Afgelopen zaterdag stonden de Peking Acrobats in het Kursaal. Het publiek was onder de indruk van de waanzinnige stunts en van het enthousiasme waarmee de acrobats het podium veroverden.

Enkele reacties:
“Echt spectaculair, het ziet er allemaal zo eenvoudig uit, maar dat is het niet.”

“Ik zat aan mijn stoel genageld. Verbazend hoe ze tot het einde de spanning hoog houden.”

Don Hughes, de producent van de Peking Acrobats, doet zijn verhaal uit de doeken in het weekblad Dag Allemaal

The Peking Acrobats doen al eens een stuntje met een bord of vijfentachtig. Kwestie van het porselein uit het eigen land te promoten. Als je maar weet dan den deze gaat lopen wanneer ze aan de afwas beginnen!

The New York Times, toch geen krantje waarvan je zou denken dat ze subjectief zijn, was vol lof over een optreden van de Peking Acrobats. En omdat we nog wat willen opscheppen over onze Chineesjes volgt hieronder het artikel.

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Amazing! Zounds!

The vocabulary of exclamation seeks expression as the medium of awed and surprised reaction to the wondrous feats of the Peking Acrobats.

In a welcome return to the New Victory Theater through April 22, this remarkable troupe, under the direction of Ken Hai, brings a warmth and joy to Chinese-American relations that provides a bracing counterbalance to the countries’ recent chilly diplomatic wrangle. As these polished entertainers demonstrate, it is the long haul that shapes history.

The roots of the arts of the Peking Acrobats stretch deep into the past, and many of their high-level skills are built around the simple low-tech artifacts of two millenniums ago: jugs, plates, drinking vessels, sticks, hoops and straps.

But, oh, how the Peking Acrobats put them to use, characteristically compounding already difficult feats by performing them while doing handstands, headstands, contortions, acrobatics, splits or riding a unicycle. In their graceful efforts, sometimes to the accompaniment of dramatic cymbals and drums or the tinkling of bells or string music, as well as dramatic lighting and an occasional wisp of ground fog, these brightly costumed tumblers, acrobats, cyclists, jugglers and clever clowns provide 90 minutes of family fun (including a 15-minute intermission) that infuses springtime in New York with an extra measure of joy.

Among the highlights are the clowns who reward the early comers with mischievous juggling built around cannonballs, eggs and a soccer ball that draws youngsters into the merriment right from the start. Then there are the unicyclist who pedals atop a spinning umbrella; the women who recline over the backs of chairs while using their feet to spin, toss and turn enormous jugs, and the beautiful, shaggy lion dancers, including one who takes his feat of footwork up the theater’s main aisle.

And that’s only the beginning. Ratcheting up the skills to levels that draw applause, cheers and (most impressive of all) the awed silence of bated breath are the eight young women — each holding three sticks in each hand — who spin plates while performing all sorts of acrobatics. Happily and mind-bogglingly, the show still includes the extraordinary contortionist who eventually balances three layers of liquid-bearing glasses atop a wine glass balanced on her nose, tops the whole skyscraper with a hurricane lamp, does a split, returns to her feet and ascends and descends ladders without spilling a drop.

Not to be disregarded is the unicyclist whose uses her free foot to toss bowls onto her head and flips a feather bouquet from one foot to the narrow mouse of a vase held in her mouth. There are graceful, rubber-spined contortionists, the architecture of human pyramids, daring young men who somersault and flip through hoops and demonstrate seemingly effortless strength on poles and straps, the headstands and other precarious poses atop a delicately balanced tower of chairs, and the bicyclist who gives a ride to a nine-member arc of fan-carrying women.

This splendid ensemble makes clear that, carried on for 2,000 years, practice can indeed make perfect.

Bron: The New York Times

Nog een drietal weekjes en ze staan in Oostende, intussen nog even watertanden dankzij onderstaande filmpje.

Tot de volgende…