Fresh Circus seminar, which was - allow the acquisition of skills within the
organised by the Circostrada network, and course of different types of professional
took place September, 25 and 26, 2008, at ‘immersion’, in the framework of partner-
Parc de la Villette in Paris, also made rec- ships between schools and the sector
ommendations regarding the improvement (performance or production venues)
of training, highlighting the importance of - support partnerships between schools and
experience and the development of the three professional organisations to create a pilot
knowledges. The participants, major actors project “First contract after training”
from the circus arts sector, concluded that - The demands and supply in terms of
to improve training there should be more contracts and other forms of professional
artistic exchanges between students, more integration could be gathered in a data
master classes and residencies or intern- base. It will facilitate the contact between
ships in private companies. They also con- the young graduates and the professional
cluded that not all skills can be taught through organisations that produce or host shows
formal education, and that some skills are and companies.
only learned through experience.
The FEDEC agrees with the conclusion that

young professionals need time and experience
to learn. After the training in vocational schools,
that are at the beginning of the employment
chain, the young graduate should go through an
accompanied professional integration.
Concrete actions of the FEDEC and its mem-

bers to facilitate integration are the following:
- better dialogue and listening between the
schools and the labour market to favour
mutual comprehension through various
forms of meetings
- promote and create more meetings
between current students, former gradu-
ates and professional artists to rethink the
current models of professional integration
and the professional circus artists’ work-
ing conditions

Suggestions
Suggestions
for further research
During the present surveys, several ques- What are the strategies
tions were raised. The list below suggests used by the young professionals
some issues connected to our topic that could to position themselves
be used for future FEDEC researches: in the sector?
Danner and Galodé underline the large variety
The role and limits of the school of the activities and the types of employment
in professional insertion in the sector of visual arts. It is all the more
Which ways, which networks? Which rela- present in the sector of the circus arts. These
tions with the private companies? What two authors examine the positioning strate-
productions should be initiated during the gies, it would be interesting to study the strat-
training and which touring should be pro- egies which the circus professionals use to find
posed? New researches could be initiated their place in such a heterogeneous sector.
in order to specify the effective differences
in professional integration, according to the Vocational and occupational
contacts and opportunities initiated during retraining and reconversion
the training period. to related occupations
The recalling of typical trajectories of indi-
What does it mean viduals could also help to draw up a picture
to be a professional of the sector, which is currently undergoing
in the circus sector? changes and mutations. The reconversion
The question of professional identification could be approached as well as the most com-
briefly treated in the section dealing with mon choices of reconversion within differ-
the young professionals’ background is very ent trades related to circus or within related
interesting from the point of view of profes- professions in the following fields: pedagogy,
sional identity as well as its relation to the backstage techniques and rigging, communi-
source of income. cation, production or touring.

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appendix
Appendix
Survey of employers of circus sector

Questionnaire used in 2008 and 2009 survey
Context 8 Where do you mainly

1 Company / Organisation Name search for your artists?
□ Festivals
□ Sports competitions
2 Area of activity within
□ Agencies
the sector (circus, cabaret etc.)
□ Other ��
3 Size of the organisation 9 What guides your choices when select-

seating capacity �� ing?
number of employees ��
10i Do you hire artists that

4 Status of the organisation
have graduated from
□ exclusively private
circus schools?
□ exclusively public
□ Exclusively
□ public-private partnership
□ Sometimes
□ other ��
□ Never
5 Regularity of performances 10ii Why, or why not?

performances every ��
11 Do you train artists for

Requirements
specific requirements?
6 On average, how often do you hire new
□ Yes □ No
artists and how many do you hire each
□ Other ��
time?
. .......... artists every ��
12 Would you consider

7i Do you have a casting department? engaging an external
□ Yes □ No organisation in order
to help you create a show?
7ii If yes, how is it structured?
□ Yes □ No
□ Other ��

