Continuing with the fun, laughter and entertainment tradition of the Moscow Circus, Michael Edgeley brought a fantastic line-up to the Suncoast Casino for two hours of spectacular family entertainment. The circus ring – minus sawdust – was splendid with red carpet and gold curtaining.

Quarter to eight saw the curtain raiser with Stanislav “Stas” Knyazkov being ringmaster, juggler and clown accompanied by Einstein-looking clown, Vasiliy “Vas” Trifonov.

The ring came alive to the sound of drumming by the Precision Percussion guys. Boy, could they drum! On the trampoline, the Popovs, a Russian gymnast team, bounced higher and higher. The high wire featured a fearless pair who performed with no safety net! On the two Russian swings, clad in black leather were the Domshyns.

There was clever clowning around during set changes. At one point while the circus resident band played You Can Leave Your Hat On, the clown performed a seductive pole dance. In another, he did the “Matrix” moves to The Matrix theme song.

The aerial flyers saw the Trio Meshchanov swaying to and fro, high above the ground.

The sound effects were superb. The sound of wind saw an Eskimo emerge, followed by the fast tracking acrobatic group, the Ensemble Rubtsov, who twist and turn at breakneck speed. The vertical trapeze act was nail-biting with one trapeze artist falling 12 metres, fortunately into the safety of a net.

With a Strictly Come Dancing look, the Curatola Brothers performed duo acrobatics. Man’s best friend, The Poodles on Parade, skipped, jumped and charmed the socks off the audience. The night’s entertainment came to an end with the motorbike riders’ death defying stunts in the Globe of Death.

The Moscow Circus runs at the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World until April 17. Bookings at Computicket. Tickets from R110 to R270 for adults and R65 to R170 for children. Call 083 915 8000 or visit www.computicket.com – Pauline Dalais