Here comes the circus!

The universal character of fun is what makes Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's "Greatest Show on Earth" just that, and the circus has the guy to bring it.

Ringling, in town from now until April 29, is marking its 137th season with what it calls a "Bellobration." The production centers on Bello Nock - a hilarious daredevil with bright orange hair in a straight-up 'do.

This year, in planning the show around Bello, the organizers also went for an around-the-world experience that draws together performers from many nations.

The Southern Chinese Zunyi Troupe presents the art of acrobatic body balancing, the Palazovi Troupe comes from Bulgaria to build a multiple-tier human tower, and Budapest natives Viktor Bako and Benedek Ezteri execute 360s and jumps over clowns as they perform BMX-style bike routines that make your hair rise higher than Bello's.

Nicole Feld, a show producer, said she travels the world seeking unique talents and new creative touches for Ringling Bros. productions.

"Every show that we do is different and unique," Feld says. "The story line changes, the lighting changes, the talent changes - all to create a show that will be completely different from any show we've ever done before."

Bringing various talents together for this collaboration introduces various training schools, art forms, and cultures to the production.

Nothing supports the international theme better than its music. Asian elephants walk through the rings; Mexican brothers Mauricio and Alberto Aguilar jump, flip, and dance on a razor-thin wire strung 25 feet above the ground; and the multinational trapeze troupe the Flying Poemas performs its routines - all of the acts getting specialized harmonies in keeping with their culture.

Ringmaster Tyron McFarlan admires the choice of music, which he says "is my favorite element of the show. The fuse of music has an international appeal. It makes the show musically stimulating."

And visual stimulation is another key to this show.

In addition to seeing the arena presentation, the audience can view each act from many angles, as a video screen is positioned to one side of the performance area.

"Inclusion of the video screen allows the audience to focus differently," McFarlan says. "It gives a bird's-eye view on the performance."

Bengal and white tigers, elephants, and the human cannonballs are added attractions.

In the second part of Bellobration, Bello and Nikolas Wallenda, a member of the lengendary high-wire family, perform a thrilling act on the 39-foot Wheel of Steel. The two daredevils spin, flip, and sway on the wheel as if they were playing on a swing. Bello himself designed, engineered and built the structure.

Collaboration is the biggest part of creating "The Greatest Show on Earth." "A lot goes into the show to make it look easy," says Bello. Even though he is the one climbing the 68-foot-tall sway pole and somersaulting around the arena, he knows there are hundreds of people who work hard behind the scenes to put on the show. And to Bello "that's what makes the Greatest Show on Earth, the Greatest Show on Earth."

See staff photographer Laurence Kesterson's video on the circus at http://go.philly.com/circus

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"Bellobration," this year's version of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is running now through April 29 at Wachovia Spectrum, 3601 S. Broad St.

An all-access preshow, free to ticketholders, starts an hour before showtime. Families can learn circus skills, become CircusFit, meet Ringling Bros. performers and get an up-close look at the animal stars of the circus.

Showtimes: 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Tuesday; 7 p.m. Wednesday; 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. April 27; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. April 28; 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday, April 29.

Tickets: $15, $23, and $27.

Information: 1-800-298-4200, www.ComcastTIX.com or the Wachovia Complex Box Office.