Last night my sister and I went to see the Chinese State Circus and the Shaolin Wushu Monks at London’s Southbank. The Chinese Circus is unlike any other circus act you may have seen. Though it has nothing like the drama of Cirque du Soleil, the use of the Monkey King as the narrator for the entire show was effective in presenting all the different acts to the audience made up of the very young to the very old.
Though many of the circus acts when you list them appear standard such as acrobatics, juggling, contortion and tightrope, there is just so much more to the way that the Chinese State Cirucs managed to execute them. There was an elegant lady with long sleeves that was also used to throw daggers to pop balloons with precision, clay pot jugglers that performed some amazing balancing and juggling feats with heavy pots, a traditional dragon dance that was visually spectacular, and a lady that effectively become a human candelabra balancing five sets of lit candles all whilst rolling around on the ground in different ways. There was amazing hoop diving, fantastic tightrope walking/running/skipping/jumping not to mention the stunning feats of the Shaolin Wushu warriors.
It is an entertaining show that I think everyone of all ages could easily enjoy.
The Kua Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Saw the same group performed in Shanghai 2 years ago. Performers
are recruited at a very early age and lived in dorms like trai-
nees for the olympics,far from families,They have the rudiments
of basic conventional education but most of their time are spent
in learning the skills for whatever they’re trained for. Heard
it’s not an easy life.They’re good no doubt.
I can imagine that life would be quite difficult. It reminds me a lot of Jackie Chang’s own acrobatic childhood I read in his biography. I suppose all that training does pay off though.