Isabel Joly

Director of FEDEC, the international network for professional circus education.

With a degree in communications from the University of Lille (France), Isabel joined the European Commission in the Directorate-General for Education and Culture, and this immersion in cultural issues at European level gave her professional life a decisive direction.

She spent 5 years gaining experience of the European institutions before joining RESEO, the European network for opera and dance education, in 2002, becoming its Director. After 14 rewarding years, Isabel left RESEO for a Belgian musical theatre company, Zonzo Compagnie. She was responsible for coordinating a Big Bang music festival for young audiences that takes place annually in ten European cities.

Since January 2018, Isabel has answered the call from FEDEC where she shares her passion for arts education with nearly 90 members around the world, professional schools but also organisations placing circus arts education, training and learning at the heart of their project.

Passionate about the development of contemporary circus, she is a member of Circostrada Streering Committee (Paris, FR) and Circusnex Managing Board (Paris, FR).