Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Introduction: a semiotician at the circus -- The production of circus space -- The time of the circus. Cognitive and emotional dimensions of acrobatics and other circus acts -- -- In what sense is a circus animal performing? -- Horses' feathers: from tacit knowledge to circus metaphors -- Circus and cycles -- The pyramid and the wheel: the visual discourse of circus acrobatics -- The logic of clown faces -- Incident, accident, failure: life and death at the circus -- There's no business like show business: the marketing of performance -- The researcher as spectator: the pragmatics of circus performances -- Conclusion: circus in perspective.