Acrobatics seems to be an all-encompassing art. It has the technical difficulty of gymnastics, the visual impact of a conjuring trick and the artistic beauty of dance. These days, acrobatics is more often performed with sophisticated music and stage designs, and directors often add a storyline and turn the performance into high drama.

China has always enjoyed a long and credible tradition of acrobatics, and it has the most active reformers in this art.

But, the general audience may not get to see these new works often largely because the country has few professional venues for regular performances.

Now, the China National Acrobatics Troupe wants to make a breakthrough by adapting the National Indoor Stadium into its long-term venue.

One of the halls has already been retrofitted into a professional circus venue, equipped with a stage that can be raised and rotated, and occupying a total area of 8,520 square meters.

Above the stage is a curtain that facilitates set changes and also serves as a projection screen. And of course, there are the fancy light and acoustic effects.

The new venue welcomed its first audience on Aug 13 with a program called Acrobatics DreamWorks featuring six international award-winning shows.

One memorable performance was Qiao Hua Dan, a show that combined juggling diabolos, the Chinese yoyo and Peking Opera.

Dressed in colorful garments with borrowed elements from the Peking Opera huadan roles, a bevy of girls jump, roll and somersault on stage while tossing the diabolos in the air.

The trick is that no matter how quickly they move, the flying diabolos always land precisely where they should.

This was the performance that won the prestigious French Republic President Award during the 26th Tomorrow International Acrobatics Festival held in Paris.

Acrobatics Dream Works also features some traditional acts such as tightrope walking, an art which traces its roots back some 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).

On the modern stage, the rope has been replaced by a wire on which the acrobats perform cart wheels and somersaults.

The program will run until Aug 28, and it's a warm-up session before the troupe launches its full-scale show early next year.

You can contact the writer at hanbingbin@chinadaily.com.cn.

China Daily

(China Daily 08/21/2011 page15)