Circus performers are from all over the world. The Big Apple Circus, for example, has performers from countries such as China, England and Russia, according to NYU Live Wire. The multicultural melting pot lives and works together, forcing crew and performers to learn new customs and languages. Circuses offer acts on high wires to acts with wild animals, all with different people on stage and behind the scenes. All these different people live together like a small community, traveling from place to place.
Many of the performers are from circus families. Some are fourth-generation show people who are friends with other performers who have also worked in circuses all their lives. Children are homeschooled together with a teacher using a flexible curriculum. They learn their school work while they are traveling, and they use the geography of their travels to supplement their education. This gives children who grow up in the circus many different views on life and work.
Circus life can start very early in the morning. Rehearsals and preparations for the shows are done during the day, and then the circus travels from town to town. Barnum and Bailey Circus must break down its tents and travel by train to its destinations, according to Simon Rios of the "Nashua Telegraph." They typically stay in one town for five days. Once they arrive, the tents and everything for the show must be set up again. The logistics of this process alone can be grueling.
When the circus people arrive in a new town, they may not know where anything is, like the bank or grocery store, and they may do about 500 shows a year, according to Simon Rios of the "Nashua Telegraph." The touring can be relentless, with performers and crew living in small quarters of a trailer or train car. They may not have time to look around new cities and relax because they need to practice for the shows. However many carnies love their work and live traveling with the circus.