WOODY Allen used to joke that as a child with parents who worked in the circus, he couldn’t wait to grow up and run away to join an accounting firm.

But for kids who have ever dreamed of life under the big top, this is the week.

As they did in Sydney yesterday, young hopefuls will line up in Brisbane today, Adelaide tomorrow and Perth on Wednesday to compete for admission to Australia’s only degree circus course, a Bachelor of Circus Arts.

Taught at Swinburne University in Melbourne and funded by the commonwealth Government, it is one of only five such courses in the world.

One of yesterday’s hopefuls, Tom Worrell, 19, said it took him three months to summon up the courage to apply and he had been nervous for a week about theaudition. His acrobatic speciality is the backward walkover.

“I taught myself everything in my own bedroom at home,” he said. “I was doing a Bachelor of Science and I realised I would rather perform.

“I have always been flexible and danced since I was 12 years old. And I have an obsession with the circus. This is my chance to get training in the skills you can’t teach yourself at home.”

Administrator for the National Institute of Circus Arts, Fiona Spurrell, said yesterday’s group was particularly talented. She said the institute was having a real impact in raising standards, not just among young hopefuls but across the industry.

“These kids are different to your average university students; they are very physical and passionate about having a physical career,” she said. “It is what they enjoy doing. They are extremely active and already have considerable skills. Typically, they have been competing at high levels in gymnastics, swimming, diving, dancing, extreme sports or martial arts.”

Ms Spurrell said some 30 students had so far graduated from the three-year course and were entertaining audiences around the world. She said many were finding work in corporate entertainment, product launches, stunt work, on cruise ships and in performing arts companies such as Circus Oz and Cirque du Soleil.

The National Institute of Circus Arts, established in 2001, grew out of several regional art projects that identified a great interest among young people in entering the performing and circus arts.