Shellharbour-born Tracey Jratlou once met an acrobat in a cafe and ran away to the circus with him.
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Now the circus has brought her back to her hometown, with that acrobat and their family in tow.
Tracey, Mohammed and their daughters Amina, 16, and Naiema, 10, are involved with the Sesame Street Circus Spectacular, which is showing in Shellharbour until February 6.
Tracey works the front of house, while Mohammed, Amina and Naiema perform in the big top, as do their nine dogs.
Tracey and Mohammed met in a Wollongong cafe in 1999; Mohammed was a third-generation circus performer from Morocco, while Tracey worked a "normal, 9 to 5" job.
After a long distance relationship Tracey joined the circus - initially for just a year, but she was hooked.
"It's not just a job, it's a lifestyle," she said.
The family travels for 11 months of the year and gets opportunity to see some "amazing places" - for instance, they worked in Japan for five years.
Tracey said it also meant they got to spend a lot of time with their daughters and see them grow up.
"I wouldn't change it for the world," she said.
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The family are part of Silvers Circus, which produces the Sesame Street Circus Spectacular.
"It's like a moving community... We got on very, very well and support each other, it's lovely," Tracey said.
As well as favourite characters like Elmo and Cookie Monster, the show features aerialists, motorcycles speeding around inside the 'globe of death', jugglers, unicycles, and of course, the Jratlous' dog comedy act.
After a tough couple of years for the circus, Tracey said she hoped people would come and support it while it was in the Illawarra, adding that it was not just for children.
With her parents and brother still living in Shellharbour, Tracey said it was nice to come back.
"It's good to be home," she said.
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