Explore the Workshops | “Roots and Routes – Pathways in Circus Education” 2026

Take Care Workshop Mental Health in circus education

Workshop leader: Jorrit Terpstra, Performance Psychologist and member of the Student Life team at Codarts (NL)

Description: The workshop offers a focused look at how mental health can be intentionally supported within circus education. It draws on the Codarts Student Life program, current research, and practical experience from sports and performance psychology to highlight the psychological demands students face and the skills they need to navigate them. Jorrit will introduce accessible mental tools that help students regulate stress, respond to setbacks, and build sustainable habits. But will also look for insights into how mental‑health literacy, structured support, and everyday choices can strengthen student well‑being and long‑term artistic development.

Bio: Jorrit Terpsta is a performance psychologist dedicated to helping performers grow from the inside out. With a calm, open, and honest approach, he supports artists in navigating the thoughts and emotions that shape their performance—whether in auditions, rehearsals, or on stage. His work focuses on practical mental tools, mindset development, and building confidence, especially in moments of setback, pressure, or injury.

Capacity: 30 (priority to FEDEC members)

Workshop Circus & Social Justice: Tools for Inclusion

Workshop leader: Daniel Gulko

Description: How can we bring our best selves into collaboration, take responsibility, and embrace vulnerability as a form of strength? This workshop explores awareness of both your own and others’ capacities for cooperation, creating space for difficult conversations, and welcoming fear as a guide rather than an obstacle.Train yourself in the joy of sharing!

Bio: Daniel Gulko is an author, teacher, director, choreographer, and clown, and the artistic director of the France-based radical circus company Cahin-Caha. Internationally recognised for his interdisciplinary approach, his work brings together circus, dance, theatre, visual arts, video, and literature. He has taught and led artistic research at numerous institutions across Europe, including Stockholm University of the Arts, CNAC, Codarts, and JAMU, and has directed a wide range of acclaimed productions internationally. Based in France since 1993, Gulko continues to create, tour, and mentor across the fields of experimental circus and contemporary performance.

Capacity: 30

Workshop Applied Creativity

Workshop leader: Alisan Funk, Ph.D

Description: TBC

Bio: Alisan Funk, Ph.D., has been a circus student, practitioner, creator, performer, teacher, teacher educator, and researcher. She is an assistant professor of circus and head of the Circus Department at the Stockholm University of the Arts, including appointments to working groups for innovation and curriculum. Passion for circus education – and educating about circus – drive her work and research at the intersections of circus, creativity, and curriculum theory. She has been a member of the managing board of International Network for Professional Circus Education (FEDEC) since 2020.

Capacity: 30

World cafe Alternative Pathways in Education

Participants: Dan le Man, TBC

Description: TBC

Presentations:
1. What do circus artists need to turn their creative ideas into sustainable careers? (by Dan Le Man)

Circus schools produce highly skilled artists, but what helps them turn their ideas into sustainable careers? In this conversation led by Dan le Man from Creative Combinator, we explore how emerging circus artists develop their creative voice, pitch their work, build networks and transition from graduation projects to real touring acts. Together we will discuss what practical skills, mindsets and industry connections help circus graduates move from idea → act → career.

Bios: Dan le Man is an Australian-born circus and physical theatre artist with more than 20 years of international touring experience. Based in Estonia, he is the director of the Tallinn Fringe Festival and runs a vaudeville-style theatre presenting over 400 shows each year. He works with emerging circus artists on developing acts, pitching work, and building sustainable careers in the performing arts.

Capacity: 30

WORKSHOPS FOR PROFESSIONALS

Strategic Thinking and Group Mentoring Practice for Artists: “Navigating uncertainty with purpose – how to build a sustainable artistic career in an uncertainfuture”

Workshop leader: Julia Asperska
When: April 15&16, 14:00–17:00
Where: Riga circus
For whom: circus and other performing arts professionals

Workshop description: This two-part mentoring session supports artists in developing a clearer sense of purpose, long-term vision, and practical strategies for building a sustainable career in uncertain times. Across two consecutive days, participants will reflect on how to make focused professional choices, set priorities, and recognise when to decline opportunities that do not align with their goals. The second part takes the form of group mentoring, using a structured discussion method for case studies and collective problem-solving. Participants will share current professional challenges, and selected cases will be explored together through guided discussion. The session concludes with a wrap-up focused on key insights, shared learning, and practical takeaways from the two days.

Bio: Julia Asperska is a performing arts curator, mentor, and coach working across the fields of art, leadership, and cross-sector collaboration. She holds a Master’s degree in Ethnolinguistics from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, has pursued postgraduate studies in art history and curating, and has completed advanced training in leadership, business coaching, and team coaching. Her professional experience includes roles at Key Performance, Something Great, Campo Abierto, and Internationale Tanzmesse NRW. She is currently active as a curator, mentor, and coach, and is the co-founder of KinetiQ Lab, a development studio connecting business, science, and art.

Capacity: 15

Circus directing workshop: “Crank The Heat: Making Circus on your own terms”

Workshop leader: Daniel Gulko
When: April 16, 10:00–13:00
Where: Riga circus
For whom: circus and physical makers, students

Workshop description: Methods to turbocharge the creative process and sharpen the artistic brain. This workshop is for circus artists and other physical makers looking to develop their own work and that of their companies. Through creative process tools, dramaturgical analysis, and the balance between freedom and necessary constraints, we will explore three phases of creation: generating material, exploration, and analytical editing. By understanding the demands of each phase, we can create more freedom within them. There are moments to play and moments to question the play; tools for composing and tools for reflecting on what we have made. We will look at concept and action, challenge established codes, define personal and collective vocabulary, and ask when to question and when to simply do the work. This will also be an active conversation about how we work, where we place our energy, and how to let the body think from its own innate knowledge.

Bio: Daniel Gulko is an author, teacher, director, choreographer, and clown, and the artistic director of the France-based radical circus company Cahin-Caha. Internationally recognised for his interdisciplinary approach, his work brings together circus, dance, theatre, visual arts, video, and literature. He has taught and led artistic research at numerous institutions across Europe, including Stockholm University of the Arts, CNAC, Codarts, and JAMU, and has directed a wide range of acclaimed productions internationally. Based in France since 1993, Gulko continues to create, tour, and mentor across the fields of experimental circus and contemporary performance.

Capacity: TBC