Balian, decked out in his circus shirt, ready to see The Greatest Show on Earth!

Balian and daddy at TWCA.

The three of us, waiting to go to our seats in the arena.

After we found our seats, we settled in with some popcorn and watched all of the pre-show fun! There were silly clowns doing lots of silly tricks in the ring. B was captivated from the moment we walked in, taking in the lights, the colors and the music.

Popcorn time!

There was a paint splattered drop cloth over 'The Greatest Show on Earth' sign.

The theme of the show was 'Built to Amaze,' and we figured that the show would be centered around building things, construction, etc. And of course, we were ready to be amazed!

When it was time for the show to begin, Ring Master Andre McClain greeted the crowd with singing and lots of excitement! Andre is no stranger to performing, having grown up on a ranch with horses, and being involved in rodeos when he was growing up. Though Mr. McClain has a fantastic and engaging personality, all his own, I would definitely say that he almost reminds me of Wayne Brady (he probably gets that a lot), because of his ability to entertain the crowd, his improv skills, and of course, his ability to sing and dance.

The start of the show... we're ready to be amazed!

The show began with a parade of dancers, clowns, horses, tumblers and more!

The parade of elephants was magnificent...

..and here come the trucks! B loved seeing these vehicles on the floor!

Mr. McClain wraps up the opening number, and the floor is prepped for the acts to follow.

The opening number of a Ringling Bros. show is always fabulous! There's so much to see, and listen to between the music, the lights, and all of the activity happening in the ring! I was impressed by the costumes right off, and couldn't wait to see the elephants come back out in the second half of the show!

Check out some of the amazing performances from the first half of the show...

We were dazzled by the sky dancers, who dangled beautifully from spirals in the sky!

Next up, Troupe Charles performed their basketbal tricks on unicycles!

We were absolutely amazed by these two, who walked on the ceiling during the Aerial Footloop performance!

One of the scariest parts of the circus (to me), is the tiger cage! Mr. Tabayara Maluenda fearlessly shows the audience his bond with these incedible animals.

These gorgeous tigers show great love for their trainer, and he calls them each by name, and even says, 'Azucar', or sugar to them as he interacts with them. He wows the crowd as he has the tigers lie down and roll over, all together. He also has them stand on their hind legs, and even steals a kiss from one of these beautiful 300 pound cats!

More fun from these silly circus clowns, making a big mess on the floor! B laughed hysterically at these silly guys and gals as they dunked each other into a paint bucket, and then mopped up the mess.

Ring Master McClain pitted the boys against the girls for a challenge of strength. These amazing duos showed us their amazing strength as the bent, twisted and turned in every direction!

A crowd favorite, was the Danguir Troupe. Four men and one woman amazed us as the walked across the high wire. They also jumped rope, and danced across the wire!

The most amazing part of the Danguir Troupe's act, was when they rode a bike across the wire, with the girl balancing between the bikes, in a chair... and she stood up!

A surprise to us all, was when a large cannon was brought out into the ring. My mother-in-law leaned over and said, 'I didn't even know they still did things like this!'

There she goes- Elliana Grace (from Quebec) was shot out of a cannon, experiencing a G force of 7, 15 feet into the air, right before our very eyes! It was incredible!

Me, with my mother-in-law during the brief intermission...

The first half of the show was so incredible! I knew the second half was going to be amazing! We enjoyed taking a few minutes during the intermission to chat about the favorite performances from the first half of the show, and B was telling us that he loved the trucks and the motorcycles that were in the ring!

The second half of the show began, and we were wowed by these acrobats, who moved and bounced with such precision on the large trampoline!

And of course, no circus is complete without a litle fire!

My favorite part of the circus is always the elephants. They are so beautiful, graceful, and almost dance with their trainers... they're amazing!

The elephants- dancing for the crowd!

The elephants balanced on two legs for us, as the music played...

...and they spun around, too!

The audience went wild over seeing the elephants doing their tricks!

The Steel Vortex performance was incredible! It was so scary to watch, but I couldn't look away, because I wanted to see what these amazing foks were going to attempt. As the wheel turned and spun round and round, the guys on the outside of the wheels were jumping, skipping rope, laying down, etc! Their routine was absolutely amazing!

There they go... I watched the whole time, hoping no one would fall off (and no one did!).

The show came to the point to start winding down, but not without the last big number!

We were wowed again by song, dance, tumbles and acrobatics!

Most al of the performers came back out to make one last appearence at the close of the show. There was so much happening in the ring, that I didn't know where to look! I didn't want to miss anything!

And then the show closed with blasts of confetti, flying all over the arena! It was awesome!

We were so impressed by Built to Amaze! B had an excellent time, and I knew that this year, he's really be able to take the show in, and share his excitement over what he saw. Of course, no one wanted to leave the circus, and B has already told us that he wants to be 'in' the circus (no surprise there- he comes from a family of performers). 

We talked about the show all the way home! B was very impressed, and as a parent, I was glad to see that the focus of the show was on teamwork, working together to build something amazing! Most of the performances wouldn't have been possible without a team, and we tried our best to explain to B that the troupes worked together to make their acts happen.

Our time spent at Time Warner Cable Arena was great! The staff at the arena are so friendly and helpful. They never seem to lose their patience with impatient crowds, and do their best to direct everyone to where they need to be! We love attending events at this venue- it's a big, beautiful arena with a lot to see, friendly service, and it's always clean- from the actual arena to the restroom and concession!

Want to experience the show? There's still time!

The Greatest Show on Earth: Built to Amaze is at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC through Sunday, February 2nd. Click here for showtimes and to purchase tickets to the show!

Want to catch Built to Amaze in a city near you? Click here for their full tour schedule!

Time Warner Cable Arena has a fabulous lineup of concerts, shows and family entertainment! Click here to see what's coming up on their show schedule!

Special thanks to FELD Enterainment and Time Warner Cable Arena for hosting us for a night at the circus! We had a truly amazing time, and we can't wait to catch the circus on tour again next year!

What are some of your favorite circus acts?