Sencirk : The Circus of Hope in Senegal

Modou Fata Touré is a modern circus artist who lives in Dakar. At the age of 7, he was sent by his father to a Koranic school in Gambia.

Mistreated, he fled and took refuge in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Modou, then 14 years old, spent three months roaming the streets of Dakar before going to an association called “l’empire des enfants”. This association, which is very well known in Senegal, takes in street children and offers them a home. The association also offers various sports and cultural activities. It was in this context that Modou Fata Touré met a Swedish circus troupe, Fan-Atticks, who used to come there every year to train them. Modou was talented and ended up joining the troupe in Sweden to be trained in circus skills.

On his return to Senegal, he set up the troupe “Sencirk” which is also a circus school. By surrounding himself with talented people in fields close to the circus such as gymnastics, dance, or acrobatics on rollers, he created their first show: Chiopite.

There was no circus troupe before Sencirk, this troupe is a pioneer in this field in Senegal. Today, Sencirk performs all over the world. The artists participated in the Pan-African Circus Festival in Addis-Abeba in 2015. They also performed at the Electric Circus in Paris in June 2021. The association launched the first edition of the circus arts festival in 2022, bringing together 50 artists in Dakar.

In addition to shows, Sencirk offers professional training for young people (juggling, acrobatics, aerialists, etc.) and courses for children and adolescents. Sencirk participates in several social projects in collaboration with associations working for street children, children victims of violence…

Modou Touré carries a real message of hope for Senegalese youth and particularly for street children. He is making this discipline, which was previously almost non-existent, famous in Senegal.