The Ashton Family Circus has been a highlight of the Extravaganza Fair for 10 years and during that time it has remained a family affair.
Mother Anna is a professional on the pole during her aerial act and father Royce is a charismatic clown, slipping into the goofball character effortlessly.
Their twin sons Jaz and Dallas, had been assisting in the family act since they were "teeny tiny", Mr Ashton said.
"They would have been about 2 when we hit the road — they used to join on their little runner bikes and ride through the show while my wife Anna, our daughter Dylan and I performed.
"That was their little cameo until they got a bit bigger and started doing some crazy stuff."
Dylan is now 18 and flown the coop, happily living her own life, but the rest of the family is still hard at work.
Mr Ashton used to hold a large pole with a twin on either side and dangle them from the ends.
It was lots of fun, until one of them let go and the other one got a "donk" to the head, Mr Ashton said.
Jaz was a self-taught juggler, and the father-son duo had a slot in the show lobbing juggling clubs at one another.
Dallas impressed crowds with his diablo yoyo skills, throwing it far into the air and catching it again with a mess of knots.
Their Dunedin show yesterday was the second time performing the act, and it had a few "teething issues", but rolling with the punches was all part of a travelling circus.
"We practised in winter, but all our big illusion equipment was in storage in the North Island — it all moved smoothly, all things considered, and the boys did awesome."
Travelling the country as a family circus involved a lot of time spent with one another and, at times, it could be "pretty intense", Mr Ashton said.
"I don’t know how many other families there are around the world doing this — I would love to meet them.
"We live together, work together. All week we’re travelling and going on adventures ... you have to be tight-knit to perform like that and it puts you to the test at times."
Their family act involves the twin’s parents swinging the boys up, down and all around — a move recently added to the show.
"You should have heard when we first tried that — it was all screams, but by the second or third time, it was a ‘woo-hoo, I quite enjoyed that’."
The family’s next shows are at Surrey Park, in Invercargill, on November 2 and 3.
