The École nationale de cirque is auditioning its 2027-28 students, and round one is a video you can send from anywhere.

Applications are open at the École nationale de cirque (ENC) in Montréal for the 2027-28 school year. Two programmes are auditioning: Arts du cirque, three years of full-time training for people who want a career as circus artists, and Cirque-études secondaires (CES), where teenagers train in circus while finishing high school full time at the ENC.

Arts du cirque leads to a DEC, the Québec college diploma, or to an AEE, the ENC's own certificate. It's taught in French and in English. For reference, 2026-27 tuition was $5,200 a year for Québec residents, $5,885 for students from France and $16,115 for other international students, in Canadian dollars.

Until last year the ENC held regional auditions in Paris, Toronto and Vancouver. It replaced them with a compulsory video round, open until 6 November 2026. Concretely, you only travel to Montréal if you're invited to round two, and even then a remote option exists.

• ·For Arts du cirque, high school finished, at the level of the Québec secondary diploma or its equivalent
• ·For Arts du cirque, a sustained practice in circus, dance or another acrobatic, sports or artistic discipline
• ·For CES, primary school finished and the previous school year passed, with a good school record
• ·For CES, a good knowledge of French and experience in circus, sport, gymnastics, dance or theatre