Accademia Cirko Vertigo

Starting from 2022, Fondazione Cirko Vertigo launched the first Bachelor’s Degree in Contemporary Circus Artist in Italy, thanks to the twenty years of work by Cirko Vertigo. The program, developed from the Foundation’s Professional Training Course for Contemporary Circus Artist, directed by Paolo Stratta and chaired by Paolo Verri, received the equivalence to a Bachelor’s degree in DAMS from the Interministerial Commission, exactly on the twentieth anniversary of Cirko Vertigo.
Therefore, those who enroll in Bachelor’s Degree in Contemporary Circus Artist, following the successful completion of the selection tests, gain access to the three-year degree course.
The program is structured into a two-year period (Professional Training Course for Contemporary Circus Artist) supported by the European Social Fund and recognized by the Piedmont Region, which is complemented by a series of theoretical teachings that integrate the professional course in view of the third year. The Professional Training Course for Contemporary Circus Artist concludes at the end of the second year with a final exam and issues a Post-Diploma Specialization Certificate recognized by the Piedmont Region and the European Union. Attendance is mandatory (the academic year starts in October and ends in July of the following year), from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and on certain weekends. Students who successfully pass the second-year exam can continue their path with the third year, which It will lead them to achieve the Bachelor’s Degree in Contemporary Circus (a qualification equivalent to a three-year university degree in DAMS – Class L-03).

For the first time, Accademia Cirko Vertigo, Italy’s leading circus university and a leading center for training and creation in the performing arts, is opening its Grugliasco facilities to the general public with a new and engaging educational program: a series of exclusive workshops led by international artists.

The initiative stems from the desire to share the experience, research, and knowledge that fuel the Academy’s daily work with a wider audience, offering everyone—professionals and enthusiasts of all levels—the opportunity to participate in masterclasses in specific contemporary circus disciplines.

The Professional Training Course for Contemporary Circus Artists lasts two years and is designed to train the professional figure of a contemporary circus artist. Upon completion of the training program, the artist will have acquired the artistic, technical, and organizational skills necessary to independently create and market their own act or show or join artistic companies and collectives. The program comprises a total of 2,400 hours (1,200 hours per year), with mandatory attendance for a minimum of two-thirds of the course duration.

It receives support from the European Social Fund and is the only two-year course for contemporary circus artists that awards a Certificate of Specialization recognized by the Piedmont Region and the European Union.

The Cirko Vertigo Foundation has submitted a request to the Ministry of Education for equivalence of its new master’s degree program in “Management of Live Performance and Contemporary Circus” equivalent to the LM-65 program. The program, which will run for two years and be held at the new facility in Mondovì (Cuneo), is registered for the first meeting of the Evaluation Committee in Rome and is scheduled to begin in the 2027–2028 academic year. This is the first master’s degree program in circus arts in Italy, and the second in the world, with a curriculum aimed at training artistic, technical, and organizational managers, a continuation of the three-year degree program for contemporary circus artists with a focus on performance.

The general direction is entrusted to founder Paolo Stratta, while circus techniques are firmly in the hands of Maestro Arian Miluka, who in recent years has trained many assistants, dedicating himself to transmitting the precious knowledge of pedagogy.
Silvia Francioni is in charge of pedagogical direction, supported by assistant pedagogical director Fabio Merante. Caterina Mochi Sismondi coordinates the dance area, while Luisella Tamietto is responsible for comic theater and stage presence. Marilena Golisano is the organizational director of the degree program.

“Circus is a silent concatenation, the art of performing without words, anti-theater. It is a great and demanding school. The profession of doing twenty jobs at once”
Charlie Chaplin

The Cirko Vertigo Foundation boasts decades of experience as a center of excellence for training in the circus arts and as an international center for the creation and production of shows and events, as well as a venue for artistic residencies. Its educational activities, therefore, begin as a professional training course and culminate in the recognition of a three-year university degree. The creation of a university program in Contemporary Circus Arts is a momentous turning point for Italy, filling a significant gap compared to Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France.

The Foundation is now a point of reference for hundreds of students and a residence for young artists from around the world who are embarking on a journey aimed at developing a career in live performance.

The Cirko Vertigo Foundation, through its collaboration with the blucinQue/NICE production center, has launched a unique program in Italy that supports emerging artists from their training to their entry into the world of contemporary circus, either in the company or in the creation and production of new works. Furthermore, through the Casa del Circo Contemporaneo project, the Foundation offers its spaces and the expertise of its training and organizational professionals, allowing selected artists and/or companies to participate in an artistic residency each year to develop their creations.

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