RINGRLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS OPENS TODAY; HOME IS A THREE-RING CIRCUS

CIRCUS NINJA: Teenaged masters of the ancient marial art of Wushu will perform during the circus this weekend.

Some kids still dream of running away from home to join the circus, one of its youngest performers confirms. The circus is home to Jessica Adams.

She's the 10-year-old daughter of Bobbi and Erik Adams, who along with some fox terriers, standard poodles and toy poodles comprise the Adams Dog Act. The act is part of the 122nd edition of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which opens a six-show stand tonight at the Show Me Center.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are available at the Show Me Center Box Office, the University Center information desk, Schnucks, Disc Jockey Records, and the main branches of Capital Bank in Jackson, Perryville, Poplar Bluff and Sikeston.

This year's circus is a goulash of cultures. It begins with teams of aerial acrobats from the Commonwealth of Independent States and proceeds to the 40 Mongolians who present a show of juggling, weight lifting and contortionism.

A sure attraction for young males will be the Shanghai Wushu Team from the People's Republic of China. The 13 ninjas deliver kicks, punches, leaps and somersaults in a three-ring athletic display.

Other international performers include the Qorchins, a team of expert equestrians from Kazakhstan, and the Fausto Scorpions, a foot-juggling team from the Philippines.

The Adamses are one of a number of homegrown acts spotlighted during the nearly 2-hour circus. Others include the elephant-riding acrobats Kevin, Michael and Axel Gautier, Natalie Osborn, Barbara Nolan and Catherine Bretz, and Wade Burck, the circus' latest master of the snarling Bengal tigers.

Animal Anomalies comes along about half an hour after intermission. American Bernice Collins will be featured in Ring Three with her four Belgian draft horses and four miniature horses, while Juan Raul Rodriguez of Argentina fills Ring One with shaggy laughter and Lloyd's Old English Sheepdogs.

The Adams Dog Act has Ring Two, and that's where Jessica will be in her nautical costume. In one of her tricks she prompts two standard poodles to jump over each other.

In the other she rides in the sidecar while a standard poodle drives a motorcycle.

How do you teach a poodle to drive a motorcycle? "It takes time," Jessica says matter-of-factly.

It's not that poodles, while intelligent, are the world's most trainable dogs.

"We use poodles because a lot of people can identify with them," Bobbi said from one of the circus' stops in Topeka, Kan..

Training begins when the dogs are about a year old. The dogs in the act are 4-7 years old.

Jessica has been part of the act for four years. The family lives in a travel trailer during the 48 weeks they are on the road each year. Their home is in Gibsonton, Fla.

Bobbi says Jessica has a fairly conventional life teachers travel with the circus and there are always plenty of children to play with with the benefits of travel and living and working with people from so many different cultures.

"Sometimes it gets kind of hard," Bobbi says of the time spent on the road. But she says Jessica's "having a very normal childhood. And she's learning lots of different things from the other performers from Mongolia and Russia."

When not traveling or performing, the Adamses must continue practicing with their dogs. "They just get lazy sometimes and you have to give them treats," Bobbi said.

Hot dogs are the dogs' favorite.

Jessica's parents met while their families were working together in a show. They married 22 years ago and have had their dog act ever since.

But Jessica doesn't necessarily plan to spend the rest of her life in the circus. She's interested in marine biology. "I like underwater sea life," she says.

For now, she's enjoying the cheers and talking to the children who come by to see the dogs and reveal their dreams about joining the circus.