FRENCH circus company Circa Tsuica visits Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts on March 6 as a part of a nine-venue tour of its hit show Opus 7, a feel-good blend of daredevil acrobatics and ripping brass rhythm - with added local flavour.

At each of the tour venues, Circa Tsuica’s ten acrobat-musicians will be joined by a local brass band and at Lighthouse it will be musicians selected from the Jazz Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth’s based at Queen Elizabeth’s School in Wimborne.

The band began working with Circa Tsuica’s music director Camille Secheppet back in December to learn the show’s repertoire of Balkan brass and American jazz – and added their own Poole sounds into the mix.

They also learnt Circa Tsuica’s technique of ‘sound painting’ so they can move as they play – though the serious acrobatics will be left to the professionals!

The resulting show is an hour of non-stop brass beats, risk-taking circus tricks and quirky humour where the performers never drop a note and the audience gets to join in the party.

The 13 musicians taking part are aged between 14 and 18 and have been selected from The Jazz Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth’s.

They are: Philippa Almond, 17, flute; Jazz Ashley, 16, tenor sax; Hannah Conway, 17, baritone sax; Christopher Coomes, 18, tenor sax; Josh Eaton, 15, trumpet; Harry Eldridge, 16 alto sax; Hannah Gibb, 18, clarinet; Charlotte Gray, 14, trumpet; Jason Hayter, 16, trumpet; Amy Hornsby, 15, flute; Rebecca Jenkins, 17, flute; Kate Miller Sparks, 16, bassoon; and Joshua Plummer, 15, euphonium.

Steve Glover, the Orchestra’s MD, said: “It’s a real privilege for our elite musicians to be involved with this project, and we are all very excited about the upcoming performance at Lighthouse.

"Our band has played many gigs but none quite like this before! We can’t wait.”

Opus 7 is the fifth show from Circus Evolution, a three-year Arts Council England strategic touring initiative created to ensure that more high-quality contemporary circus work reaches a wider range of people across England.

Circus Evolution is managed by Crying Out Loud whose artistic director Rachel Clare says: “Opus 7 is an ideal show for the Circus Evolution initiative because it offers humour and spectacle, acrobatic and musical skill, and the opportunity for local musicians to work with French artists to inspire their musicianship and perform with them at some of the most prominent regional venues in the country.”

The show begins at 3pm. Contact the box office for tickets.