Expectations 19 Do you think that it would be useful for
13 What are your expectations (artistic, artists to have entrepreneurial skills?
technical, human etc.) of your artists □ Yes □ No
during a show? □ Other ��
20 Do you think that it would be useful for
artists
14 What do you think the expectations of
to have skills as a circus
the market in general are?
arts teacher/trainer?
□ Yes □ No
15 What are the expectations of your area □ Other ��
in particular?
21 What proportion of male
to female artists do you hire, on aver-
16i In your opinion, what are the advantages
age?
of school training?
. ......... % male
16ii What are the disadvantages? . ......... % female
17 What do you expect most from an artist?

Resources
Please place these qualities in order of
Apprenticeships offer students the possibil-
priority (where 1 is most important and
ity to complete professional work experience
5 is least important):
during their training. This allows future art-
□ Availability
ists to evaluate the needs of companies, and to
□ Open-mindedness
understand the daily demands of this field.
□ Creativity
□ Exceptional technical level
22 Would you support
□ Adaptability to the requirements of
the integration of apprentices into your
your sector (daily life, frequency of per-
company?
formances, ability to work as a team)
□ Yes, on a regular basis
□ Yes, occasionally
18 Do you have any criticisms to make □ No
regarding the artists available to work
in general, and working in your area in 23 Do you have any further
particular? comments or suggestions?

FEDEC Seminar 2008
“Feat without mind or mind without feat?
Which kind of training for which kind of artists for which areas of activity?,”
May, 23 and 24, 2008, Académie Fratellini, La Plaine Saint-Denis (France)
Liste of participants to the seminar
Moderators Observers
Mr Pascal Jacob FR Mr Walter Ferrero, Cirkus Cirkör SE
Mr Philippe Haenen, Mr Martin Gerbier, Centre des Arts
Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque BE du Cirque Balthazar FR
Ms Anny Goyer, Ecole Nationale des Arts
Invited du Cirque de Rosny-sous-Bois FR
Mr Christophe Aebi, Cirque Starlight CH Mr Ivar Hecksher, Danshögskolan SE
Ms Agathe Alie, Cirque du Soleil CA Mr Alain Laëron, Académie Fratellini FR
Mr Artyom Badalian, Art of Artistic DE Mr Marc Lalonde, Ecole Nationale
Mr Guy Carrara, Cie Archaos FR de Cirque CA
Mr Georg Daxner, Festival Winterfest AT Ms Anne-Elisabeth Leboulanger,
Mr Marc Fouilland, Circuits – Scène Atoucirque FR
conventionnée pour les Arts du Cirque FR Mr Donald Lehn, Escuela de Circo Carampa ES
Ms Line Giasson, Cirque du Soleil CA Ms Martine Leroy, Centre des Arts
Mr Carl Gustag Jernström, Cirkus Finlandia FI du Cirque Balthazar FR
Ms Claude Lemay, Dragone / Productions Mr Tim Roberts, The Circus Space UK
du Dragon BE Mr Dominique Toutlemonde, Ecole Nationale
Mr Johan Mast, Vlaams Centrum de Cirque de Châtellerault FR
voor Circuskunsten BE Ms Camille Vlérick, European Federation
Mr Joan Montanyes, Teatro Circo Price ES of Professional Circus Schools -FEDEC EU
Mr Gaëtan Morency, Cirque du Soleil CA
Mr Alex Nicolodi, Turtle Production FR
Mr Arie Oudenes, European Circus
Association EU
Mr Alain Pacherie, Association française
pour le Cirque de Demain FR
Mr Frank Reinhardt, Wintergarten DE

