Festival International du Cirque de Massy

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By Dominique Jando

Yvonne Kludsky (2009)

The Festival International du Cirque de Massy (France) was created in 1993 by Michel Bruneau, a former professional photographer with a passion fir the circus. Three years earlier, Bruneau, who had made many friends in the French circus world, had arranged for the celebrated clown Achille Zavatta to celebrate his seventy-five birthday under Zavatta's circus in Massy—a small town in the southern outer boroughs of Paris where Michel Bruneau resided.

During the party after the performance, Claude Germon, then Mayor of Massy, floated the idea of organizing an annual circus event in his town, and defied Michel Bruneau to come up with the goods. Bruneau took up the challenge, and with a group of volunteers, put together a circus festival whose vocation was to celebrate traditional circus, and notably to highlight animal acts.

The first edition of the Festival was held under a big topThe circus tent. America: The main tent of a traveling circus, where the show is performed, as opposed to the other tops. (French, Russian: Chapiteau) set up in Massy’s Georges Brassens Park, on January 16 and 17, 1993. It has been held annually ever since, in the same location, each third weekend of January. The Festival attracts artists from all over the world, who perform before an international Jury composed of circus professionals. The top awards are the Piste de Cristal (Crystal Ring) and the Chapiteau de Cristal (Crystal Big Top). Special Prizes are also awarded by various organizations.

Today, the Festival International du Cirque de Massy is organized by a non-profit organization led by Michel Bruneau and Francesco Bouglione, and it is produced by Circus Stars Production. The festival is broadcast every year on the French television channel, France 3.

Image Gallery

The Zhejiang Acrobatic Troupe with Francesco Bouglione and Michel Bruneau (2009)
Francesco Bouglione
Michel Bruneau and the Aleksandrovi (2009)
Yvonne Kludsky (2009)
Daniel Niuman (2009)