Yes to video about the process of auditioning!! Would love to know your perspective on how to best tackle the auditions, specially how an applicant could benefit from showcasing other non-traditional performing skills (or skills not directly related to performing arts such as leadership, critical thinking, team work...)
Eric, thanks for these videos, just watched 5 of them.. great to get insights from a pro. Funnily enough I went to McGill as well but became interested in circus AFTER leaving Montreal... now I'm 29 and still trying to figure out how to take circus to the pro level as a h2h base..
Ahhh bad timing haha, montreal is a good spot for it. On the plus side there’s a decent longevity to basing, definitely still time if you want to make it happen
@@EricBates I love going back for the circus festival in Montreal! At the moment I'm planning a move to Europe (probably Barcelona) from California with the primary goal of having access to more potential flyers and better training options. I'm actually trying to decide whether to audition at INAC and/or FLIC vs just do a DIY approach with private coaches, classes, acro conventions, etc. Do you have any input on that?
@@FantomOfFear Yea barcelona is sweet for sure. Would probably be a good experience no matter what happens haha. La central del cirque is the only one there I have been to, looked decent, people seemed friendly, it's sunny. I think you can free train there too. You could certainly meet people there. It's hard to say without knowing your level or personality what to recommend. If living in a different country where you don't speak the language to train circus sounds like a good time those could all be great options. I guess if you have the resources I'd say try any of those options, and be proactive about going to see shows and festivals and meeting people. In Europe everything is closer so it's easier to go see other schools and shows and festivals, and that will all be a grand adventure for sure, and you'll understand the scene a bit better (contemporary shows, cabarets, touring shows, etc), so you can dial in your goal, at least for now. You can do all of those things in a circus career for sure, but maybe seeing more will help you understand what you want to focus on in the next year or so. Mmmm and just keep creating, practice that muscle with people even if they're not your 'official flyer'. My russian bar partner Tristan is an amazing porter because he's always saying yes to trying stuff and basing different people with different styles. Now he can hop in with pretty much anyone. Anyways, I'm rambling, best of luck!
@@EricBates The more rambling the better, I really appreciate your input. I see things similarly to how you described and that's why I want to get to Europe so badly. Thank you
Wow that's a lot of training! In circus school you'll generally have 2-3 hours of your speciality per day, and do other classes throughout the rest of the day. So less specific training than you, but more generalized training on top of the speciality. In my other video about "should you go to circus school" I talk more about this and the pros and cons
Oh hi back here again fantasizing about going to enc, I think I'm going to pay for myself to go to the intensive and tell my parents I'll take the high school entrance exam "if I like the intensive" really hope I'm good enough to get in
Smirkus is great. I learned to juggle in their residency program (where a coach from Smirkus comes in and teaches circus as a gym activity in elementary schools), then I did their summer camp for a few years, then the smirkus touring show, then later I went back to coach there for a summer. Nothing but good things to say about them. Very formative both as a performer and as a human. A lot of artists that later went on to be professional circus artists started in Smirkus, or other similar youth programs (San Francisco Circus Center, Circus Harmony, etc).
@@EricBates About the big top tour, how do you get there and home? I would have to go on an airplane because I live on the other side of the U.S, do they drive you to the airport or something? Is travel included in the $8000?
@@user-kt1no7yx1u Hey A, you'd have to check in with them for that. I know they have a scholarship program though to help people that don't have the financial means to pay for it. Good luck!
@@klarkforgetit2642 Hey Karl. I had already grown up juggling and working circus-related jobs in the summers, teaching at circus camps, small gigs in the summer breaks at McGill; so circus was definitely still in my mind while I was going to college. Some friends at the circus school told me, "look, you clearly don't want to RUN a circus, you want to be IN a circus." So I auditioned while I was still at McGill and got in, but it was nice to know if I didn't get in I could keep doing McGill.
