Alexander Calder surprisingly studied engineering at university, which provided a foundation to creating his kinetic sculptures which he is famous for.
However, the visual spectacle of a circus was something that captured him from a young age. Calder had loved acrobats, and how they balanced on thin wires high up in the air. In 1926 he made a miniature circus out of wire and bits of cork and fabric. He called it the Cirque Calder and artists like Pablo Picasso were invited to come and watch performances! This video shows the wonderful characters in Cirque Calder:
