The course is designed to train professionals as contemporary circus artists. Upon completion of the training, artists will have acquired the artistic, technical, and organizational skills needed to independently create and market their own act or show.
Who is it for?
Unemployed young people (over 18 years old) with a high school diploma and sports fitness certification.
Course Objectives
- Acquire artistic, technical, and organizational skills needed for performing in live entertainment;
- Acquire skills in the entertainment industry that will enable artists to independently create and market their own act or actively participate in third-party productions;
- Acquire skills related to managing their professional career from an artistic, fiscal, administrative, and legal perspective.
Disciplines Covered
Classroom Training: 1,672 Hours
Professional Disciplines (Total 1,562 hours): Specific contemporary circus techniques: acrobatics, handstands, aerial disciplines, balancing, juggling, use of specific technical equipment (Chinese pole, cyr wheel, trampoline, tightrope, slack rope, straps, aerial hoop, silks, free ladder, and balancing chairs), physical preparation; expressive and artistic techniques: dance, acrodance, theater, improvisation, creation; show production and promotion of the activity.
Integrative Disciplines (Total 110 hours): Subjects: Orientation, Communication, Information Technology, Digital Transition and Multimedia Digital Technologies, Equal Opportunities, Safety, Sustainable Development, and Environmental Protection.
Final Exam (Total 8 hours): Group test, individual test, questionnaire, individual interview.
Lessons are taught by teachers accredited by the Agency and internationally renowned experts in the field.
Internship: 720 hours. The internship will take place with professional contemporary circus and dance-theater companies, where students will experience professional techniques and practice them alongside working groups.
2026 Applications and Selections
Opening Date: 01/02/2026
Closing Date: 31/05/2026
Send applications to: selezioni@cirkovertigo.com
In-person auditions: from 30 June to 03 July 2026
Information and Registration
Info
Expected Students
A minimum of 12 participants will be selected based on an audition (physical aptitude test and presentation of an artistic act related to circus disciplines) and an interview.
Registration Deadline
ADMISSION TO THE COURSE IS SUBJECT TO PASSING THE SELECTION TESTS
which will be held in person from June 24 to 27, 2025, at the Cirko Vertigo Foundation – Via Tiziano Lanza, 31 in Grugliasco (Turin) – Tel. 011/0714488 – and online according to the procedures indicated during the application registration process.
To participate in the selection process, you must complete the pre-registration form by registering at edu.fondazionecirkovertigo.com and upload all required documents.
SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION FOR THE CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS ARTIST COURSE
Course Duration
2400 HOURS (1200 hours per year) with mandatory attendance for at least 2/3 of the course duration.
Venues
Cirko Vertigo Foundation – Training Agency
Location: Le Serre Cultural Park – Via Tiziano Lanza, 31 Grugliasco (Turin)
Certification – Certificate of Specialization
Will be awarded to participants who have completed the required number of hours of attendance and the final exam.
For registration and information: Cirko Vertigo Foundation
mail selezioni@cirkovertigo.com
tel 011 0714488
The Training Agency is co-financed by the 2021-2027 ESF+ Programming
ACADEMY Teachers
ACADEMY Staff
Informazioni e iscrizioni
+39 011 07 14 488
selezioni@cirkovertigo.com
Admission Requirements
To participate in the selection process, you must be at least 18 years old, have completed a secondary school education or a professional diploma, and have a certificate of fitness for competitive sports. Applications for in-person selections are open from early February to late May. The following documents must be submitted: 1) cover letter 2) curriculum vitae 3) copy of qualifications 4) full-length photo 5) passport photo 6) certificate of fitness for competitive sports 7) copy of a valid identity card or passport.
Recognition of Foreign Qualifications
The Bachelor’s Degree in Contemporary Circus is equivalent to the Bachelor’s Degree in DAMS (Class L-03) as recognized by MUR Decree no. 0001057 of 05/09/2022. For this reason, to enroll, students must first demonstrate that they have completed 12 years of primary and secondary school (no less). The table attached to this link lists all the types of diplomas accepted for university admission.
Where the note “Check additional requirements for qualifications obtained with less than 12 years of schooling” is present, you must request CONSULAR LEGALIZATION or APOSTILLE (for countries that have signed the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961) and, in any case, a DECLARATION OF VALUE (which will not be issued without legalization). If these indicate a course of study of less than 12 years, you must prove the missing year of education either by possession of a subsequent qualification (degree or post-diploma professional training) or by at least one full academic year. The Declaration of Value for your secondary school diploma must be requested from the Italian Embassy or the Italian Consulate (Study Office) in your country of origin.
If the secondary school diploma is accepted (i.e., there is no “Check additional requirements for qualifications obtained with less than 12 years of schooling”), you must request CONSULAR LEGALIZATION or APOSTILLE (for countries that have signed the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961), but NOT the Declaration of Value.
To check which countries have signed the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, abolishing the requirement for legalization of foreign public documents and identify the body that issues the apostille, follow this link.
For all information on recovering academic credits and for the new three-year program (Bachelor’s Degree – BAC + 3), please contact our Academy selezioni@cirkovertigo.com.
Selection Tests
To apply for the selection tests, you must register on the online platform, enter your information, and submit the required documents.
Admission to the course is subject to passing the selection tests. The in-person selection tests are held every year in early June at the Cirko Vertigo Foundation, Parco Culturale Le Serre, Via Tiziano Lanza 31 in Grugliasco (Turin). Each candidate will receive an email from the Foundation by early June containing the date and time of their appointment and the rules and regulations to follow.
The selection process includes:
- Acrobatics, dance, and theater tests.
- Physical preparation tests (strength, flexibility, endurance).
- Presentation of an individual artistic act (maximum 2 minutes), specifying in advance which apparatus will be used and whether it must be made available to the school or whether the candidate will use their own. It is also essential to submit an MP3 file with the music they intend to use for the act.
- Individual orientation interview: the prospective student’s educational background, motivations and expectations, personal and professional goals.
Anyone who believes they have already achieved an intermediate level of technique and would like to apply directly for the second year of the program can submit their application by submitting the same documents required for the first-year selection process, specifying in their cover letter that they are applying for the second year of the program, and including any circus-related certifications or courses completed.
For any information, please write to selezione@cirkovertigo.com.
For registration and information: Fondazione Cirko Vertigo
+39 011 07 14 488
selezioni@cirkovertigo.com
SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION FOR THE CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS ARTIST COURSE SELECTION
The training agency is co-financed by the ESF+ 2021-2027 Programming
