"Only human performers:" Cirque Italia, known as Italian Water Circus, stops in Greendale





Cirque Italia



GREENDALE -- Cirque Italia is a circus that's the first-of-its-kind in the country. It's known as the Italian Water Circus.

"People have their mouths dropped open when they see the mermaid tails come off. They're like, 'oh wow!'" Chelcie Carpenter, mermaid said.

Cirque Italia is the first-ever water circus in the United States.

"What we do is, we have the jet ski in the water and we connect it to this huge later and basically just drive around the pool," Chris Carpenter, merman said.

Chris Carpenter



Part of what makes the European-style circus different from other circus shows is what they show audiences. There aren't any elephants, lions or tigers.

"We're more of a cirque-style show. We use only human performers. We substitute things like dinosaurs and mermaids and fairy godmothers into the show instead," Chris Morrell said.

During the show, there's water everywhere! 35,000 gallons of it to be exact. It comes up from the floor. It falls down from the ceiling. Water plays an intricate role in every single one of their performances.

Cirque Italia



Cirque Italia



Cirque Italia



Cirque Italia



"At the end of every show, we go out, we take photos and we speak with all of the customers," Chelcie Carpenter said.

This circus travels all over the country, and they're constantly changing their act, so if you've seen it before, you're guaranteed to see a different show.

"A lot of shows, you see someone up on stage, but then you never see them again. Here the person who greeted you at the door, who sold you tickets, who sold you popcorn, you're going to see them on stage later," Morrell said.

Cirque Italia



Cirque Italia



If you missed the show this weekend in Greendale, you can check out where they're headed next by CLICKING HERE.