Circus arts has seen rapid growth over the past thirty years, and artists require a unique combination of technical, physical, and artistic abilities with a performance schedule and culture that is distinct from sport. Yet, the development of elite circus artists continues to rely on sport-based and traditional circus training methods. Research into critical performance and health factors in a circus student-artist context would provide valuable insight for the development of modern circus training and injury prevention strategies. The aim of this manuscript-style dissertation is to characterize physical, physiological, and psychological factors in a high-performance circus training environment. Information from this thesis can be used by circus coaches, artists, and performance science and medicine personnel to guide future research and influence the training methods of circus artists, globally.