SHANGHAI CIRCUS PHOTO Acrobats supreme The goal is defined by one word: Perfection. A flawless, seamless performance with no cheap tricks to feigning danger. The visual quality of an acrobatic stunt must convey awe and degree of difficulty.
In the Shanghai Circus,
"mistakes are not part of
an acrobat's vocabulary"By Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.com
"Mistakes are not part of an acrobat's vocabulary," says Zhao Zhi Min, group leader and manager for the Shanghai Circus, which wraps up its interisland tour with a two-night stint at the Blaisdell Concert Hall starting tomorrow. "This is why it may take as long as a year to perfect an act before I am comfortable in doing it before an audience."
On stage: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and Friday Shanghai Circus
Place: Blaisdell Concert Hall
Tickets: $20 for tomorrow's performance; $20 to $30 Friday ($5 discount for children and seniors)
Call: 591-2211
It's said that Confucius' father was an acrobat, so importance is accorded to this exotic art. The circus' artists and athletes are considered the noble heirs.
This circus, however, is more Olympics than Ringling Brothers -- there are no animals, high wires, trapezes, safety nets or clowns.
For these equilibrists, trapeze artists, contortionists and jugglers, everything is a pretext for defying gravity: Chairs, tables, plates and bicycles figure in feat after feat of ability, precision and grace.
"Acrobatics is in our history and tradition," Zhao says through an interpreter. "It has been around since dynasty times."
Acrobatics were, in fact, invented in China. Ancient stone carvings, earthen pottery and early written works trace the ancestry to the Han Dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago.
Chinese farmers and craftsmen, with little to do during the long winter, spent the time improving their social positions by becoming acrobats. They practiced with what was handy: dishes, furniture, even their own bodies, with which they formed human walls and pyramids.
Building on these traditional performances, the Shanghai Circus has added new techniques and stunts, such as hoop diving, which originated during harvest time when field workers used hoops with woven mesh bottoms to shake and divide grain from leaves and stems. It became a tradition to challenge each other to see how many hoops or how tall a stack could they dive through.
Similarly, the pottery maker would learn to juggle and spin his wares.
"We have always appreciated a challenge," says Zhao, 33, who has been with the group since age 8.
SHANGHAI CIRCUS PHOTO The Shanghai Circus specializes in the unique artistic style of Hai -- magic and acrobatics of Shanghai -- originating from the Lunar New Year harvest festivals of the Han Dynasty.
The troop includes 19 Chinese and Mongolian performers, ages 15 to 33 -- 10 women and nine men. In some shows, performers will balance stacks of bowls on their heads while riding unicycles, then catch teapots on top of the bowls; they could juggle giant spinning parasols with their feet or pick flowers from a vase by mouth while their hands and feet are busy spinning a dozen plates on long bamboo poles. A contortionist wriggles through a narrow barrel, a baby-faced archer shoots arrows with her feet and pairs of acrobats move as one inside elaborate lion suits.
Depending on the acrobat's specialty, some have performed into their 50s, although the more athletic usually retire by their late 20s.
Injuries are usually minor -- sprains and sore muscles. And when needed, Zhao, the oldest member of the troupe, returns to the stage. "The secret of being a good acrobat and uninjured is simple," he says. "Lots of practice and stretching. They have to be mature and dedicated because everything has to be perfect."
The acrobats' exercise daily even when not performing and usually for 90 minutes before each 100-minute show.
Because the Blaisdell stage is so large, Honolulu audiences are likely to see the Circus' most dangerous act, "The Leather Straps," in which eight acrobats on two ropes perform various stunts while clinging to one another's necks, arms, hands or legs high off the stage.
"It is quite something to see," Zhao says.
Shanghai Circus
Click for online
calendars and events.
