"I'm up here!" said a high-pitched voice from atop the gymnastics grid bars against one wall.

Batmunkh "Bachka" Batjargal looks shorter than he does on stage when the 9-year-old is charming audiences with his opening presentation during the hit European-style circus show Alegria at Beau Rivage.

Far more surprising was the boy's command of the English language when he explained how he came to be the youngest member of the renowned circus troupe Cirque du Soleil.

"I was here with my mom on tour; watching the show on TV when the director came and asked me if I wanted to be in the show," recalled Bachka who was 4 at the time.

For many kids, after-school hours can be a mind-numbing routine of video games and websurfing. For the five youngest members of Alegria, one of several semi-permanent touring companies of the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil, afternoons are spent rehearsing the routines they perform up to eight times per week for audiences attending the show at Beau Rivage.

Poised, articulate and radiating self-confidence, they sat cross-legged in a circle on the backstage exercising mat, still wearing their elaborate theatrical makeup, accustomed to the media attention but still perplexed as why to anyone would think what they do is special.

"They are barely aware of how unique they are," said Alegria publicist Reggie Lyons. For some of the youngsters the circus is the only life they have known, traveling with their parents until eventually joining an elite roster of top-notch performers that includes former Olympic champions from Russia.

In fact, 20 out of 54 Alegria performers are native Russians.

One of them is Kristina Ivanova, 14. At an age when most teen-age girls begin to fuss over what shoes to wear to the mall, the bright-eyed youngster instead is performing as a gymnast in the fast-paced, highly choreographed and synchronized trampoline segment of Alegria, where agile performers crisscross one another relying on split-second timing.

And yes, it looks as dangerous as it sounds.

Unlike most American kids, Kristina is tri-lingual. Like her youthful Alegria counterparts, she speaks her native tongue, English, and French, the language used in the private school set up by Cirque du Soleil touring companies at each location.

Even though the show's young performers typically travel with their parents, most of whom are or have been Cirque du Soleil performers themselves, the kids lead a life most of their peers would call "cool."

Grownups might call it extraordinary.

"It's been great getting to travel around the world and perform in places like London," Kristina said.

Gymnast Ivan Saveliev also has little problem with international travel. "We get to see a lot of things," said Ivan, 15, a Moscow native. "But I still miss winter."

For youngsters, Alegria itself is an international destination-- and an intergenerational one-- considering that performers of all ages come from 13 countries.

"On tour it's more of a village," Lyons said of the close bonds forged among the youngsters as well as among families. "Because they began performing at a very young age,they learn how to be professionals."

And that means showing up on time, learning and rehearsing routines and characters, and even putting on their own makeup (a Cirque du Soleil house rule).

But for contortionists Tseveendorj Nomin and Chimed Ulziibayar, both 15 and natives of Mongolia, the rewards are well worth the sacrifice and discipline.

"I like the audiences, the clapping...it makes me feel so good," said Tseveendorj who has been a performer since 9.

Cindy Whiteman dreamed of being a Cirque du Soleil performer ever since age 9 when she saw her first performance. Today the 19-year-old Canadian is living her dream-- as a gymnast on the troupe. But it's also a lot of responsibility. "I keep reminding myself of this when I'm tired or sick," she said.

But,as proof positive that kids are the same everywhere, these young performers share one thing in common with their non-circus peers.

They hate homework.