Circuscamp — circus and performance summer camp in Flattach, Austria

The circus camp is a workshop week rather than a taught course. Participants work through circus disciplines with the camp team — juggling, unicycling, floor acrobatics, rope work, the walking globe, hula hoop, rola bola, human pyramids and diabolo — and build towards a closing show that they help stage themselves. No previous circus experience is required, and the workshops run alongside a sports and adventure programme so that the week combines creative and physical activity. The emphasis is on coordination, teamwork and the confidence to perform in front of an audience.

The camp fee covers accommodation at the Actionhotel on full board, the leisure, sports and creative programme, the circus workshops, the closing show, the entertainment programme and supervision around the clock. Arrival is arranged separately: parents can bring their child directly to the camp, or the camp can organise train travel with tickets and reserved seats and collect participants at the station by shuttle bus. Families who book their own train journey can use the shuttle bus from Mallnitz station, and an individual taxi transfer can be arranged on request. The arrival service and travel and cancellation insurance are not part of the camp fee.

Participants stay at the Actionhotel in Flattach, a club hotel for young people in the Mölltal valley. Rooms are functional and shared, and are allocated on site by the animation team, with girls and boys accommodated separately; room requests can be given when booking. Bed linen is provided by the hotel and one towel per participant is placed in the room, so extra towels for daily use and for swimming should be packed. Alongside the rooms the hotel has a club theatre, club rooms, a fitness room, a whirlpool and a disco. A strict ban on smoking and alcohol applies throughout.

Full board is included for the whole stay. The day starts with a breakfast buffet, a snack lunch is served in the middle of the day and the evening brings a three-course dinner. The hotel kitchen prepares vegetarian dishes for participants who need them, and such requests should be given at the time of booking. Pocket money is used only for extras such as entrance fees on excursions, souvenirs, additional drinks and ice cream; the camp team can look after it and returns any unspent amount with a written statement at the end of the stay.

The week combines circus workshops with sport. Circus content covers juggling, unicycling, floor acrobatics, ropes, the walking globe, hula hoop, rola bola, human pyramids, diabolo and staging the show. Sport and adventure content draws on soap football, rafting, mountain biking, crate stacking, soccer cage and archery. Evenings have their own entertainment programme, and the week finishes with the participants performing the show they have prepared.

The camp is based at the Actionhotel, a club hotel for young people with functional rooms, a breakfast buffet and dining areas, a club theatre and club rooms, a fitness room, a whirlpool and a disco. The hotel sits in the Mölltal valley in Carinthia, close to the Hohe Tauern national park, and serves as the base for the whole programme. All transfers from the hotel to the activity locations are included, so participants move between the hotel and the outdoor venues with the camp team.

The circus camp is aimed at children and younger teenagers who enjoy performing and creative work as much as sport. The week has a clear arc: workshops build skills, rehearsals shape them into a routine, and the closing show gives every participant something to perform. Supervision runs around the clock, the camp team looks after room allocation and the daily routine, and a strict ban on smoking and alcohol applies throughout.