And we do a lot of that as we travel around the U.S. teaching circus arts to children of all ages. While we're having all that fun with circus routines, we also inject healthy doses of self-reliance and esteem building into our students.

Although most of our programs focus on schools, we are available as well for summer camps, recreational department offerings, corporate special events and resort bookings.

Our offerings run the gamut - - everything from brief workshops covering the basics of balancing and hand-eye coordination to month long residencies where students master the intricacies of juggling, clowning and even (gasp!) dazzling flying trapeze acts.

And if our regular menu doesn't fill the bill, we'll custom design a circus event just for you.

We're often asked how we got started in such an offbeat but fun business. It began in Tallahassee, Fla., in 1979 when a young man named Bruce Pfeffer decided to take his show on the road. The show centered on the medieval art of juggling, a skill he had learned eight years earlier and perfected at Florida State University's Flying High Circus. Before long, that lone juggling act grew into a full-fledged circus, complete with tumbling, fire-eating and trapeze acts.

But Bruce wanted his circus to do more than simply entertain. He wanted it to educate. So he developed a circus arts instruction program adaptable to various age levels and began marketing it to schools, summer camps and family resorts. The results were remarkable. Kids didn't just sit passively and watch a performance. They were the performance, from makeup artists, to costumers, to ringmasters, to star performers. Not only did they learn new skills from the CIRCUS OF THE KIDS experience, they developed the rock solid character traits all parents want their children to have - things like self-esteem and endurance, persistence and self-discipline. They tested their limits. They succeeded. And during the whole experience, they had lots of fun.

Since 1982, COTK has appeared at more than 150 venues throughout the U.S. and Canada and brought the joy of the circus to more than 200,000 kids of all ages. In recent years, our program has expanded and evolved to include a wider range of selections for schools as well as corporate offerings and other options for adults.

If you would like to read a brief biography of our other key players please click HERE.