There are no trained dogs, no beleaguered jungle cats, still there are moments when Cirque du Soleil will keep you on the edge of your seat with acts that shy away from three-ring glitz. It’s a classy show that’s at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center this weekend, the first stop on a national tour.

And the Montreal-based company has brought along one of its greatest hits, the 15-year-old show Alegria (that’s Spanish for happiness), which has been seen by some 10 million fans under Cirque’s famed big-top tent, but now for the first time is making shorter stops in arenas like The Dunk.

But while some of the acts are sensational, as a piece of theater, something to which all Cirque shows aspire, it’s a little flat. Opening night, a thrilling aerial high bar routine which was to have taken place 40 feet above the stage at the end of the show never happened because of a technical glitch. As it turned out the evening sort of fizzled with a single guy twirling about the stage inside a large hoop.

The other thing about the show is the story behind it is a little hard to make out. Like all Cirque shows, Alegria tells a tale, according to press material. It’s a play about the old order versus the new. But I didn’t see it.

At least this is true when this show is compared with some of the elaborate tent shows that have come to Suffolk Downs in recent years, shows that are wonderfully atmospheric, full of surreal images and oddball characters acting out parts. In this case, there was a bed with a billowing sheet of a sail that looked like a ship cruising across the stage. But that appeared only briefly.

As it turned out, the show contains a couple of hours of long-winded clown acts alternating with some terrific acrobatic routines. First up was a couple on synchronized trapezes who turned and twirled as they caught themselves with their feet.

But the high points of the first act had to have been the female contortionist who kept a half-dozen silver hula hoops spinning on her arms, legs and waist, and a guy who balanced on two canes standing on his hands. For much of the routine, he balanced on one arm, hopping from cane to cane at times.

For comic relief there was a host of clowns, a couple of whom pulled a man from the audience and got him up on stage to jump rope.

One of the catchier routines began in the dark, with what looked and sounded like a revving motorcycle circling the stage. You could see a small headlight and the blazing taillight. But then the lights came on and the illusion burst.

Another clown confronted a machine with three blinding headlights that coughed clouds of paper “snow” in his face and out into the audience.

Two more female contortionists turned up in the second act, striking pretzel-like poses that didn’t seem possible. Then there was the guy who tossed off a series of flips and twists, landing on a narrow flexible bar held by two burley catchers.

And there was elegance from the man who glided about the stage clutching two bungee cords. At one point he sailed out over the audience, and at others he would twirl the cord around his waist then let it unravel as he spun in circles.

Those acts are kind of the hallmark of Cirque, routines that require great strength and control, but are also full of balletic grace. They were wonderfully polished acts, the kind of artistry rarely found in the entertainment world today.

Perhaps a better finale, though, would have been to move the opening trampoline act to the end of the show. That had a dozen or so performers executing high-flying flips and somersaults on an x-shaped trampoline under the floor of the stage. Visually, it was a stunning act with lots of energy and nail-biting near misses as tumblers crossed each other in midair.

Like all Cirque shows, the costumes, some strewn with feathers, were exquisite, and the dark, dappled lighting very evocative. Then there was the original live music sung by a couple of stunning singers that provided the emotional underpinnings.

It’s an impressive show, in other words, but not as thrilling as some of the recent Boston tent presentations. If you’ve seen those, or caught Cirque in Vegas, you might be a little disappointed by this touring installment that’s in town through Sunday.

For tickets, which start at $40 for adults and $32 for children, call (800) 745-3000, or visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria.

cgray@projo.com