I Took Three Hard-to-Please Preteens to the Ringling Bros. Circus in Brooklyn —Here’s How it Went

One of the biggest shifts in the 2026 version of Ringling is that there are no live animals. Admittedly, the millennial in me missed them. Can you really call it a circus without elephants, tigers and monkeys? Instead, the show introduces Bailey the Robo Pup, a fan-favorite robot dog with plenty of personality. The boys were immediately into it, and it felt like a smart update for a new generation. That said, the real stars of the show are the performers.

Reimagined through the lens of pop culture and festivals, “the greatest show on earth" has all the makings of a traditional circus: high-flying aerialists, a breathtaking trapeze, jaw-dropping balance acts and a teeterboard (essentially a giant seesaw that launches performers high into the air with precision). But everything feels bigger and more high-energy. The entire show moves at the speed of today’s world. Huge screens and real-time cameras capture the action from angles you’d normally never see, so even if you’re sitting far from the floor, you still feel close to the action.

The show is also a music-driven experience led by a live DJ, with a soundtrack that jumps between hip-hop, EDM, techno, Latin, pop and mashups. My son immediately started bobbing his head the moment the music kicked in, and suddenly the whole arena felt less like a traditional circus and more like a full-blown concert. There’s also live singing from Aria, the show’s lead vocalist, whose voice cuts through the arena and adds another layer of energy to the performance.

One of my personal favorites was Cam, a content creator and unicycle rider who stacks up to 25 wheels into a tower that reaches nearly 35 feet high. The boys leaned forward in their seats as the tower kept growing higher and higher. Watching him balance on what looked like a skyscraper made entirely of unicycles was mildly terrifying.

Another standout is the acrobatic bicycle act from China created exclusively for Ringling. At one point, performers formed human pyramids while riding moving bikes. We collectively gasped when one acrobat ran across the backs of nine riders in motion. I looked over at the boys, and their mouths were literally hanging open—which, honestly, was my exact reaction too. And then there’s Salsa Colombia, a fiery dance and acrobatics troupe that transforms the arena floor into a full-blown Latin party. At one point, midway through the show, one of the boys turned to me and said, very seriously, “No, this really is the greatest show.” I agree, kid.

The show features 65 performers from 17 countries, and the level of talent is incredible. What I appreciated most is how the production keeps the momentum going; there’s almost no downtime between acts, which means the excitement of a two-hour show never dips. For kids especially, that pacing matters. Usually at concerts or big events, I’m the person quietly suggesting we slip out five or ten minutes early to beat the crowd. But this time, there was no chance of that happening. The boys were having an absolute blast, completely locked into every stunt and impossible flip. And to be frank, so was I.

And if you want the full experience, bring a few preteens along. Just be prepared: they’ll spend the entire ride home telling you which act was the most insane—and arguing about it the whole way.

Tickets are on sale now at Ringling.com.