with Trio Wise Fools and Johannes Holm Veje
Tumble Circus and Belfast Circus are running two weeks of intensive training for professional and emerging circus artists at Belfast Circus this November, taught by four artists whose careers have taken them through ESAC, CNAC and Cirque du Soleil and onto the podium at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris. You can book one week or both, and places are limited and given out by application.
We are bringing four internationally recognised circus artists to Belfast to lead November Non-stop Circus Hardcore Training, two weeks of intensive classes for professional and emerging circus artists, so that artists here can train closely with people working at the top of the European circus circuit without having to travel to do it. The programme is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Arts & Business Blueprint, and delivered in partnership with Belfast Circus.
At a glance
- Who it’s for: professional and emerging circus artists aged 18 and over
- Week one: Monday 2 to Friday 6 November 2026
- Week two: Monday 9 to Friday 13 November 2026
- Hours: 9.30 to 16.30 each day, finishing at 14.00 on Mondays and 15.30 on Tuesdays
- Venue: Belfast Circus, 23-25 Gordon Street, Belfast
- Cost: £250 for one week or £400 for both weeks
- How to apply: email bookings@tumblecircus.com for an application form
What you’ll train in
Across the two weeks the classes cover doubles trapeze, triple trapeze, rope and straps, hand to hand and partner acrobatics, cloudswing (subject to rigging), juggling and skipping. Each day is split between general classes, which everyone takes part in, and specialist classes, and you’ll be expected to join in with all of them at your own level. Questions about the prerequisites for any of the skills can go to bookings@tumblecircus.com before you apply.
Who can apply
The training is open to professional and emerging circus artists aged 18 and over. Everyone taking part needs their own public liability insurance and is asked to follow our code of conduct and clothing requirements, which we send in full at the time of booking.
Meet the tutors
Trio Wise Fools
Trio Wise Fools are an all-female circus ensemble from Finland and South Africa. Maria Peltola and Valpuri Kaarninen began their circus training at Sorin Sirkus in Finland and Jaimee Allen at Cape Town’s Zip Zap Circus, and the three went on to train together at the prestigious École Supérieure des Arts du Cirque (ESAC) in Belgium. In January 2015 their triple trapeze act won a silver medal at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris, and early in their professional career they worked with Cirque du Soleil on its summer production Scalada Stelar and toured seven venues with the European variety company GOP Varieté. You can find out more about their work at triowisefools.com.
Johannes Holm Veje
Johannes Holm Veje is a Danish circus artist who trained at two of France’s national circus schools, the École nationale des arts du cirque de Rosny-sous-Bois (ENACR) and the Centre national des arts du cirque (CNAC). He specialises in Korean cradle, and the duo act he graduated with won a gold medal and several other prizes at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in 2020. He has since worked with companies including Cie Cabas in France and 15feet6 in Belgium, and his skills run from Korean cradle across hand to hand, partner acrobatics, banquine, juggling and Russian bar.
How to apply
To apply, email bookings@tumblecircus.com and we will send you an application form, and the same address is the one to use for any questions about the training. Places are limited, so sending in an application does not guarantee a place.
The training is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Arts & Business Blueprint.
About Tumble Circus
We are Tumble Circus, brave risk takers making world class, wild and revolutionary Irish circus, and it is our job to make families, communities and audiences gasp, laugh and be inspired to live well. We create circus for big tops, the streets, online and everywhere in between, and our vision is of a world filled with joy and laughter, where people are inspired by circus to push past their own limits and change the world.
About Belfast Circus
Established in 1985, Belfast Circus is one of Ireland’s premier circus arts organisations, with a long record of youth and social circus and of supporting professional artists to develop and perform across Northern Ireland and beyond. Its headquarters in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter is the first and only fully equipped, purpose-built circus arts centre on the island of Ireland, and it also programmes and produces Festival of Fools, one of the largest festivals of its kind on the island. Find out more at belfastcircus.com.