what is this circus in Reunion?!

We could have titled: “Cirquons Flex: Reunion, its circuses and its circus” or even “Let’s flex circus, still on the track in Reunion”… Titles which poorly reflect a reality: it is the very existence of this centuries-old art which is in danger on the island in the Indian Ocean. So much so that last weekend in Saint-Denis de La Réunion, the company and the associative collective of the Cirque de la Réunion proposed the event Chap'otébetween activities and meetings, in order to alert people to the difficulties of Cirquons Flex and ask for support – among other things financial – from the public.
It is because to exist in this world as in many other areas, there is a key element that is missing: money. To show all its know-how outside its territory, the Cirquons Flex company must face many obstacles.

By telling in The Ear is bold her own story and the life of her troupe since its creation, 17 years ago, the co-founder of the troupe Virginie Le Flaouter could not omit all the difficulties encountered in taking the Réunion circus outside the island… Listen to what she says, guest of the podcast, The Ear is Bold :

Three months ago, we met Virginie Le Flaouter, the co-founder – with Vincent Maillot – from the company Cirquons Flex, during the circus festival organized in the city of Le Mans, one of the most advanced in France in terms of circus art.

On the occasion of the focus made by the Le Mans fait son circus festival on circus activity in Reunion, Cirquons Flex had carte blanche to invite other companies, offer shows, exhibitions and debates… Exchanges during which questions related to the broadcasting of shows from overseas were inevitably discussed.

Because both artistically and financially, the idea of ​​Cirquons Flex like many overseas performing arts companies is to travel and show its know-how beyond its natural borders. And mainly in France.

And that's where the problem lies. With the incessant and inevitable question of financing the travel of the artists who make up the company, but also that of the technicians and even the necessary equipment necessary for the performance of the shows. These approach costs are exorbitant for local companies wishing to tour and, unlike French companies which tour overseas, they are very rarely covered by the places which host these overseas shows. Which of course weighs down the budgets of the companies that assume these costs…

All these questions to which the answers are increasingly difficult to find are cruelly posed, threatening the very existence of a company to which everyone agrees to devote excellence. This is the alert that Cirquons Flex tried to sound last weekend by organizing this festival to support its activities and its art. This is the whole meaning of the message formulated by Virginie Le Flaouter in The Ear is bold.

And discover how the Cirquons Flex company was created, from the love and passion of two young people for the circus and for this land of Reunion as a whole. Virginie Le Flaouter also lifts the veil a little on the beauties and realities – sometimes a little less joyful – of the life of the circus in one of the overseas territories where it could be in the process of becoming more structured if the support and public funding gives it the means.

In the meantime, if by chance they pass near you, don't miss the Cirquons Flex shows, in particular the latest one entitled Radio Maniok which mixes the past and the present to better look towards the future. A brighter future is all the harm we wish for Cirquons Flex and the La Réunion circus.

Find Virginie Le Flaouter in The Ear is boldit is by ICI !

Or here:

“Radio Maniok”, a show by the company Cirquons Flex. On tour in 2025 : March 26, 27, 28, 30: Le Pôle, Seyne-sur-mer (83); April 1, 3: Theater in Dracénie, Draguignan (83)