2023
Maël Tran, I am originally from Dijon in France, but I lived in Brussels in Belgium for my entire childhood. My parents introduced me, my sister and my brother to the circus through extracurricular activities at the École de Cirque de Bruxelles from the age of 3. I later decided to continue my circus journey in the circus option of the Pierre Bayen high school, and finally, at the National Circus School for the fifth year of the circus-study program. Initially a diabolist, almost a trapeze duet carrier, I ended up going into hand balancing and completed 4 years of DEC at the NCS as a balancer.
What does the NCS represent for you?
The NCS was a big learning curve for me. I was there from the age of 17 to 22, where I developed as a person, an artist and an athlete. I learned a lot about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses.
What is your favorite memory of the NCS?
My happiest moment(s) at the School is arriving at 7:45 a.m. at the Chapiteau, putting my music on the sound system and enjoying the empty room by warming up in motion until the first people arrived, or until my hand balancing classes started at 8:30 a.m.
