BROOKLINE – It seems that, with the proliferation of entertainment choices available to kids these days, the traditional circus has kind of gone by the boards. There are, however, a few people who still revere the magic of the Big Top, and want to pass that love on to the younger generation. The fruit of some of that passion will be on display May 25 at 6:30 p.m., as the Brookline PTO presents a Grand Circus Show at the Captain Samuel Douglas Academy, featuring students from the school.

The show, developed with guidance of Artist-in-Residence Rick Davis of Circus Smirkus, will be the culmination of an extensive after-school program, featuring students performing a variety of circus acts, including tumbling, juggling, human pyramids and comedy.

What this means is that the show has to be pulled together over the course of one week, with intensive sessions lasting two and a half hours each day. In that comparatively brief period of time, the students have to be coached in these complicated maneuvers.

Daunting as this might appear, Davis isn’t overly worried.

“This is my ninth year doing this,” he said. “Over that time, I’ve been done about 150 shows of this nature.”

Davis said there will be about 25 selected students in the program, who will be juggling “devil sticks” – two cones, tied together – as well as plate spinning, tightrope walking and a little bit of comedy and magic to top things off.

“At the end of the week, we’ll have a big Lollapalooza show,” he said. “We’ll have a circus manager and music – the whole deal.”

The idea of children walking on a tightrope might give one pause, but Davis pointed out that this particular rope is only about a foot off the ground. Furthermore, he has faith in idea that the students will quickly figure out the routines.

“Children are good learners, when they enjoy what they’re being taught,” he said, “And, children naturally love the circus.”

All of this comes naturally to Davis, who pretty much has sawdust in his blood.

“I began in the circus about 40 years ago, as a circus clown with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus,” he said. “I did four seasons with them, and then went to work for some other circuses. After that, I did my own show, which went on for many years.”

Davis’ impressive resume also contains shows at the EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, an appearance at the White House, and various other gigs on Broadway, on TV and film, as well as traveling with the Peace Corps to 15 countries.

All of this led to Davis’ association with Circus Smirkus, an institution that is now celebrating its 25th anniversary.

“The founder of the circus is a magic man by the name of Rob Mermin,” Davis said. “He spent a lot of time working in circuses in Europe. When he returned to his home state of Vermont, it was his big dream to start his own circus and teach young people the traditions of the craft.”

Mermin founded Circus Smirkus in 1987 in a 200-year-old farmhouse in Greensboro, Vt. At the time, The Boston Globe celebrated the venture as being the first traveling circus to come out of that state in over a century.

According to Judi Desruisseau, Brookline PTO chairperson in charge of the event, this is first time that the Captain Samuel Douglas Academy has held one of these residencies.

“The children in the program are all very young – between grades 3 through 6,” she said. “I fully expect that we’re going to be in for quite a few surprises.”

In addition to the regular program, according to Desruisseau, there will be an all-school assembly at the Richard Maghakian Memorial School during that week.

Given the local popularity of Circus Smirkus, a residency involving the institution seemed like an obvious opportunity.

“The idea was presented to us by one of the members of the PTO,” Desruisseau said. “A lot of us have gone to Circus Smirkus before, when it came through Wilton, and we found we all really enjoyed it, and decided we wanted to have it here. Hopefully, if this goes over well, we’ll be able to get it back again next year.”

As the admission is $2 a ticket, it’s not likely to break the family bank, Desruisseau said. Furthermore, the residency benefits the school in a number of ways.

“We project that this will bring in a lot of money to support our education efforts here at the school,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but the kids are certainly worth it. We’re all really excited about this.”