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Children at Work

Zachariah Fletcher

Children at Work: Episode 2: Circus

Learning: Secondary

Circus

Episode 2

Episode 2: Circus

BBC Two - Children at Work, Circus

Exploring the everyday lives of children who work in Russian circuses.

Series exploring the everyday lives of children who go to work. Zachariah Fletcher finds out about the lives of children working in Russian circuses.

Two hundred million children around the world go to work every day. This series explores their lives. 

Zachariah Fletcher learns about the lives of children working in Russian circuses, and travels to Kharkov in Ukraine, where he joins Russian circus family the Averyushkins on tour.

Fifteen-year-old Artem Averyushkin has been performing in the circus since he was two years old, and now works with his parents Andrei and Olga - a clown and a ferret trainer - and older brother, also called Andrei - a juggler and musical performer. 

To find out more about life growing up in the circus, Zach stays with the family in their circus hotel while training with them, to join them on stage. He also makes the 500-mile journey back to their home in Moscow, where Artem attends school for an assessment, and Zach explores how growing up as a professional circus performer has affected Artem's childhood. 

Throughout the film Zach asks whether circus life and family life really are compatible with each other. Alongside the Averyushkins, who believe it is compatible, Zach also meets 11-year-old Dacha, whose acrobat parents won't let her join the circus until after she has finished school, and 29-year-old Albina, who broke four generations of tradition and left the circus to start her own family.

Finally, Zach is transformed into a clown to join Artem on stage in his unicycle act.

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Series exploring the everyday lives of children who go to work

Two hundred million children around the world go to work every day. This series explores their everyday lives

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Episode 2: Circus

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