FED: Great China Circus comes to town

AAP General News (Australia)
04-06-1999
FED: Great China Circus comes to town

By Janine Israel

SYDNEY, April 6 AAP - Riding on the back of the spectacular Cirque du Soleil's popularity,
the cream of China's circus performers have hit town with their own brand of body-bending
wonders.

Like Cirque de Soleil - an innovative Canadian circus currently touring Australia - the
Great China Circus features chair balancing, highwire, juggling, contortionists, bungy
aerialists, hoop twirlers and acrobats.

But where the Canadians wore masks and fantasy clothing, this 70-strong troupe performs in
traditional Chinese costumes.

Circus has a 2,500-year-old tradition in China, and the show takes the audience on a visual
and musical tour of its rich history.

The show begins in 700 BC when circuses were merely street theatre, and moves into the
Royal Palace, where performers entertained kings and queens with their flawless skills.

After the interval, the setting shifts to modern-day China where western culture
infiltrates ancient Chinese traditions.

A rock band appears on stage, providing an upbeat contrast to the previous oriental score.

For most of the acrobats, performing to rock 'n' roll is a new experience, and it is clear
they are thriving on the music's energy.

"Everybody thinks it makes their body move really well," laughed Shen Xi Lin, 30, otherwise
known as the Queen of the Hoops for her extraordinary ability to rotate more than 40 hoops
simultaneously.

Xi Lin, who exercises three hours a day and was plucked from one of China's 200
professional circus companies, came to Australia in 1997 when the Great China Circus made its
first appearance outside its home country.

The tour coincided with the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and
Australia, and this tour marks another significant cultural event - the 50th anniversary of
modern China.

Xi Lin says she prefers performing to western audiences, which she maintains are more
responsive and vivacious than Asian crowds.

"Chinese audiences only notice the skill level of the performers, and clap with
expressionless faces," she said.

Consequently, the Chinese performers have had to re-adapt the show to appeal to the more
entertainment and presentation-conscious westerners.

A stronger emphasis is placed on letting loose, audience interaction, smiling and dancing
to the music.

Highlights of the multi-million dollar production include a man who balances precariously
on five cylinders, a contortionist who passes through a 36-centimetre diameter barrel and a
spellbinding illusionist.

The performers, all who have been trained in gymnastics, flexibility, acrobatics, strength,
balance and coordination, were selected through fierce competition from China's circus
companies.

The Great China Circus opens in Sydney tonight before touring other cities.

AAP ji/tsm/trm

KEYWORD: CIRCUS (WITH PIX)

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