Montreal Circus Enthusiasts: There’s a New Kid on the Block!
On January 15, 2024, North America’s circus hub welcomed the Montreal Circus Academy (Académie de Cirque de Montréal), whose 35-foot ceilings bring their tagline “Come fly with us” to life. Conceived primarily as a recreational circus school, the facility offers a wide array of classes including flying trapeze, pole fitness, aerials, and acrobatics, plus open training for professionals.
I sat down with co-founder Carole Charbonneau to learn more about the ambitious project, and the community that helped make their dream possible.
Stacy Clark (SC): What inspired you to start a circus school, and what unique vision or mission do you hope to achieve with it?
Carole Charbonneau (CC): Sean Farquharson and I are flying trapeze artists and we have been searching for a space with high enough ceilings for a net rig for several years, ever since Le Voltigeur in Laval closed in 2021. When this space became available, we knew we could create something really special. Because of the size of the space, we decided to partner with Kat Sicard, who owns Nomade Pole Dance on the North Shore, so we could jointly offer a gamut of circus activities.
SC: What specific circus disciplines and classes does Montreal Circus Academy offer, and how will they be structured to accommodate beginners as well as advanced performers?
CC: Currently we offer classes in flying trapeze, swinging trapeze, hoop, silks, hammock, static trapeze, rope, straps, pole fitness, flying pole, handstands, hand-to-hand, ground acrobatics, aerial dance and choreography, flexibility, and conditioning.
Some classes are open to all levels, but many are tailored to ability level or age group. We have classes specific to beginners and intermediates, classes focused on inversions or dynamics, and classes for adults or for parents and kids. As we grow, we plan to offer more disciplines such as Chinese pole, vertical dance, and Cyr wheel. When we don’t have group classes running, we offer open training for professionals or those who want to train with their own coach.
SC: Describe the process of building out the facility – who was involved, and how long did it take?
CC:We had to hustle hard to get the space set up! We received 12 days’ notice that the space would be available to us to rent, and it was a take it or leave it situation. We decided to go for it! It was an extra challenge that the setup had to happen in December and over the holidays when trades are on vacation; never mind that most of them book up several months in advance. We pulled in a few favours, had a rigger travel from Toronto during his Christmas holiday, and worked 16+ hour days. We built two mason walls, painted the whole space, and had three welders work full-time for almost six weeks building all our custom rigging.
We managed to get it all done in the nick of time for our January 15th opening, finishing up installing flooring and painting floors until midnight the night before. There are still lots of things we’re working on now that we’re open. For example, we’re waiting for mats to come from China, waiting for signage to be installed, installing curtains to close off the pole studio, and sprucing up the space with decor. All in due time!
SC: Tell us about your instructors. Can you outline the qualifications and experience of the coaches who will lead classes?
CC: Most of our instructors are graduates or current students at l’Ecole Nationale de Cirque, or professional artists. We provide in-house coaching on how we want our classes to be led to ensure that we’re providing a safe and constructive experience that allows students to progress towards their own personal goals, whatever they may be.Our staff is dedicated to creating a safe, fun, and challenging environment where students can enjoy new experiences, build self-confidence, conquer their fears, and make new friends, all while getting a great workout!
SC: In what ways will you foster a supportive and inclusive community among your clients, encouraging respect, collaboration, creativity, and mutual support in the space?
CC: We believe that the values of inclusivity, respect, collaboration, and creativity must be passed from the top down. We embody these values and hire staff and coaches who reflect the same, as they are the face of the Academy to our customers.
A breach of these values would be addressed individually with staff. We aim to mentor our employees using a coaching and development mindset.
SC: Tell us more about the facilities and resources available to aspiring professionals and professional artists, including training space, equipment, rental rates, and amenities.
CC: Our space is separated into six areas. The first is the flying trapeze space. In flying trapeze we offer group classes and private classes. Next is the pole studio, where we offer group classes or open training. The dance studio has a ceiling height of 25 feet and four aerial points, with numerous apparatuses available, including hoop, hammock, silks, straps, dance trapeze, rope, and a flying pole. Here we offer both group classes and open training. Then in our 35-foot-high area, we have seven aerial points for group classes and open training. In our swinging trapeze area, we offer group classes on Sundays and professional training the rest of the week. Finally, we have an open area that is available for open training in Cyr wheel, juggling, hula hoop, roller skates, or whatever else you can think of! This area will eventually find its calling as a dedicated space but for now, we are staying open to ideas.
We offer trial classes at $10 for aerials, pole, and ground, and $25 for flying trapeze. Open training costs $10 per day. Clients can purchase a single class, multiple classes, or even unlimited packages. All our pricing can be found on our website .
SC: Does Montreal Circus Academy plan to engage with the broader community, both locally and within the circus arts industry, to create opportunities for students to showcase their talents and pursue professional pathways post-graduation?
CC: We hope to become “the place to be” as an accessible and versatile space to train circus disciplines. We are already engaging with renowned professionals and hope to have some big names visit us during the. Festival Montréal Complètement Cirque. We are also working on putting together some higher-level workshops during that time. Later in the year we will be organizing a student showcase, but we expect it to be at a recreational level as we are still building our clientele. That said, who knows how it will expand in future years once we are more established!
SC: How do you envision Montreal Circus Academy contributing to the broader cultural landscape, promoting appreciation for circus arts and inspiring future generations of circus performers and enthusiasts?
CC: We really want to be the school that welcomes new faces and positions circus arts as a great fitness and social activity in the local community. We want to share how beautiful and addictive circus arts are! Inevitably, when you bring in new faces, you breed a new cohort that may eventually become the next generation of performers and coaches, who in turn train the following cohort. We hope to be able to create this type of ecosystem that shares itself and pushes itself forward, promoting circus arts and inspiring future generations.
SC: Your mission rings true with CircusTalk, and we wish you much success! Where can folks learn more about the Academy, and what is the best way to contact you?
CC: You can find us online at www.academiedecirque.com and you can contact us by email at[email protected], or by social media on Instagram or Facebook. We look forward to hearing from you!
Photos are courtesy of the Montreal Circus Academy.
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