01.00.00.00

Circus School Exterior

Eric Campbell VO: From the outside it's like any dreary Moscow building.

But go inside and something strange begins. The grey world at the door gives way to a world of colour and magic.

00.27

Performers

But this is no place of fantasy - it's a school.

Since 1927 it's been teaching Russians the serious business of circus.

00.41

Valentina Savina - Circus School Director

Valentina: It's the only circus school in Russia and was the first professional school in the world probably because the Russian people love the circus so much.

00.52

Its students aren't just agile, dexterous and determined. They've all decided there's nothing else they'd rather do.

00.59

Girl performing handstand

Circus is art, art is beautiful and beauty will save the world.

Girl juggling skittles

I can't live without it. I tried everything and I realised I can't live without the stage - without music.

Boy juggling tennis balls

This was my childhood dream - that's all.

01.21

But the students need more than passion and desire. They set rigorous exams to be admitted. And even more rigorous exams to pass.

01.30

Valentina Savina

Valentina: Besides the special disciplines we teach here, acrobatics, gymnastics, juggling and other cicus genres, the standards are also learn world culture, foreign languages, literature. We give them a comprehensive knowledge.

01.49

The schools fame has now spread to the West. Twenty one year old Rasmus Madsen is one of eight students from Denmark. They pay $400 a month for classes and accommodation.

01.58

Rasmus on rings

Rasmus: It's one of the best schools in the world.

02.02

Training

The end of Communism hasn't just opened the school to fee paying foreigners. It's made foreigners a prized commodity.

02.10

Trapeze Artist

Over the last five years the Russian government has cut funding by 40 percent. Financially the school is performing without a safety net.

02.19

Rasmus

Rasmus: Actually I don't know much about the economy here. But if you just look around and see it's a poor place.

02.30

Sisters with fans

It's certainly not the money that brings teachers here.

Alexander Larin - teacher - teaching trapeze girl

Alexander Larin graduated from circus school in 1949. He's been teaching here since 1969.

02.44

Alexander Larin

Alexander: My wife says, "That's enough. You're tired." I am not young, but it doesn't matter. I still have the strength.

02.56

For the three years and ten months the students are here they live and breathe the circus. Most of them live on the premises, all of them practise just about every day. But when it comes to getting a job afterwards all the hard work can come down to one final performance.

03.16

Final warm ups

Today the senior students are going through their last warm up.

03.24

Alya: A few hours from now they'll be doing their graduation performance in front of an auditorium of examiners and talent scouts.

It's their ticket to life. Their future work depends upon their performance today.

03.41

Juggling

Alex has a tentative offer from a Russian circus. His performance will determine if he gets a contract. The day has been a long time coming.

Dressing Room

Alex: My parents worked in the circus and I started to work with them when I was four.

04.00

Alex, Svetlana and Zhenya are among the best of the graduate class. But with acts that involve juggling and acrobatics, things can go horribly wrong.

04.10

Zhenya: Nobody is insured against that.

Alexander: The hands can be shaky. You can stumble and fall. You can stumble and fall as you enter the ring and that will be it. You may as well turn around and leave that very moment.

Svetlana: I broke two cups last time for example. Everything was falling out of my hands.

04.41

Final performances

It's a daunting crowd. One half of the audience are friends and family. The other half are examiners and talent scouts.

04.53

Zhenya - clown juggler with big nose.

For poor Zhenya just about everything that could go wrong did.

05.10

Juggler - black and white

For Alex everything went right - almost.

05.22

Sisters

But on this particular day Svetlana and her sister Marina were the stars that shone.

05.41

Svetlana and Marina won first prize - and a job in France.

Alexander came second but won a contract.

Zhenya was picked up by a Russian circus.

And despite his wife's objections - Alexander Larin will be teaching next year's graduates.

06.02

ENDS