LIVE OAK, Fla. — Two nights here followed by three in Waldo and one in Callahan before heading off to South Georgia.

The constant travel that accompanies the circus is all Fridman Torales knows.

And it’s part of the experience with the Kelly Miller Circus that Torales loves best.

“Traveling. Knowing people, knowing places. Seeing the world, that’s what I love about the circus,” he said Thursday night in between the circus’ two shows on the final night of their stay at John Hale Park.

The Kelly Miller Circus travels the eastern half of the United States. Based out of Oklahoma, it also hits Texas and then moves eastward.

Torales, who is the performance director for the circus in addition to performing in the show, said they normally perform eight to nine months out of the year.

Those performances included aerial acrobats, a hula hoop artist, table percher, a trapeze artist, a clown that included the audience in some of his acts as well as a rope skipping finale and more.

And those performances and that travel is all Torales knows. Born in Peru, Torales has always lived the circus life. His father was a circus performer and his mom joined after his parents fell in love.

“They got me in the circus, I was born in the circus,” he said. “This is my life.”

When he was young, Torales admits to thinking the nomadic circus life was normal. He couldn’t understand why other families weren’t always on the move.

“I grew up thinking … like that’s the way it is, that’s the way to live,” he said. “Thinking that people that are in town are so freaky. What is it? What happened with you guys that you don’t move? How can you guys stay in one town all the time?

“Then I realized that it’s actually the other way around.”

Still, it’s a life he loves and has no plans of giving up.

Now 40, Torales said he knows his life as a performer is becoming limited.

So he has begun looking for other ways to stay involved in the circus. He now serves as the performance director for the show. He also drives one of the trucks that moves the tent and equipment to the next locale.

“I’m thinking about something else because eventually I’m not going to be able to keep performing in the show,” he said, adding that age is the only downfall to the circus. “That’s reality.”

Likewise, he said most of the performers in the circus are constantly thinking of ways to improve their acts. There is constant work honing their crafts to get better.

“Most of the performers never stop improving their skills,” he said, adding that some performers have to work hard just to get in the circus, while others possess talents and skills that make an act easy. “After they reach a certain level, they always want to reach some more.”