Complemenary survey of employers of circus artists
Liste of persons surveyed in Auch (France), Budapest (Hungary),
Zagreb (Croatia) and by e-mail and phone
1. Ms Leila Jones,Roundhouse UK
2. Ms Evelyn Daxner - Eghartner, Winterfest AU
Mr Georg Daxner, Winterfest AU
3. Mr Paco Bialek, La Cellule FR
4. Ms Cécile Beretta, Cie Pré-occupé FR
5. Ms Kiki Mukkonen, Subtopia SE
6. Mr Wille Christiani, Circus Arts – Artist Producation Consulting SE
7. Ms Ali Williams, NoFitState Circus UK
8. Mr Wim Claessen, Festival Circo Circolo NL
9. Mr Tomi Purovaara, Finnish Circus Information centre FI
Mr Riku Lievonen, Finnish Circus Information centre FI
10. Mr George Martinez, La Grainerie FR
11. Ms Claire Peysson, La Cascade FR
12. Ms Mathilde Ochs, Scènes de Cirque FR
13. Mr Philip Haenen, Franco Dragone productions BE
14. Mr Arie Oudens, European Circus Association UE
15. Mr Yannis Jean, SCC Syndicat du Cirque de Création FR
16. Ms Zsofia Molnár, TRAFÓ, Contemporary Art House HU
17. Mr Ivan Kralj, Festival Novog Circusa HR
18. Ms Gallyas Veronika, Cirkuszinhaz HU
19. Mr Krisztián Kristóf, International Circus Festival of Budapest HU
20. Ms Anne Kumps, Les Halles BE
21. Mr Urs Pilz, Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo Monte-Carlo

Survey of young professionnal circus artists 2009
On line questionnary
* = Obligatory
Step 1 - Professional 07 What countries did you work in over the

01 What is your main occupation? * last two years/ since your graduation?
(The main occupation that is ��
the main source of income for you

currently) Country 1 *
02 Do you have a secondary occupation?* ��
□ Yes □ No other countries

> Yes If the country is not in the list,
03 Which? �� please write it down here
Country 2
04 What is your current job-market status? * other countries��
□ full-time employment Country 3
□ part-time employment other countries��
□ artistic contract Country 4
□ self-employment other countries ��
□ unemployed Country 5
□ other �� other countries ��
> other (*) Step 2 - Skills 1

�� 01 Did you learn the following skills while
you were doing your training?
05 Have you followed any vocational train- 02 How to keep fit and able to work *
ing/ workshop since your graduation? * □ Yes □ No
□ Yes □ No > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
> Yes is for you in your circus related work.
What workshop(s) / training (s)? > No: Would you have had the possibility
Please name the workshops/trainings, to learn it at school?
describe what did you learn and
in what way it was useful for your 03 Dramaturgy of circus shows *
professional career. □ Yes □ No
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
06 How many hours did you spend in total in is for you in your circus related work.
these workshop(s)/ training(s)? > No: Would you have had the possibility
Please estimate. �� to learn it at school?

04 To be able to recognize the artistic 09 The scientific knowledge linked to circus
influences in your work * arts - physics,anatomy, physiology etc. *
□ Yes □ No □ Yes □ No
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
is for you in your circus related work. is for you in your circus related work.
> No: Would you have had the possibility > No: Would you have had the possibility
to learn it at school? to learn it at school?
05 To play a musical instrument * 10 Creation of your work *

□ Yes □ No □ Yes □ No
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
is for you in your circus related work. is for you in your circus related work.
> No: Would you have had the possibility > No: Would you have had the possibility
to learn it at school? to learn it at school?
06 To speak in public about your work * 11 Judge the safety of a working

□ Yes □ No environment *
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill □ Yes □ No
is for you in your circus related work. > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
> No: Would you have had the possibility is for you in your circus related work.
to learn it at school? > No: Would you have had the possibility
to learn it at school?
07 To perform in multidisciplinary contexts *
□ Yes □ No 12 To contextualize your performance in
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill the field and to see what you are doing
is for you in your circus related work. belongs where *
> No: Would you have had the possibility □ Yes □ No
to learn it at school? > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
is for you in your circus related work.
08 To use acting in your performance * > No: Would you have had the possibility
□ Yes □ No to learn it at school?
is for you in your circus related work. 13 To create and produce an act *
> No: Would you have had the possibility □ Yes □ No
to learn it at school? > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
> No: Would you have had the possibility

