The company
Cirqu’en Choc
a lasting commitment through a sensitive approach to poetic acrobatic’s gesture
For more than 16 years, Cirqu’en Choc has been a key player in the Valais arts scene. The company was founded in 2009 when two artists, Tania Simili and Estelle Samira Borel, met.
A pioneer in the region, it was the first to claim the identity of contemporary circus in 2009, thus contributing to the emergence and recognition of this discipline in the area.
Committed to transmission and creation, the company has offered numerous circus activities and workshops, allowing a wide audience to discover and learn about this art form.
Its multidisciplinary shows have always had a strong identity, combining poetry, commitment, and a sensitive approach to acrobatic gesture.
Three of them have particularly marked its history, reinforcing the recognition of its work and spreading the company’s reputation far beyond our borders (Scintilla, Gnoko Bok & Rise).
True to its commitment to openness and exchange, the company has had the opportunity to export its art internationally. A tour in Senegal allowed it to share its world with a new audience, while experiences and exchanges in Lebanon and Palestine gave rise to unique artistic encounters, demonstrating the richness of intercultural dialogue through circus arts.
Under the leadership of Estelle Samira Borel, Cirqu’en Choc creates shows where humor and the beauty of movement rub shoulders with intimate or social issues. Its works are driven by a need to break out of apathy and stagnation in order to offer the audience a vital movement, conveying strong emotions and profound reflections. Seeking to awaken, to provoke momentum, a shift—both physical and internal.
Estelle Samira Borel
Artistic Director
Estelle Samira Borel is a contemporary circus artist, author, and performer. A tightrope walker trained at the Zôfy Circus School (Switzerland) and the École de Cirque de Québec (Canada), she is a graduate of FLIC, Scuola di Circo di Torino (Italy), and holds a degree in Modern Literature from the University of Dijon (France). She has been co-founder and artistic director of the Swiss company Cirqu’en Choc since 2009.
Estelle focuses her work on closeness to the audience, provocative social issues, and risk-taking. Her research involves exploring the intimate and the political through the body and giving meaning to acrobatic movements through poetry.
Nez Noir, conceived in 2024 and due to premiere in 2026, is her most radically intimate solo piece.
For her next creation, Mais les homards du Titanic, eux, sont encore vivants! (But the lobsters on the Titanic are still alive!), scheduled for April 2026, she has received a Théâtre Pro grant from the Canton of Valais and an SSA-Pro Cirque writing grant.
In addition to her own creations, Estelle performs in Les Essentielles by Faustine Noguès (FR) and recently performed in Carte Noire Nommée Désir by Rebecca Chaillon (FR), in D’autre quelque part by Laure Dupont (CH) and for the Cirque de la Liberté in Machtig by Goos Meeuwsen and Helena Bittencourt (NL).
Historique
2009
First creation, Choc’olalaaah!, and founding of the company by Tania Simili & Estelle Samira Borel
2013
Second creation, Baywatch, by and with Benjamin Amyot and Estelle Samira Borel
2014
Residency and revival of Choc’olalaaah! with Masha Dimitri as external creative consultant
2016
Third creation, Scintilla *
Raising public awareness about human rights while introducing audiences to contemporary circus arts is the ambition behind Scintilla, directed by Goos Meeuwsen and Helena Bittencourt, with artistic direction by Estelle Samira Borel. The show is supported by Amnesty International Switzerland and was selected for the Swiss Performing Arts Fair in Thun in 2017.
2017
Tour of Senegal with Chocolalaah! with the Djarama Association
2020
Fourth creation, Gnoko Bok *
Recipient of two writing grants (Pro Cirque & SSA and T. & SSA)
2021
Exchange trip and artistic research at the Hammana Artist House and the Cirquenciel social circus in Beirut, Lebanon. Supported by Pro Helvetia and a research & development grant from the Canton of Valais
2022
Staging of Rise and performance at the Cirque au Sommet festival.
Following research in Lebanon, the festival invited Estelle and Tania to accompany an intercultural exchange between Switzerland and Lebanon and to stage professional artists from Lebanon, artists from the social circus Cirquenciel, and artists from a circus school in Valais.
2023
Juggle Through, an exchange project between Lebanon, Palestine, and Switzerland on circus as political resistance.
Participation in the Thoulaty exchange program of Art Rue, Mitost, and All Around Culture, promoting exchanges between artists and cultural actors from Arab and European countries. Tania Simili and Estelle Borel welcomed the two delegations to Switzerland, traveled to Palestine, and ended up leading a workshop to share their contemporary circus staging tools and their work on intimacy and politics expressed through the body with artists from Lebanon and Palestine, who then went on to create their own shows.
2024
Ideation and early stages of Nez Noir by Estelle Samira Borel.
Presentation of Juggle Through at the Burning Man Leadership Summit in Estonia.
2026
Creation of Mais les homards du Titanic, eux, sont encore vivants!* (But the lobsters on the Titanic are still alive!)
Creation of Nez Noir.
* Subsidized creations
