When did I receive an email from Barbara at CNAC, the French National Circus School, asking whether we could become an overseas training destination for an IT student training at their school? Looking it up, it was February 2025. Was it really that long ago? It is now September 2026, so a year and a half has passed.
At the time, I did a double take: “Huh? An IT intern?!” I wondered why IT (I could understand if it were a circus student), and since I myself know very little about IT, I could not even imagine what the training would involve. But I like challenging and fresh things, and thought that a new door might open, so I immediately replied, “That sounds good.”
Discussions with CNAC began moving in that direction, and shortly afterward, we received an email from the intern himself, Tom.
“Would it be all right if the three of us came together, along with two IT students who are also my friends and hope to train overseas?”
Three IT students!
I no longer really understood what was happening, but thought that one or three made little difference, and replied, “That sounds good.”
Even so, working on IT while communicating in French and English was almost—far beyond—anything I could imagine. Perhaps it was fortunate that I could not imagine it. My “curiosity about an unknown world” kicked away my anxieties and concerns.
After that, Tom and I held meetings online. In October 2025, when I was presenting a project proposal at a festival in Auch, France, the three of them traveled all the way from eastern France by plane to come and meet me.
Tom was familiar with contemporary circus because he was working while training at CNAC, but Simon and Loevan said they knew almost nothing about this world. It seemed that a door to a new world had opened for them as well.
After many more online meetings, they finally came to Setouchi in July 2026!
Their mission was
・To build a reservation system for the rehearsal space and accommodation serving as Setouchi Circus Factory’s base, as well as an entry and exit management system
・To renew the Setouchi Circus Factory website
These were the two main pillars.
On our side, I considered the overall structure, board member Iwama checked and communicated the detailed requirements, and Secretariat member Ozasa kept track of the specific tasks.
They stayed in the accommodation on the grounds of Yamaichi Mokuzai, where we are based, and worked quietly each day in the accommodation’s meeting room, while always taking part in our core events.
The three of them also drove together to the “Workersワーカーズ！” performance held at a theater in Osaka, and they attended our regular events at Yamaichi Mokuzai, helping out and taking photographs. Simon even took part in artist Aki Yoshida’s creative work through digital expression.
Loevan stayed for about two months, while Tom and Simon stayed for about three.
The first half passed relatively gently, but as we entered the second half, we became more deeply involved. We held meeting after meeting and asked them to reconsider and revise their work many times, yet they always accepted this positively and continued working.
By late August, the reservation system and website were nearing completion.
In a sense, these two projects embody something Setouchi Circus Factory had long hoped for.
Our base facility, where many people—including artists, staff and audience members—gather, was made possible with the cooperation of local companies such as Yamaichi Mokuzai, and establishing a system to operate it properly was an urgent priority.
Moreover, as an arts organization, we had long dreamed of a website that would clearly organize and present information conveying our worldview while also supporting our business development and independence.
Their work was directly connected to our “dreams” and “goals.” The joy of seeing them take shape is beyond what words can easily express.
At a dinner to which we also invited guests, they said, “We hope that what we have done will contribute, even in a small way, to the development of Setouchi Circus Factory.”
At the beginning of our encounter, we honestly had no idea what results we were aiming for or what we would bring to one another.
Because we specialize in contemporary circus and performing arts, we can connect with people from any country when they work in the same field, and we generally understand what to expect.
But this experience with the three interns once again taught us the meaning of betting on that “immeasurable future.”
Tom, Simon and Loevan,
Thank you so much for coming. Thank you for helping make our dream come true. Your efforts will give great momentum to our activities.
When I think of the long lives ahead of these three young men, I feel excited too, and I cannot wait to see them become dependable friends.
(From left: Tom, Simon and Loëvann)