14 To use music in your performance * 03 The financial and legal context you work
□ Yes □ No in and the practical implications *
15 To be able to communicate with your 04 Analyse your own work *
audience through your work * □ Yes □ No
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill is for you in your circus related work.
is for you in your circus related work. > No: Would you have had the possibility
> No: Would you have had the possibility to learn it at school?
05 To dance *
16 Foreign languages * □ Yes □ No
06 To think about a costume that is both
17 Knowledge in digital video * practical and goes well with the
□ Yes □ No dramaturgy *
Step 3 - Skills 2
01 Did you learn the following skills while 07 The history and aesthetics of circus arts *
you were doing your training? □ Yes □ No
02 Team work * > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
□ Yes □ No is for you in your circus related work.
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill > No: Would you have had the possibility
is for you in your circus related work. to learn it at school?

08 Creation of promotion material for your 13 To teach circus arts to others *
own work * □ Yes □ No
14 Analyse and interpret the performance
09 To understand the traditions and the of others *
concepts and principles of different □ Yes □ No
circus discipline(s) * > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
□ Yes □ No is for you in your circus related work.
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill > No: Would you have had the possibility
is for you in your circus related work. to learn it at school?
to learn it at school? 15 To act *
□ Yes □ No
10 Have a better understanding of your > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
body * is for you in your circus related work.
□ Yes □ No > No: Would you have had the possibility
> Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill to learn it at school?
> No: Would you have had the possibility 16 To use circus vocabulary *
to learn it at school? □ Yes □ No
11 To be creative about your work * is for you in your circus related work.
> No: Would you have had the possibility 17 To think about the lighting of your per-
to learn it at school? formance *
□ Yes □ No
12 Management of your professional > Yes: Please evaluate how useful this skill
development * is for you in your circus related work.

18 Coordinating different aspects of 06 What was your specialisation? *
production: administrative, technical,
logistical and financial * 07 Do you have a secondary
□ Yes □ No specialisation?*
is for you in your circus related work. > Yes: Other ��
> No: Would you have had the possibility Which?��
08 What year did you graduate? *
Step 4 - Skills 3
01 What are the skills you would have 09 Did you participate in any exchange
found useful to have learned in school programs while you were in school? *
looking back with your professional □ Yes □ No
experience? * > Yes: How many times have you partici-
Please indicate the skills pated in an exchange program during
your training?
Step 5 - Personal 1 For how long did the longest exchange
01 You are: * program last?
□ Woman □ Man How useful it was in your training? Think
02 What year were you born? * back to the most useful one
03 Where are you from? * 10 Did you attend any other school or train-
other countries ing center before the last attended? *
04 What countries have you lived in until □ Yes □ No
your graduation? > Yes: How many schools did you attend in
Country 1 * total?
other countries �� What school did you attend previous to
Country 2 the last school mentioned?
other countries �� Other ��
Country 3 What school did you attend previous to
other countries �� the last 2 schools mentioned?
Country 4 Other ��
other countries ��
Country 5 11 How many years of training did you do in
other countries �� total? *
05 What circus school did you attend last? *

