Cirque Chinois: The National Circus Of The People’s Republic Of China

Thursday, November 1, 7:30PM, Concert Hall

Direct from Beijing, the National Circus of the People’s Republic of China, performing “Cirque Chinois,” was founded in 1953, making it one of the longest running and most distinguished circus troupes in China.  The National Circus of the People’s Republic of China is especially acclaimed in China because of the unique acts in their program such as Great Teeterboard, Grand Flying Trapeze, Group Contortion, Straw Hats Juggling, Girls’ Balance with Bowls and many other outstanding acts. Many of the Artists in the troupe have won international awards.

$40, $30, $15; FC, GCC, STCC and 17 & under $10

For more information please visit our website at https://fac.umass.edu/online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=11A16E4B-3147-436C-9F55-B0E3223AC14D

8 Replies to “Cirque Chinois: The National Circus Of The People’s Republic Of China”

  1. Pretty amazing performance. Beautiful costumes, wonderful acts that were remarkably done. The acts were hard enough that there were even occasional mistakes, but it was refreshing to see the performers were human. Interesting that circus acts are so standardize, same yo-yos on strings, many-people-on-a-bike, juggling hats… Now could those twirling plates really come off of the sticks? It would have been good for them to show one set intentionally dropped!

    Very enjoyable. Best circus type show I have seen at the FAC.

  2. Amazing program. Such expertise. The costumes were just beautiful. The program reminded me of events I attended in China. We were very fortunate to have this group in our area. Congratulations to the Asian Arts program for sponsoring the program.

  3. I was thoroughly engaged with the performance, as were the others in my group and the people around us. From gasps to laughs, we enjoyed every moment. So elegant and talented. I agree with William Mullin, though, about the plates…I kept wondering if they were attached. Maybe at the end, they could have simply started stacking them so that the audience could see…then again, maybe they WERE attached.

  4. It was simply wowww!! Loved every second of the performances on stage.They kept the audience engaged all the while with an awesome show of acrobats,juggling,balancing acts magic show.It took me into a completely different world all together with 2 hours of marvellous performances.

  5. I’m always amazed by the skill of the performers. They performed with great artistry as well which added to the emotional excitement.

  6. As usual the Chinese acrobats are amazing and entertaining. This troupe seemed to elevate or put the ‘Cirque’ into their show with non-stop action, colorful showmanship & costumes and music. I don’t know about the Chinese rendition of Enya-esque music but I suppose that’s part of re-absorbing and adopting elements of the ‘Cirque du Soleil’ style of self-imitating somewhat mindless mood music. I don’t think the card magician was up to the standards of the rest of the show either (you could see the sides of cards in between his fingers and you knew when he was adding something to the hand that was hidden when he turned sideways) . Probably that’s a result of trying to integrate a Western style act among acts that have been honed for generations and even centuries in China. How old was that small young girl who balanced on one hand?

    All in all, it was a truly exciting performance worthy of the standing ovation. I did appreciate it when they seemed to take on more of a challenge during the ‘Meteor’ act when they dropped the slinging weapons a few times. It seemed less clumsiness than a taking on a challenge that they knew deliberately put them on the edge. The high flying ‘Silk’ act put the audience on edge with its dangling by an ankle hold and dalliance with real physical danger and lack of a safety net. Bravo to the Asian Arts program and FAC and sponsors for bringing this act to the Valley. Thank you !

  7. What a great evening. One of the best performances we have witnessed at the Performing Center. The performers, customes, and music were delightful.

    Thank you for bringing this amazing program to everyone here.

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