Juggling classes tended to break down into a few parts- warm up/ random creative challenges, technical objectives (solidifying/ working towards goals for tricks we knew we wanted to improve) and "research" aka exploring new ideas- so maybe taking a theme (bounces off parts of the body, windows, pirouettes, etc) and trying to come up with new ideas or ways to combine stuff into interesting sequences etc
Then sometimes having check-ins at the end of each class or week where you'd see how many of a trick you could get out of 10 or something, some way to quantify your progress. That said, over the three years I had three different coaches as well as guest coaches, so the different ways the classes were "Structured" tended to change, and because all of the jugglers working with the coach had different objectives ("class size" ranging from 1-4 jugglers typically) a lot of it is also just practicing your objectives on your own with the coach helping guide your practice or give specific input where they can. Sometimes the coach would research with me, aka juggling the same prop as you to try to explore more ideas, sometimes other jugglers in the class would try each other's props to see if they could help find something or unlock something.
I'll keep commenting this bc you probably won't see it the first time but is it extremely necessary to get a pretty good across background Currently I can do a roundoff flip flop but that's my highest skill in tumbling working on a back flip but basically I'm just asking how much minimally do I need to learn for acro if that's not my main thing
Hey hey. When I got in I could do round off back tuck but not round off handspring. Weird, right? I don’t think it’s possible to say “if you check these boxes you’ll get in”. They’re looking for potential and general body awareness and athletic ability and performance ability. They’ll judge someone that wants to hoop dive differently from a juggler or a contortionist. So… it depends. Maybe there’s also 10 other hoop divers auditioning the same year so it’ll be harder to get in, or vice versa. It’s always going to be different, but the more comfortable you are with the things they’re going to test you on I think the more fun you’ll have and the more likely you will to get in. Good luck!
@@RebeckaHolly generally eighteen to mid twenties in the college program. I would speculate they prioritize people that are young enough to have a decent career at their physical peak since there is a physical factor involved that limits how long you can do this career at the highest physical level.
Sorry for my bad english. I loved this video, thanks for sharing it!! I would love to go to that school, for now i'm training for the auditions to UNSAM, a university with a career that gives you a degree in performing arts- focus on circus. I would like to know in which moment do you work for paying the school or if there is an scholarship or something like that. Again, thank you very much for this video❤️ Greetings from Argentina
Hi Valentina, I think there are scholarship programs, I also know people that worked on weekends to pay for it, or took a loan while they were in school. I think like any college they are all possible options, and you have to figure out if it will be worth it from a financial standpoint for yourself.
Just found this useful resource, it has an FAQ section about circus schools around the world (Look under "ambassadors-FAQ"). Bonus: they've translated it into French and Spanish: www.csawcircus.org/
Yes to video about the process of auditioning!! Would love to know your perspective on how to best tackle the auditions, specially how an applicant could benefit from showcasing other non-traditional performing skills (or skills not directly related to performing arts such as leadership, critical thinking, team work...)
Right on! I'll probably do another couple of tutorial videos, but I'll definitely keep that idea on the burner!
Did not expect to hear our names in this vid!! Cool video man. Gonna be super helpful!
haha well yea dude! I figured people had probably heard of you guys through your online coaching or 7 fingers or all the gigs you do around the world.
Damn! What an excellent video! I get the question about the Montreal Circus School very often as well. I will sent them here from now on :)
Ha! I watched your video as well, your channel is great!
Eric, thanks for these videos, just watched 5 of them.. great to get insights from a pro. Funnily enough I went to McGill as well but became interested in circus AFTER leaving Montreal... now I'm 29 and still trying to figure out how to take circus to the pro level as a h2h base..
Ahhh bad timing haha, montreal is a good spot for it. On the plus side there’s a decent longevity to basing, definitely still time if you want to make it happen
@@EricBates I love going back for the circus festival in Montreal! At the moment I'm planning a move to Europe (probably Barcelona) from California with the primary goal of having access to more potential flyers and better training options. I'm actually trying to decide whether to audition at INAC and/or FLIC vs just do a DIY approach with private coaches, classes, acro conventions, etc. Do you have any input on that?
