Circus is a name for a traveling company of performers. These performers are usually acrobats, clowns, and trained animals, although circuses have musicians, trapeze, and other stunt artists. Circuses typically perform in a circus tent. The circus is more of an art form than a pure show today. Some say that the history of the circus began in the 18th century. Some say that the history of the circus begins in ancient Rome. Mix all that, and you get a big part of the circus. These aspects brought some of the most serious accidents in circus history.