Festival SPRING

Festival SPRING: Contemporary Circus Shines in Normandy

Created in 2011, Festival SPRING has established itself as the leading international festival for new circus forms in France. Coordinated by the Plateforme 2 Pôles Cirque en Normandie, it is jointly supported by La Brèche, Pôle National Cirque in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, and the Cirque-Théâtre d'Elbeuf, in partnership with about sixty cultural structures across the entire Normandy region.

An Audacious and Multidisciplinary Program

Every spring, from March to April, SPRING offers around forty shows and over a hundred performances. The program explores all the intersections of circus with other artistic disciplines: contemporary dance, theater, music, visual arts, new magic, and performances. World premieres are presented alongside pieces by renowned international companies, offering the public a unique panorama of contemporary circus creation.

A Festival Rooted in the Cotentin

While the festival reaches throughout Normandy, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is its beating heart. La Brèche, located on rue de l'Abbaye, hosts the festival's flagship shows in its spaces dedicated to circus arts. Le Trident, Cherbourg's national stage, and numerous venues in the Cotentin complete the setup, allowing the public to discover innovative artistic forms close to home.

International Reach

Since its first edition, SPRING has welcomed over 26,000 spectators as of 2017, a figure constantly increasing. The festival attracts companies from around the world—Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Finland—and actively contributes to the international influence of French contemporary circus. Creation residencies hosted throughout the year at La Brèche feed into the festival's programming.