@@FantomOfFear Yea barcelona is sweet for sure. Would probably be a good experience no matter what happens haha. La central del cirque is the only one there I have been to, looked decent, people seemed friendly, it's sunny. I think you can free train there too. You could certainly meet people there. It's hard to say without knowing your level or personality what to recommend. If living in a different country where you don't speak the language to train circus sounds like a good time those could all be great options. I guess if you have the resources I'd say try any of those options, and be proactive about going to see shows and festivals and meeting people. In Europe everything is closer so it's easier to go see other schools and shows and festivals, and that will all be a grand adventure for sure, and you'll understand the scene a bit better (contemporary shows, cabarets, touring shows, etc), so you can dial in your goal, at least for now. You can do all of those things in a circus career for sure, but maybe seeing more will help you understand what you want to focus on in the next year or so. Mmmm and just keep creating, practice that muscle with people even if they're not your 'official flyer'. My russian bar partner Tristan is an amazing porter because he's always saying yes to trying stuff and basing different people with different styles. Now he can hop in with pretty much anyone. Anyways, I'm rambling, best of luck!
@@EricBates The more rambling the better, I really appreciate your input. I see things similarly to how you described and that's why I want to get to Europe so badly. Thank you
Thanks for this inside look! Such an interesting video.
This is SO great thank you!!!
Very nice and very interesting video !!
Thanks!
Very comprehensive, fantastic video and overview!
This was helpful Eric !
Omg !!! You graduated with Anna Kichtchenko ???? Thank you so much for this video ! Is amaziiiiing
Very informative! Great editing skills! 😊
Thanks for making this video, Eric! This was an interesting perspective.
This was incredibly interesting. Thanks for sharing your experience there. To friends! Cheers!
haha to friends
Pretty cool! I'm gonna share this with a couple of friends ;)
I hope it helps!
I’m very interested in the audition process. Also you’re a very big inspiration for me as not only a juggler but an acrobat as well. Keep it up
Good to know, and thank you!
Grant Bishop? YOU'RE a very big inspiration for me as not only a juggler but an acrobat. How did your audition process go?
Frederick Buford I got in!!!!!
Super cool, Eric !
Thanks!
thank u a lot for making this video
Cool video !
I really enjoyed that!
Thanks!
9 hours of training?! 😲I already do 4-5hr every day on my own for hand-balancing!
Wow that's a lot of training! In circus school you'll generally have 2-3 hours of your speciality per day, and do other classes throughout the rest of the day. So less specific training than you, but more generalized training on top of the speciality. In my other video about "should you go to circus school" I talk more about this and the pros and cons
Oh hi back here again fantasizing about going to enc, I think I'm going to pay for myself to go to the intensive and tell my parents I'll take the high school entrance exam "if I like the intensive" really hope I'm good enough to get in
You always learn more by trying something than not trying!
Video about auditioning please!!
It's out now! th-cam.com/video/JHSrYgonveo/w-d-xo.html
What about Acapa in Tilburg and Circartive in Germany?
Hey good ideas! I’ve never been to either of them, but thanks for the information
Can you talk about circus smirkus? I wanna get to circus smirkus like you did, and couldn't find much about it but things by circus smirkus
Smirkus is great. I learned to juggle in their residency program (where a coach from Smirkus comes in and teaches circus as a gym activity in elementary schools), then I did their summer camp for a few years, then the smirkus touring show, then later I went back to coach there for a summer. Nothing but good things to say about them. Very formative both as a performer and as a human. A lot of artists that later went on to be professional circus artists started in Smirkus, or other similar youth programs (San Francisco Circus Center, Circus Harmony, etc).
@@EricBates About the big top tour, how do you get there and home? I would have to go on an airplane because I live on the other side of the U.S, do they drive you to the airport or something? Is travel included in the $8000?
@@user-kt1no7yx1u Hey A, you'd have to check in with them for that. I know they have a scholarship program though to help people that don't have the financial means to pay for it. Good luck!
How did you convert from buisness to circus/what made you switch?
And what was the workout for cigar boxes like?