Other
If the school is not in the list, please
write it down here��

Step 6 - Personal 2 definition of type 1 and 2 schools
01 What is your mother tongue? *
– another language FEDEC member schools are divided into
two sub-categories, which are:
02 Do you use your mother tongue in your Sub-category 1
circus arts related work? Type 1: Higher Education institutions that
– Please estimate from 1-10 deliver a qualification recognised by the state.
These are schools or institutions that offer
03 What other language do you work in circus arts training or programmes, which
most often? last a minimum duration of three years, at the
– another language end of which the student is ready to enter the
– Evaluate your level: professional sector/the job market and is pre-
how well do you speak this language? sented with a state-recognised qualification.
– Please estimate from 1-10 The school or institution must have legal sta-
tus. Its programme must be written and sub-
04 What other language do you speak? mitted to the Federation. Enrolled students
– another language must be studying full-time. Students are
– Evaluate your level: accepted on the condition that they are quali-
how well do you speak this language? fied to higher secondary education level. This
– Please estimate from 1-10 full member sub-category has the right to six
– How useful is it in your circus (6) representatives on the Managing Board.
arts-related work?
Sub-category 2
05 What other language do you speak? Type 2: Preparatory and/or vocational schools.
– another language These are schools or institutions that offer full-
– Evaluate your level: time training programmes in order to prepare
how well do you speak this language? the student:
– Please estimate from 1-10 - either with the experience and qualifica-
– How useful is it in your circus tions needed for the student to be admitted
arts-related work? into a higher education institution, in which
case the preparatory training should last a
06 What other language do you speak? minimum of one year;
– another language - or for professional life, in which case
– Evaluate your level: the professional training should last a
how well do you speak this language? minimum of two years and prepare the
– Please estimate from 1-10 student to enter the job market. The school
– How useful is it in your circus or institution must have legal status. The
arts-related work? programme that it offers must be written
and submitted to the Federation. This full
member sub-category has the right to a
maximum of six (6) representatives on the
Managing Board.
Primary and secondary Specialisations of young professionals
What was your Specialisation?
Swinging trapeze -
Aerial acrobatics
Floor acrobatics
Juggling - Object
Static trapeze -
Aerial cradle -
German wheel
Korean plank
Equilibristics
Aerial straps
manipulation
Teeterboard
Chinese pole
Cloud swing
Trampoline
Rope - Silks
Slackrope
Tightrope
Cyr wheel
Clowning
Total
What is your secondary
Specialisation?
Floor acrobatics / 1 1 1 1 1 1 6
Equilibristics 1 / 1 1 1 1 5
Aerial acrobatics / 1 1 2 4
Trampoline / 1 1 1 3
Unicycle 1 1 2
German wheel/ 1 1 1 1 4
Cyr wheel
Static trapeze 1 1 / 5 7
Rope - Silks
Flying trapeze 1 1 2
Aerial cradle 1 / 1
Korean plank
Juggling 1 3 1 / 5
Object manipulation
Clowning 1 1 3 / 5
Equestrian art 1 1 2
Fixed Cloud swing 1 1
Other 1 1 1 1 4
Dance 1 1
Did not have second 1 3 2 1 1 5 1 3 4 21

Specialisation
Total 4 6 9 1 3 2 1 2 11 2 14 3 1 12 2 73

Acknowledgements
FEDEC would like to thank all of the participants for their time and effort,
and the valuable input they have provided for this project
All members of the FEDEC network

