Amidst a sea of flashing whirly-gigs and other various glowing paraphernalia, a crowd of families sat last night in the Bryce Jordan Center, waiting for the entrance of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

And the entrance of "The Greatest Show on Earth" was nothing less than grand. There was a full parade of all the animals, clowns, trapeze artists and other stars of the show.

Clad in a golden-sequined top hat, coattails and adorned with a cane, Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson got the full attention of the crowd with the opening number, "This Is the Circus." Throughout explosions and other pyrotechnics, Iverson announced all the acts of the circus, waiting until the end to announce the stars.

"The best is yet to come, you wanna know why?" Iverson said.

He proceeded to evoke the involvement of the crowd, getting all the kids to chant, "Why?"

" Bo! And his friend Bello," Iverson replied.

Iverson presented Bello, a clown raised in a family of Swiss daredevils, and Bo, Bello's sidekick and teenage elephant. Bello came out riding on top of Bo, which takes a lot of trust from man to elephant.

After some various trapeze acts and a clown skit based on the TV show "Survivor," Mark Oliver Gebel, skilled animal trainer, got to business. Accompanied by the dangerous sound of electric guitars, Gebel got horses to stand on two legs and a horse to move from one ring to the other on only two legs.

Gebel's big triumph came later in the show, when he showed off his skills by dominating over eight tigers with nothing more than two whips.

The gasps of the queasy audience members were heard when Sapo, a contortionist, just about disconnected his shoulders from his body. His mastery of balance atop his podium allowed him to get his body in positions that most gymnasts only dream of doing.

With his Vanilla Ice hairstyle, Bello the clown filled the spots in between the acts, which kept the audiences' full attention. His comedy style was filled with falls, hits and other forms of slapstick.

But Bello proved to be more than dumb comedy. He let his daredevil roots show when he climbed a swaying light post to fix a light bulb so he could read the newspaper. Flailing his arms and again retaining his balance, Bello never panicked atop his roost near the ceiling of the BJC. After an eternal five minutes, the crowd hushed as Bello slid down the pole, head first.

State College Resident Pat Flynn said he was enjoying the show.

"Everything is great. The atmosphere is great, the ringmaster is great," Flynn said. "So far, my favorite part is the bendy-dude, the contortionist guy."

Flynn, who was referring to Sapo, also said his favorites were the trapeze artists who rocked themselves into the net.

Flynn was accompanying his boss's daughter to the show; she was looking forward to seeing a lion later in the show.

Joe Faretta of Altoona and his family were also having fun at "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Faretta's favorite part of the show was the Max Air Blizzard Battalion performing various stunts on skis, while his son, Jordan, liked the motorcyclist going across the wire the best.

" It's a great performance. They keep it moving, which is great for the kids," Faretta said. "It keeps the kids interested."