GREENSBORO, NC.- There are no tigers and elephants; in fact, the only “animal” is an electric dog named Bailey. The clowns are still there, but hardly wear any makeup.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, that self-proclaimed greatest show on Earth, is back seven years after folding up its big top for what was feared to be the last time. The circus, which had toured with scant interruption since Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency, shuttered indefinitely in 2017 as it faced lagging ticket sales in the wake of its decision to stop featuring animals.

Now as the show hits the road again for an initial run of 50 cities, audiences are encountering a human-focused spectacle that might leave it unrecognizable.

It’s something of an unlikely comeback for the institution that has faced pop culture shifts, dwindling attendance and accusations of animal mistreatment. The pandemic hit a few years after the pachyderms packed up in 2016, making the return of the one-time touring staple even more of a question.

Performers such as high-wire walker Maria Pontigo worried the circus had packed up for good. “It’s not just a show,” she said, adding, “It’s an iconic institution of art.”

As a child growing up in Chile, Pontigo watched her father perform his high-wire act.

She told herself that she’d be high up one day. Pontigo, 40, became part of the third generation of her family to perform with Ringling when she joined in 2008.

Touring as part of the Lopez Troupe, Pontigo was back to her high-wire moves some 25 feet in the air.

The focus on performers — human cannonballs, acrobats and now BMX riders — was central to Juliette Feld Grossman’s reimagining of the circus, which began in 2019, three years after she took over as chief operating officer for Feld Entertainment, the family company that runs the circus. Irvin Feld, her grandfather, purchased it from the Ringling Bros. nearly 60 years ago and Feld Grossman, 40, has been immersed in the circus for as long as she can remember.

She knew the show needed an update but had a responsibility to keep “delivering those experiences that turned into those lifelong memories,” Feld Grossman said. “Out of all that soul-searching, the answer really was that the performers are the heart of our show. They’re the people and people come to Ringling to connect with others.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.