In Seine-Saint-Denis, the Fratellini circus school reopens its doors after renovations

"We finally have equipment that matches our ambitions," said Stéphane Simonin with a smile during a press tour of the site on Monday, which is both a higher education institution and a venue for the creation and distribution of shows.

The lateral extensions, built around the historic main hall, have increased the surface area of ​​the premises from 5.000 to 7.000 square metres, summarises its director.

With its carpeted floor, trapezes and ropes hanging from its beams, the timber-framed building was only intended for a short time, but, "a victim of its own success" according to architect Anne-Cécile Comar, it had become essential to renovate it.

Making this large hall sustainable required a vast project "of heating, thermal insulation, and strengthening the framework to be able to use it for circus arts," explains the partner of the Atelier du Pont firm, which led this architectural project.

When Fratellini moved there in the early 2000s, the Plaine-Saint-Denis district was home to a large number of industrial wastelands: the big top was erected on a former car park.

Two decades later, the Academy finds itself in the heart of tertiary sector buildings, with excellent accessibility by public transport, a stone's throw from the hub that is Saint-Denis-Pleyel station.

By settling its circus activity, the Fratellini Academy has chosen to anchor itself in a territory; its openness to amateurs and school groups is part of this original philosophy.

Although the school is one of only three in France to award, at the end of a three-year course, the national professional diploma of circus artist, more than 350 students attend its amateur classes, to which must be added all school audiences.

"It's like an artistic hive," says Stéphane Simonin, who is nevertheless attentive to the needs of the 35 artists in professional training: thanks to the renovation work, which cost 13 million euros (mostly public funding), they now have three large training studios.

An illustration of a capital that has finally moved beyond its historic boundary, the ring road, the Fratellini Academy, according to its director, wants to "embody the junction between Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis," the poorest department in metropolitan France.

"The circus has this ability to attract all audiences," argues Stéphane Simonin, who "really thinks it can be an emblematic place in Greater Paris."