@@klarkforgetit2642 Hey Karl. I had already grown up juggling and working circus-related jobs in the summers, teaching at circus camps, small gigs in the summer breaks at McGill; so circus was definitely still in my mind while I was going to college. Some friends at the circus school told me, "look, you clearly don't want to RUN a circus, you want to be IN a circus." So I auditioned while I was still at McGill and got in, but it was nice to know if I didn't get in I could keep doing McGill.
Juggling classes tended to break down into a few parts- warm up/ random creative challenges, technical objectives (solidifying/ working towards goals for tricks we knew we wanted to improve) and "research" aka exploring new ideas- so maybe taking a theme (bounces off parts of the body, windows, pirouettes, etc) and trying to come up with new ideas or ways to combine stuff into interesting sequences etc
Then sometimes having check-ins at the end of each class or week where you'd see how many of a trick you could get out of 10 or something, some way to quantify your progress. That said, over the three years I had three different coaches as well as guest coaches, so the different ways the classes were "Structured" tended to change, and because all of the jugglers working with the coach had different objectives ("class size" ranging from 1-4 jugglers typically) a lot of it is also just practicing your objectives on your own with the coach helping guide your practice or give specific input where they can. Sometimes the coach would research with me, aka juggling the same prop as you to try to explore more ideas, sometimes other jugglers in the class would try each other's props to see if they could help find something or unlock something.
Hope that clarifies!
I'll keep commenting this bc you probably won't see it the first time but is it extremely necessary to get a pretty good across background Currently I can do a roundoff flip flop but that's my highest skill in tumbling working on a back flip but basically I'm just asking how much minimally do I need to learn for acro if that's not my main thing
Hey hey. When I got in I could do round off back tuck but not round off handspring. Weird, right? I don’t think it’s possible to say “if you check these boxes you’ll get in”. They’re looking for potential and general body awareness and athletic ability and performance ability. They’ll judge someone that wants to hoop dive differently from a juggler or a contortionist. So… it depends. Maybe there’s also 10 other hoop divers auditioning the same year so it’ll be harder to get in, or vice versa. It’s always going to be different, but the more comfortable you are with the things they’re going to test you on I think the more fun you’ll have and the more likely you will to get in. Good luck!
@@EricBates thank you!
Let me know if you have any more questions I can try to answer!
How many friends do you have exactly?
What was your favorite show? And why was it Throwback?
Great video!!🙏🏼 What was the general age of people studying here??🤗🤗
@@RebeckaHolly generally eighteen to mid twenties in the college program. I would speculate they prioritize people that are young enough to have a decent career at their physical peak since there is a physical factor involved that limits how long you can do this career at the highest physical level.
What are the majors that we can choose between?
I think we boxed (juggled) together once at the circus school of Verdun
Love your videos. Your editing is on point and you’re always entertaining
Yo Eric! I'd love to hear more about the job opportunities in the circus world. I love circus, but can you make a living? If so, how so!?
Hey Max, you can definitely make a living doing it, as I have for the last 7 years as my only job. I'll try to get around to making this one soon!
Sorry for my bad english. I loved this video, thanks for sharing it!! I would love to go to that school, for now i'm training for the auditions to UNSAM, a university with a career that gives you a degree in performing arts- focus on circus. I would like to know in which moment do you work for paying the school or if there is an scholarship or something like that. Again, thank you very much for this video❤️ Greetings from Argentina
Hi Valentina, I think there are scholarship programs, I also know people that worked on weekends to pay for it, or took a loan while they were in school. I think like any college they are all possible options, and you have to figure out if it will be worth it from a financial standpoint for yourself.
Just found this useful resource, it has an FAQ section about circus schools around the world (Look under "ambassadors-FAQ"). Bonus: they've translated it into French and Spanish: www.csawcircus.org/
Latest video about auditioning at ENC here: th-cam.com/video/JHSrYgonveo/w-d-xo.html
✍️
In Brazil there is a Good nacional circus school too, and here the artist give money to study, don't pay anything
Oh nice, I've never seen that one! What's it called?