Our Story

A Beginning Rooted in Movement

When Paúl Gomez arrived in Bozeman to work with choreographer Mary Overlie—an influential figure in contemporary performance and the originator of the Six Viewpoints—he encountered a familiar gap. There were places to exercise. There were places to rehearse or perform, occasionally. But there was no home for embodied practice—no space where circus arts existed.

406Cirque emerged in response to that absence.

Trained across disciplines and traditions, Paúl’s work has always lived between worlds: rigorous technique and improvisation, structure and risk, discipline and play.

A group of clowns, both adults and children, stand in front of a large, seated crowd under a canopy. All wear hats and clown noses, entertaining the audience. The image is black and white.

A man and woman stand smiling outdoors in front of snowy trees. The man has curly dark hair, a beard, and wears a dark blazer over a pink graphic T-shirt. The woman has short brown hair and wears a knit maroon and white sweater.

In 2018, he launched 406Cirque with a seasonal circus camp, pop-up contemporary dance classes for adults, and performances at venues including the Bozeman Public Library and the Children’s Museum, among others.

In 2020, he was joined by Naomi Shafer—then ED of Clowns Without Borders USA—and together they expanded 406Cirque to include after-school training and a broader range of adult offerings.

What began as a small experiment—classes, open training, informal gatherings—quickly revealed something larger. People were not just looking for instruction. They were looking for continuity. For ensemble. For a place where creative work could be practiced without being rushed toward product.

406Cirque was built to hold that kind of work:

long-term, embodied, and shared.

Building a Home

From its founding, 406Cirque operated wherever space was available—transforming gyms, borrowed studios, and temporary rooms into places of depth, wonder, and connection. These pop-up homes allowed the work to grow, but they also imposed limits.

Restricted hours, rising rents, and the absence of a permanent base increasingly constrained our ability to serve a growing community.

By 2024, the strain was unmistakable. That year alone, 406Cirque spent an average of $3,800 per month for just twelve hours of studio access per week—an unsustainable model that no longer matched the scale or depth of the work.

In May 2024, 406Cirque signed a long-term lease and moved into 2317 Birdie Drive, establishing its first permanent home. With thousands of hours of volunteer labor, an empty warehouse was finally transformed into a state-of-the-art studio.

The shift was decisive: from survival to stewardship.

Looking Forward

406Cirque continues to evolve.

We are expanding our adult programs, deepening our performance practice, and building partnerships with artists, venues, schools, and civic institutions.

Our focus remains steady: creating space in Bozeman for meaningful movement, sustained inquiry, and creative risk.

A diverse group of people of various ages sits closely together in an audience, smiling and clapping enthusiastically, suggesting they are enjoying a live performance or event.