PerformAgora PRO is a Czech-French Erasmus+ project that connects artistic education with real professional practice. Fourteen young performers aged 20–27 will complete an entire professional cycle, from artistic research and creation through mentoring and international teamwork to public presentation, documentation and evaluation.
The partners, SE.S.TA in the Czech Republic and Le Plus Petit Cirque du Monde (PPCM) in France, will jointly develop and pilot the Advanced Performing Lab Framework for site-specific practice in industrial, urban and heritage environments. The project will include a Research Lab, a Living Lab and a final Public Forum. The project will deliver a validated learning model, open educational content, courses and learning plans, six methodological sheets and professional portfolios for all participants. It will strengthen their employability, international experience and ability to develop artistic practice outside traditional theatre spaces. We will first develop the educational content together, then validate it in a Living Lab, and finally present it, disseminate it and demonstrate its relevance.
- Partners: SE.S.TA (Czech Republic) & Le Plus Petit Cirque du Monde – PPCM (France)
- Project: 2026-1-CZ01-KA210-VET-000459135
- Period: 1 Sep 2026 – 31 Aug 2027
Project activities
Common implementation and quality framework
The first strand of the project establishes a shared working framework for the whole project. It ensures coordination between the Czech and French partners, continuity across the different phases and a safe working environment. It also includes ongoing documentation and joint quality assessment, so that the educational content can be tested in practice through the Living Lab and subsequently finalised, published and shared with the public.
Development of open educational content
This strand focuses on creating the Advanced Performing Lab Framework, a learning framework for the professional development of performers working in site-specific practice. The Czech and French partners will combine their experience in contemporary dance, new circus, urban acrobatics, public-space practice and adult education. Development will include a Research Lab in France, an international professional colloquium and joint work by methodology experts, mentors, artists and other specialists. All 14 performers will also participate in the design process so that the experience and needs of the direct target group are reflected in the content. The strand will progressively produce:
- Learning objectives and a competence map
- The structure of the Advanced Performing Lab Framework
- Course designs and learning plans
- Thematic learning modules
- A methodology for mentoring, reflection and peer feedback
- Tools for initial, formative and final evaluation
- Six practice-oriented methodological sheets
- Recommendations for safe and responsible artistic practice in non-traditional, urban and industrial environments
The courses and learning plans will be designed in a modular format. Their individual components can be developed as stand-alone digital learning objects, such as thematic lessons, methodological sheets, practical assignments, case studies, video examples or working templates. This structure will allow the content to be used in face-to-face, online and blended learning and adapted for different groups of performers, educators and cultural organisations. Following practical validation and final revision, the educational content will be published through open digital access and made freely available for further professional and educational use.
Living Lab and practical validation of the learning model
This phase will take the form of an international Living Lab in which the educational content, courses and methodological tools are tested under real conditions of site-specific artistic practice. The fourteen Czech and French performers will not be passive recipients of training – they will become active co-creators and testers of the emerging model. During the residency process, they will complete an entire working and learning cycle:
- Analysis of a specific place, its history, functions and social context
- Application of the newly developed educational content
- A creative laboratory and collaborative creation in an international team
- Mentoring and ongoing professional reflection
- Development and presentation of site-specific interventions
- Process documentation, final evaluation and structured feedback
The Living Lab will establish whether the educational content is understandable, practical and transferable to different local and professional settings. It will particularly assess its contribution to working in non-traditional spaces, collaborating in an international team, responding to production and safety requirements and communicating with local, technical and institutional partners. The proposed courses, learning plans and digital learning objects will also be tested – their relevance, clarity, usability and ability to support measurable professional competence development. Feedback from participants, mentors and partner organisations will be systematically documented. It will inform the revision, completion and final validation of the Advanced Performing Lab Framework. The Living Lab documentation will also provide the basis for case studies and the professional portfolios of all 14 performers.
Presentation, dissemination and impact of the project
The final strand of the project is its public and professional culmination. Its purpose is not only to present the results, but also to demonstrate their practical relevance to vocational education, performer employability and the future development of site-specific practice. The main event will be a Public Forum, combining artistic presentation, professional discussion and the sharing of experience from the Living Lab. The forum will address performers, educators, cultural institutions, professional networks, public authorities, regional and industrial partners and the wider public. The relevance of the project will be demonstrated through:
- The results of participants‘ initial and final evaluations
- Work samples and site-specific interventions created in the Living Lab
- The performers‘ professional portfolios
- Case studies and documentation of the creative process
- Reflections from participants, mentors and partner organisations
- Feedback from cultural, regional and industrial partners
- Examples of how the framework can be used in other education, residency and cultural programmes
The final Advanced Performing Lab Framework, courses, learning plans, six methodological sheets and a collection of digital learning objects will be published. The outputs will be freely available through a digital archive and shared on European professional platforms, partner websites and professional networks. Dissemination will aim not only to inform audiences about the project, but above all to encourage other organisations to actively use its results. The project will thereby demonstrate the importance of practice-based vocational education for artists and its contribution to connecting culture, public space, industrial heritage and regional development. The final evaluation and sustainability plan will define how the results will be used in the future learning programmes of SE.S.TA and PPCM and how they can be expanded through further European cooperation.
Main project outputs
- One jointly developed and practically validated Advanced Performing Lab Framework
- A competence map for the professional development of performers
- A set of courses and learning plans
- Thematic learning modules
- Six practice-oriented methodological sheets
- A collection of freely accessible digital learning objects
- A mentoring, reflection and evaluation framework
- Fourteen professional portfolios including photo and video documentation, a competence profile and mentor reflection
- Living Lab documentation and case studies of the resulting site-specific interventions
- A final Public Forum with at least 50 professional guests and stakeholders
- A digital archive of methodological, artistic and documentary outputs
- An evaluation report and a plan for the future use and sustainability of the results
Expected impact
The project is expected to deliver measurable professional competence development. At least 80% of the performers should demonstrate progress in international teamwork, navigating a production environment, creating in non-traditional spaces and reflecting on and presenting their own work. The project will also support new professional contacts and opportunities. Freely available educational content will allow the experience gained to reach a wider group of performers, teachers, educators and cultural organisations in the Czech Republic, France and other European countries. PerformAgora PRO will therefore be more than a one-off residency project: it will create a validated and reusable learning system connecting artistic research, professional practice, digital learning and European cooperation.
