Circus (2010)

In a world that offers a dizzying array of amusements and entertainments, there is none quite so enduring or universal as the circus. Now, over the course of many dramatic hours, Show of Force, the team who brought viewers the Emmy Award-winning PBS series "CARRIER", turn their lenses on the circus — not just under the big top, but far beyond it — into what circus folk call “the backyard,” the place where the trailers are parked and the real heart of the circus beats. Slated to premiere in fall 2010 on PBS, "CIRCUS" will illuminate the sights, sounds and stories of this fascinating cultural heritage.

"CIRCUS" will let viewers escape into this world, see it as never before and understand what it takes to live this life — virtually an art form — that dates back centuries. With unprecedented access granted by the Big Apple Circus, the filmmakers will follow the traveling company over the course of an entire season, showcasing the circus community’s wandering caravan, “the city without a zip code.” Viewers will witness the circus as a world unto itself, with its own lingo, rules and tight-knit community. Among the 150 adults who make up the company, there are the expected clowns, tightrope walkers, trapeze artists and animal trainers, as well as carpenters, electricians, concessionaires (known in circus lingo as “butchers”), musicians, ushers, cooks, teachers and even clergy. Performers come from all over the world to travel with Big Apple — the Nanjing Duo from China, the Flying Neves from Brazil, the Rodion Troupe from Russia, Olivier Taquin from Belgium and Sultan Kumisbayev from Kazakhstan — making a diverse traveling family. (Source: PBS)