Chinese Acrobatics

Chinese Acrobatics	Chinese Acrobatics

Acrobatics is a pearl in the treasure house of the traditional Chinese performing arts. Chinese acrobatics has a long and rich heritage. The acrobatic art has been existent in China for more than two thousand years. In Han Dynasty (221 BC-220 AD), the acrobatic art or "Hundred Plays" further developed both in content and variety. In the Tang Dynasty, the number of acrobats greatly increased and their performing skills improved a great deal.
In the long course of development, the Chinese acrobatic art has formed its own style. The ancient acrobatics stemmed from the people's life and had a close link with their life and productive labor. Instruments of labor like tridents, wicker rings, tables, chairs, jars, plates, and bowls were used in their performances of "Flying Trident", "Balance on Chairs", "Jar Tricks", and "Hoop Diving". All of these acts became commonplace in acrobatic performances throughout China. The acrobats in modern China have set up a designing and directing system aimed at creating graceful stage images, harmonious musical accompaniment, and good supporting effects of costumes, props, and lighting in order to bring about a fully developed stage art.
Traditional Acrobatic Acts are as follows, namely:

Lion Dance
This evolved from an old folk dance in China. In the dance, there are two types of lions: big lion (played by two acrobats) and small lion (played by one man). They not only perform the various movements of the lion such as rolling and jumping but also vividly portray the lion's strength and agility as well as the quiet and playful side of the lion's character.

Cycling Feats
In this act, two types of cycles are used: monocycles on which the acrobats adroitly perform various beautiful postures; and bicycles on which they also display a variety of postures on the bicycle, of which the beautiful tableau of a peacock fanning its feathers is the best.

Tight-Wire Feats
Known as "Rope-Walking" or "Walking on a rope" in ancient China, it is a traditional performance with a history of 2000 years. Walking on a wire instead of a rope is a renovation illustrating new vigor and skills. The acrobat uses somersault dexterity, which is a basic acrobatic skill, to perform such difficult feats as cart-wheels and somersaults on a trembling wire. If you travel to China, epically Beijing, the travel agent will arrange everything for you. There are many chances to enjoy the performance in Beijing. And the entry is not expensive here.