I tour the world as a circus performer

Yasi performing her amazing hand balance

Zhao Yasi is a hand balancer in the word famous Cirque du Soleil.

Yasi is one of the youngest members of the circus. It was her mum who first thought that she'd be a star performer.

"When I was little I never liked going to school. I used to run about from place to place and would never stay still. My mum thought I'd love being in a circus. No one else in my family has ever been in the circus - I'm the first.

Years of training

It takes about five years to train to be a hand balancer. You start by learning how to balance on two hands.

To balance on one hand takes even more training. It's a very hard discipline - I balance for seven minutes on one hand when I'm on stage, so I have to be very strong.

Life in the circus

Yasi before she gets ready for a show

The show normally finishes at around 10 pm. Our bodies are still really awake after we finish performing so we don't go to bed straight away. We normally stay up for about three hours so that our bodies can calm down.

Before I head to bed I have a shower and grab something to eat, usually noodles. Then me and my friends watch DVDs and play cards and video games.

Studying on tour

I study at school for about 15 hours a week. Our school is in a trailer that comes with us on tour. My favourite subjects are Maths, English and Chinese.

As soon as I have time off I have a long sleep! There are eight of us who are under 18 in the circus. We get on well and spend a lot of time together.

In our spare time we play together a lot and we love shopping! I especially love going shopping for clothes and jewellery!

Missing home

One of the tour buses

I don't spend that much time in China so I really miss my family, especially my mum and dad and my younger sister. I do speak to them a lot on the phone though and send emails and letters too.

On stage

I love travelling and waiting to see what each new city will be like. But the best thing about being in a circus is performing. I do about eight or 10 shows a week and I love it! Being on stage is the best bit!"

Yasi, 16, On tour in London