CirkAround is a project of Circuito CLAPS in partnership with 4 Italian and 12 foreign realities from 7 different countries. It aims to internationalise the careers of contemporary circus artists and organisers under35, thanks to the organisation of training and experiential events in Italy and abroad. With CirkAround, young people – selected by a national call – have the opportunity to take their company outside the national borders, enhancing their skills and starting a professional career in Italy and abroad.

The project responds to the BOARDING PASS PLUS call of the Italian Ministry of Culture, which aims to facilitate access to training, exchange and experience in the international performing arts scene for Italian actors, performers and dancers under35.

Circuito CLAPS has been the leader of CirkAround since its first edition in 2019, being the winner of Boarding Pass Plus for four consecutive editions in the circus sector. To date, 35 performers/organisers have been involved.

For the first time, for the 2022-2024 edition, the Ministerial call has a two-year horizon and no longer an annual one. This contributes to making CirkAround a journey, a path consisting of numerous stages. Thanks to the project, in fact, the under35s have the opportunity to:

• participate to masterclasses with Italian and international sector experts. The topics covered range from company administration to the communication of one’s artistic project, from fundraising through calls to the distribution of a show, from legislative frameworks to festival planning. On the international level, the masterclasses concern contexts in countries other than Italy and the teachers involved (artists, programmers, directors, teachers of circus schools, etc.) share some of their best practices and experiences.
• create networks, building bridges that start from Italy and connect it to the most diverse European and non-European contexts. Professionals from all over the world collaborate with CirkAround and make their incredible skills and energy available to the project.
• participate to festivals, meetings, workshops and ad hoc labs all over Europe, to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of major events as protagonists. The route also includes an internship period in the teams of the Italian project partners, in order to deal first-hand with the organisational and logistical aspects of complex events.

In addition to the international partners, the project can count on 4 ‘satellites’, Italian artists living and working abroad, who accompanied the young people on a number of stages, sharing their experience and illustrating the context of the country in which they currently work. They are: Andrea Fidelio (Belgium), Rocco Manfredi (France), Pasquale Bergamotto and Fabrizio Giannini (Spain).