CIRCUS season is coming to Lighthouse, Poole Centre for the Arts, this autumn.

A packed schedule of family friendly circus arts events has been unveiled, showcasing the very best in talent from the UK and France.

Kicking things off is the UK premiere of Boo by French circus company CirkVOST on September 12 and 13. This incredible free outdoor spectacular takes place in Poole Park and features a dozen crazy acrobats let loose atop a unique 15 metre high bamboo structure.

Featuring jaw-dropping and mesmerising aerial work set to a stunning musical accompaniment, Boo forms part of the Inside Out Dorset Festival and is produced by Activate in association with Lighthouse, Borough of Poole and Poole Tourism.

Following the success of previous years, Lighthouse brings back its popular free Family Circus Fun Day on October 26. With a packed programme of pop-up performances, workshops and backstage tours, this is your chance to learn the tricks of the trade from professional circus artists.

Highlights include a performance of L’après Midi d’un Foehn by Company Non Nova, in which ordinary plastic bags are magically brought to life and transformed into heavenly dancers by a mysterious ballet master.

A pirouetting solo is followed by a tender and comic pas de deux until a full corps de ballet fills the air, joyously swirling and twirling to the beautiful music of Debussy.

There’s also a chance to enjoy the incredible juggling skills of Clement Dazin in Bruit de Couloir, workshops in static trapeze, aerial hoop, silks and hula hooping from Polz Apart, circus skills workshops with Jamie Jigsaw and much more.

Some workshops and performances at the Fun Day will be ticketed on a donation basis, with a limited allocation of tickets being made available from the Lighthouse ticket office on September 1.

Dare to Sea on October 28 and 29 is a magical journey for children and adults which brings together dancers, circus performers and visual artists.

A Franco-British collaboration, Lighthouse commissioned Peut-Etre Theatre from the UK and France’s La Manoeuvre to create the piece which features an underwater world conjured through handmade animated projections. Waves are created through an original score and objects such as juggling clubs become fish darting through the water.

This exciting season of circus events at Lighthouse is part of PASS, a groundbreaking collaboration between eight French and English creation centres designed to support the development and touring of new contemporary circus, funded through the Interreg programme.