National higher professional diploma - circus arts
Projet pédagogique et artistique
Initial training 2022–2026
INTRODUCTION
The National Centre for Circus Arts (CNAC) offers a three-year course leading to the National Higher Professional Diploma for Circus Artists (DNSP-AC) (Level 6 qualification, equivalent to three years of higher education following the A-levels). The CNAC trains the artists of tomorrow – performers, creators and directors – who are revitalising the aesthetics of the circus and contemporary performance.
The educational objective of the CNAC’s programme, through a higher arts education programme, is to prepare students to become circus artists by equipping them with the tools that will enable them to enter and thrive in the professional and artistic world, to address the challenges of a changing society, and to assert their artistic identities, shaped by their sensibilities and their perspectives on the world.
Course offered
The CNAC offers a three-year course preparing students for a career as a circus artist. This programme leads to the National Higher Professional Diploma for Circus Artists (DNSP-AC).
The DNSP is part of the European higher education framework (Bachelor’s–Master’s–PhD) and is classified at level 6 (bac+3) in the National Register of Professional Qualifications (RNCP).
The DNSP in circus arts is evolving into a qualification equivalent to a bachelor’s degree; this recognition, scheduled for 2025, will spare students the need to undertake a dual university programme.
This development is being driven by France’s three higher education institutions specialising in circus arts (Académie Fratellini, CNAC, ESACTO LIDO).