— Being first is something to be proud of. For the Urias family, it’s not just a mark of pride but also a family tradition — they are billed as the First Family of the Globe of Steel.

The Urias’ will demonstrate the gravity-defying motor-revving motorcycle globe of steel as part of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Barnum Bash at Ford Park Arena this weekend and they are the fourth generation to do so.

The group consists of brothers Erwin and Melvin, Erwin’s wife Jodie, along with their two children Geovi and Alyssa, and Melvin’s girlfriend Olga Surnina. They race three motorcycles around a 16-foot globe performing a number of dizzying maneuvers and loops at speeds nearing 60 mph. If that doesn’t produce enough edge-of-your-seat excitement, Jodie is then lifted into the center of the globe while performing a neck spin as the bikes narrowly zip past.

“Timing is important. We all have to work together, we’re a family,” Erwin said.

The high-speed adrenaline-filled act was first created by their great-grandfather, Joaquin, in 1912, Melvin said.

“Because my family has been involved with it so long we are considered innovators of the act,” he said. “We were the first to have a female stand in the center and now we are the first to have one hang in the center.”

And life for the Urias family isn’t simply all about the death-defying thrills — family is their top priority.

“These performers aren’t just performers, they are our extended family,” Melvin said.

“The owner will come over to my son and tell him the story of how he hired his grandfather,” Jodie said. Melvin and Erwin’s father Victor first brought the act to Ringling Bros. in 1978.

And with family ties being so strong among performers, great value is placed on the education children involved with the tour receive.

Jodie’s children attend the Ringling Bros. school — that travels with the show — allowing children of performers to obtain a top-notch education. According to Jodie, any time the tour stops the kids have a chance to tour sites that correlate with what they have learned during their coursework.

And just like many other parents, keeping grades up is very important to the Urias family and other performers. They agreed, almost in unison, that it is crucial that their kids get the best education possible.

Their children participate in the show and have the amazing occasion to learn from highly skilled performers.

“My son is learning gymnastics from one of the best in the world. If he doesn’t keep his grades up then he can’t practice,” said Jodie.

Also slated to perform at the circus are exotic animal trainers Brett and Cathy Carden, clown Dean Kelley, hand-balancers Duo Fusion, aerial foot-loop artist Francleib Rodrigues, comedic duo Anton and Victor Franke, strongman Dmytrio Khaladzhy, gymnists Havana Troupe, the Ringlettes and trapeze artists The Flying Cruzados.

Special to this tour is a pre-show beginning one hour before the show that will allow observers to become participants by learning fresh dance moves from DJ Dean, try on circus costumes, learn balancing and juggling skills, take photos with circus stars and even step behind the curtain to get an up-close look at the exotic animal menagerie.

Barnum Bash will be at the Ford Park Arena Friday , July 13, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, July 14, at 11:30 a.m., 3:30 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, July 15, at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10, $15, $20, $30 VIP and $35 front row. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, ringling.com, the Ford Park box office or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

cedgerton@panews.com