The directory
A Directory of NZ Circus Schools, Companies and Classes
Every established organisation, grouped by where it works.
This directory lists the circus schools, community trusts and performing companies currently operating in New Zealand, grouped by the region each one works in. Every entry states what kind of organisation it is before what it teaches or performs, so you can tell a term-time school from a touring show without following the link first.
The listing deliberately stays at the level of the organisation rather than the individual class. Timetables, term dates and prices move constantly, and any directory that repeats them is quietly wrong within a month of publication. Where an organisation publishes its own page, that page is linked directly so you can check the current position at source.
What the directory covers
The listing runs to fifteen established organisations spread across six regions, from Northland right down to Christchurch, and covers nine separate disciplines between them. Ten of the fifteen publish a page of their own, and that page is linked directly from each entry below so you can check the current position.
- 15Organisations
- 6Regions
- 9Disciplines
- 10Publish their own page
| Region | Listed | Mainly |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 5 | Schools and studios, plus one professional company and one social-circus trust |
| Wellington | 2 | A central training venue and a youth aerial specialist in Porirua |
| Christchurch | 2 | A community circus centre and an independent school |
| Northland, Napier, Raglan | 3 | Community circus and small aerial studios |
| Touring nationally | 2 | Travelling big-top companies working a seasonal route |
| National | 1 | A practitioner association running an annual festival |
Circus schools by region
Auckland holds by far the largest concentration of circus schools, with several independent studios operating alongside a professional company that also teaches the public. Wellington and Christchurch each support established centres of their own. Beyond the three main cities, circus schools appear wherever a community trust has managed to keep one running.
Auckland
- Circability Runs inclusive, all-abilities circus workshops and classes, with a base at Auckland’s Victoria Park and further activity in Christchurch, Northland and the Bay of Plenty. Social circus trust · Auckland
- The Dust Palace A contemporary circus-theatre company that both tours its own productions and teaches aerial and acrobatic technique to the public. Professional company and school · Auckland
- Flip n Fly Circus School Teaches a broad apparatus list across all ages, including mixed aerials, tumbling, straps, rings, juggling, silks, lyra, handbalancing and contortion. Circus school · Auckland
- Cirque It Aerial Arts A boutique studio founded in 2016 offering pole, aerial silk, lyra, trapeze, hammock, handstands and flexibility classes. Aerial and dance studio · Auckland
- React Studio A circus studio and performing company on Auckland’s North Shore, combining public training with its own performance work. Studio and performing company · Auckland — North Shore
Wellington
- The Circus Hub A Wellington training space built around building a lasting interest in circus and performance art. Training venue · Wellington
- TCA Kids Aerial hoop and lyra classes aimed specifically at children and teenagers in the Porirua area. Youth circus · Porirua, Wellington
Christchurch
- Christchurch Circus Trust Runs classes and workshops for children and adults, plus parties, events and open training time. Community circus centre · Christchurch
- Circotica Circus School Classes across aerial arts, juggling, contortion and hooping for a range of ages and levels. Circus school · Christchurch
Other regions
- Circus Kumarani Northland’s community circus organisation, working across Dargaville and Whangārei with workshops and performance projects. Community circus · Northland — Dargaville and Whangārei
- Elevate Studios Aerial Arts Academy An aerial arts academy serving Hawke’s Bay from Napier. Aerial academy · Napier
- Freedom to Fly A small aerial and movement studio on the Waikato coast at Raglan. Aerial studio · Raglan
Touring nationally
- Circus Aotearoa A travelling big-top circus that tours towns and cities the length of the country through the season. Touring circus · Touring nationally
- Zirka Circus A long-running touring big-top show that pitches in centres across both islands. Touring circus · Touring nationally
National bodies
- New Zealand Juggling Association The national association for jugglers, and the organisation behind the long-running New Zealand Juggling Festival. National body · National
Circus companies that tour and perform
The performing side divides cleanly into travelling tent shows and contemporary companies working indoors. Touring circus companies move along a seasonal route and are usually gone within a fortnight of arriving in any given town. Contemporary companies programme theatre seasons and festival slots instead, and put tickets on sale months ahead of opening.
A handful of circus companies also teach, which is why a few names appear both in the school listings above and in the performing section here. Where an organisation genuinely does both, its entry says so plainly rather than filing it twice under a single misleading label that would misrepresent half of what it does.
What circus classes typically cost
Two pricing shapes dominate the sector almost everywhere. A casual rate buys you a single session of circus classes and generally sits somewhere near what a studio fitness class costs in the same city. A term block covers eight to ten weeks at a lower rate per session, and that is how the majority of regular students actually pay.
Community trusts frequently price well below that level, sometimes on a koha or subsidised basis, because their funding model is fundamentally different from a commercial studio's. If cost is the binding constraint on whether you take circus classes at all, the trusts are the part of the sector genuinely worth approaching first.
Looking for one city?City pages break the same listings down further for Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with notes on what each centre is strongest in.
How to use this directory
Decide first whether you want to watch circus or to take part in it, because the two answers lead to entirely different entries in this listing. If you want to take part, pick your region, then narrow by discipline, and then check the organisation's own page for the timetable currently running.
If a particular discipline matters more to you than your location does, the skills pages approach exactly the same directory from the opposite direction. They explain what each apparatus demands physically, and roughly how long the first real milestone takes, before you commit a full term and a term's fee to any of it.
Questions people ask
How many circus schools are there in New Zealand?
Enough that every main centre offers a genuine choice and several smaller regions support at least one. The exact count moves constantly as studios open, merge and close, so this directory tracks the established organisations that have been running for a while rather than claiming any fixed national total that would be out of date within months.
Do circus schools take complete beginners?
Almost all of them do, and beginner streams are usually the largest single part of the timetable rather than a token offering. Schools generally ask for no prior gymnastics, dance or strength training of any kind, and start new students on grip, body position and safe landing before going anywhere near height.
Can adults join circus classes, or is it youth only?
Adults are very well catered for across the country. Several schools deliberately run adult-only sessions precisely so that beginners are not learning alongside children who have been training for years, and a number of providers report that adult beginners now make up the clear bulk of their new enrolments each term.
What is the difference between a circus school and a touring circus company?
A school teaches the public on a term timetable from a fixed venue with permanent rigging. A touring company performs a show and moves between towns on a seasonal route. Some organisations genuinely do both, running weekly classes at their home base and separately touring a production, which is why a few names appear twice.
Is there a national organisation for circus in New Zealand?
There are several bodies covering different parts of the art form, including a long-established juggling association that has run an annual national festival for over two decades. They tend to serve practitioners rather than audiences, so they are useful for finding people to train with and less useful for finding a show to watch.