Instead, any family member who wanted to dodge family destiny would have run away to be teachers or bank managers, such is the pull of the circus that has been the family "trade" for centuries.

Rosita Belli Meatchem remembers hitching a ride to school on an elephant with her sisters, four of whom became circus performers.

It was just another day in the life of the daughters of an elephant trainer with a circus pedigree dating back to the 17th century.

While travelling all over the world, Belli Meatchem and her sister Caroline Belli Brophy met and married performers with their own impressive circus credentials.

David Meatchem was born into a circus family in South Africa and Gary Brophy is one of an Australian circus clan.

The two couples performed in other travelling shows until 1996 when they realised a dream of starting their own circus, performing with their five children and a nephew.

A third sister, Pearl Belli Williams, helped the couples establish Circus Sunrise. She now operates a coffee shop in Sydney, but her son Sascha-Lloyd still performs.

David Meatchem said being steeped in circus lore from birth gave the Circus Sunrise families an edge over other circus performers.

In addition to their extraordinary acrobatic and entertaining skills, the crew has an intimate knowledge of theatre craft and the history of circus arts.

"People go to NICA [the National Institute of Circus Arts] and they learn skills, but they don't learn about the circus," he said.

The families started Sunrise so they could be together, he said, although they also enjoyed the autonomy of being their own bosses.

"You can get frustrated working for someone else; you lose life," he said.

"If you own the circus, you can be adventurous and introduce new ideas and experiences."

While Sunrise mostly works around Melbourne, with many loyal fans who travel to different towns to see them perform, the opportunity to travel together is also a freedom the circus family enjoys.