Former students of FEDEC member schools
Professionals from the circus sector
Miroir coordination and realisation team
FEDEC thanks those who have permitted the realisation of this project
and who support its activities:
European Comission (Education and Culture DG - Lifelong Learning
Programme), the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA),
Cirque du Soleil, Franco Dragone Entertainment Group and Cirque Phénix.
Miroir project – Part 2. Analysis of key competences of young professional circus artists
A publication of the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools ( FEDEC)
Publisher: FEDEC aisbl / Timothy Roberts President / Author of the analysis report and of the surveys: Zita Herman /
General coordination of the project: Danijela Jovic’ / Financial management: Camille Vlérick and Danijela Jovic’ /
Translation: Muriel Van Leemput and Samia Kheliff / Web development –online survey: Matthieu Moser@Nameo /
Data files management: Zsófia Ignácz / Online survey and publication graphic design: Émilie Anseeuw /
Printing: JCBGAM, Printing Solutions
Special thanks to Tim Roberts, FEDEC President, Mathilde Robin, Project Coordinator and the FEDEC Board
for their contribution.
© photos cover: Bisellach-Roig Gaëlle © Florence Delahaye / P2 Abdelhakmi Mehdi / P4 Steggles Vicki / P7 Pereira Celso / P8 Lundstedt Sara /
P11 Walters Jessica © Bertil Nilsson / P12 Mastropietro Lorenzo © Toofan Hashemi / P14 Carré Curieux / P16 Ferraris Viola / P20 Lorenzo Mas-
tropietro © Martina Nasini / P23 Bisellach-Roig Gaëlle © Florence Delahaye / P25 Huguenin Jeremie / P29 Choinka Robert / P30 Violaine Bishop
© Elsa Bishop / P33 Sparks Arron / P34 Virdis Nicola / P37 Lopez Rafael Rico / P38 Véronique Provencher © David Cannon / P40 Mazzei Matteo
© Tobias Fischer / P44 Giannini Fabrizio / P46 Anthony Nicolas © Ianis Cima / P49 Bisellach-Roig Gaëlle © Florence Delahaye / P56 Panter Amy
© Thea Panter / P61 Violaine Bishop © Xavier Claes / P65 Alcalde Zenaida / P67 Ferraris Viola / P68 Desprez Sara / P70 Sparks Arron / P72 Florent
Lestage © Grégory Arsenal / P74 Maud Ambroise / P76 Havenkamp Max / P79 Ben Hopper (NICA) / P83 Lundstedt Sara © Bertil Nilsson / P85
Annette Fiaschi / P87 Violaine Bishop © Antoine Falguerolles / P86 Proietti Giuliano © FEDEC 2009
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission (DG Education and Culture - Lifelong Learning Programme).
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made
of the information contained therein.

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Miroir project

overview of the Miroir project 08

01 Survey of employerS – profeSSionals from the circuS artS Sector  12

2009 | Miroir pArt 2 - section 1 | coMpleMentAry survey of eMployers 16

02 Survey of young profeSSionnalS – the new generation of circuS artiStS  38

AnAlysis of the results 49

overAll conclusion of Miroir pArt 2 - section 1 AnD 2  74

suggestions for further reseArch 83

Created in 1998, the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools

FEDEC’s main vocation is to support the development and evolu-

To this end the feDec sets up different activities:

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 3

4 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

This publication contains the results and the analysis of a survey

FEDEC schools develop their educational programmes through a

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 5

This survey is important to our network because we want to regu-

Our programmes aim to prepare students to enter the world of

Tim Roberts, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDEC

6 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

The European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC)

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 9

1 The complete list of the interviewees can be found in the appendix.

10 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

It is the FEDEC’s hope that by conducting this

Note to the reader:

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 11

1 A list of participants is available in the appendix.

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 15

16 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 17

18 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

1 For an analysis of the various issues, see Forette, 1998.

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 19

Complementary survey The interviews fall into the category of the

20 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

Overview of interviewees Table 1

board. Special attention was paid to some key Talent agencies 1

Non-competitive festivals 3 (8) 3

senting 21 different organisations. Although Artistic counselling and support 1

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 21

22 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 23

24 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

The present complementary

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 25

Employers stressed how difficult it is for young graduates

26 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 27

Exceptional technical level 2 6 7 5 1 66

28 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 29

30 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

Miroir project part 2 FEDEC 31

32 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

34 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

After the results of the complementary survey of employers were

36 FEDEC Miroir project part 2

overview of the Miroir project 08

01 Survey of employerS – profeSSionals from the circuS artS Sector 12

2009 | Miroir pArt 2 - section 1 | coMpleMentAry survey of eMployers 16

02 Survey of young profeSSionnalS – the new generation of circuS artiStS 38

AnAlysis of the results 49

overAll conclusion of Miroir pArt 2 - section 1 AnD 2 74

suggestions for further reseArch 83