Training jugglers by jugglers in professional circus schools: pedagogical issues

Start the professional day of the ^17th Rencontre des Jonglages by taking part in another Matinée de la revue Jonglages. Each year, these exchanges are an opportunity to tackle a juggling-related issue.

The magazine’s editorial committee, along with several juggling teachers from professional circus schools, are delighted to invite you to Bondy for the first time.
Come and listen to and take part in a discussion on the content and forms of learning they provide for jugglers wishing to become artists. How do they guide them along the paths of interpretation and creation? With regard to the skills targeted, the exercises proposed and the practices involved, this round table will provide an initial overview of what is involved in training jugglers by jugglers.

With : Gaëlle Bisellach-Roig, Olivier Burlaud and Morgan Cosquer.

These exchanges will be published in Jonglages magazine, and will be moderated by Cyrille Roussial, its editor-in-chief.

Practical information

Friday, May 16, 2025, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Espace Chauzy, esplanade de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bondy entrance

Free admission, meeting in French

Speakers

Gaëlle Bisellach-Roig studied juggling and aerial fabric at the turn of the millennium at the École supérieure des arts du cirque in Brussels (Ésac), where she began experimenting with image projection.
She then worked for three years with the Compagnie du Hanneton as a dancer and juggler(La Veillée des Abysses, 2004, directed by James Thierrée). In 2005, she founded La Manœuvre – a company specializing in the manipulation of objects, bodies and images – and in 2008, the Delirium Lumens company with Franck Française. Together, they create monumental scenographies in which the audience is immersed in low-tech, hand-animated projections.
Since the mid-2000s, Gaëlle Bisellach has been teaching at Ésac in Brussels, where she now works closely with jugglers and teachers Mikel Ayala and Benjamin Richter. She also gives regular courses to jugglers in professional circus schools, notably at the Centre Régional des Arts du Cirque de Lomme (where she was also responsible for training jugglers from 2010 to 2020) and at Le Lido (ÉsacTo’Lido – since its accreditation in 2019). She has also lectured at the Académie Fratellini and the Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH, formerly DOCH).

Olivier Burlaud received his initial training at the École nationale du cirque Annie Fratellini in the 1990s, then went on to do a host of internships and collaborations involving different approaches to objects and physical theater.
He took part in several Cirque du Grand Céleste creations in Paris during the 2000s. At the same time, with Cirque Albatros, he developed a theatrical and choreographic language at the frontiers of creative circus and contemporary forms of object manipulation(AlbaTros ou l’histoire vraie de l’homme qui voulait être un oiseau, 2002; Sentimental manteau, 2006; Louche/pas louche, 2013…). His shows have been presented in France and abroad at street theater festivals, in yurts and big tops, and in theaters. He also puts his eye to work on other creative projects, such as Départ Flip (compagnie Virevolt, 2017), À tiroirs ouverts (compagnie Majordome, 2019) and L’hiver rude (2021) and Vilain Chien (2024) by La Générale Posthume. He also participates in the activities of the Maison des Jonglages and its magazine.
A state-qualified circus teacher, he regularly teaches jugglers at the École supérieure des arts du cirque de Bruxelles and the École de cirque de Lyon since the late 2000s, and at the Centre national des arts du cirque de Châlons-en-Champagne since 2015. He also works on an occasional basis in several professional circus schools in Europe (such as Académie Fratellini, ÉsacTo’Lido, CRAC, ACAPA) and on other continents (Hanoi Circus School in Vietnam, Phare Ponleu Selpak in Cambodia, NICA – Institut national des arts du cirque – in Melbourne, Australia).

Morgan Cosquer trained at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique in Brest, before joining the professional training program at the Lido, Centre national des arts du cirque in Toulouse, in 2001.
In 2003, he co-founded the Sacékripa company, with whom he created three shows(Tourne autour in 2003, Who goes on in 2004 and Coulisses in 2009). In 2008, he won an award for his juggling solo Olé! at the 29th Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, before founding the Endogène company with visual artist Céline Couronne. Together they created installations, performances, a short film and a show: Mu Arae (2014). More recently, Morgan Cosquer has created the juggled soliloquy UmWelt (2022) and is a performer with other companies (Allégorie, cOLLiSiOn, 2020; Les Vélocimanes Associés, Der Lauf, 2024).
From 2003, Morgan Cosquer began teaching juggling in the form of workshops for juggling associations and circus schools, including Lido (with professional training jugglers from 2006 onwards). He also occasionally works with other circus schools (Académie Fratellini, Piste d’Azur and Bordeaux circus schools, Centre régional des arts du cirque de Lomme…). Since 2015, he has been a mentor in juggling for 2nd and 3rd year students at Le Lido’s professional training program.