Roar of the Greasepaint

Heading into the Big Top at Circus World Museum I wasn't sure what to expect... I thought it might be a version of the circus seen in small towns or another performance doused in history.

Which would have been fine.

Instead, we were treated to a representative performance by a fantastic juggler, an impressive hula hoop impresario, and elephant act.

The Circus Master burst forth in song to welcome 300 or so of us under the tent and set the mood for each act to follow.

The clowns, Steve and Ryan, provided comic relief and put on a good show in their own right with just the right touches of slap-stick and sight gags.

More impressive were the women of the trapeze.

Just a floor below them as they performed wondrous feats of balance and strength.  I suppose you can't describe their act as "death-defying," but certainly risking serious injury as each worked together seamlessly on the bar.

Frankly, I've been happy to get my pull-up reps to 8 these days so I really can't contemplate making any of their moves.

It was during their performance I leaned over to my seatmate to whisper, "these are professionals."

The juggler was real good, but none of my photos came out - in addition to flaming pins he easily handled seven rings.

Then came the chair balancer.

He walked into the ring and moved what looked like a patio table with brightly colored legs into the center.

At first there were some short ladders which balanced precariously against each other as he climbed to the top.

But for his highlight, eight chairs topped the table, placed one at a time upon the other as he climbed.  At the top, one upside down chair followed with another where he slowly lifted himself into a handstand.

Like they say on TV, kids - don't try this at home!

The roar of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd and popcorn added a lot to our visit of Circus World with a 3-ring worthy performance.