The Peking Acrobats Coming to MPAC, 4/9

With incredible skill, strength and style, The Peking Acrobats will dazzle audiences with jaw-dropping feats of athletic prowess at Mayo Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at 3 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets are $19 - $39.

The Peking Acrobats ability to perform the astounding is rooted in centuries of Chinese history and folk art. Records of acrobatic acts can be found as early as the Ch'in Dynasty (221 B.C. - 207 B.C.). In fact, the name China is actually derived from the Ch'in Dynasty. According to Fu Qifeng, author of Chinese Acrobatics Through the Ages, acrobatics originated from the people's daily life, drawing from their experiences in work, war, and sacrificial rites. During the Warring States Period, acrobatics became widespread. It was believed that practicing acrobatics could steal people's will, increase their physical strength and the accuracy of their movements.

During the Han Dynasty (207 B.C. - 220 A.D.), acrobatics flourished, and this wide variety of juggling, tumbling, and magic acts came to be known as the "Hundred Entertainments." It was at this time, according to historian Fu Qifeng, that Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty presented the first grand acrobatic performance at the Imperial Court. The Emperor Wu Di invited a number of important foreign dignitaries, thus making this performance the first time in Chinese history that acrobatic art was presented for diplomatic purposes. The foreign guests were so impressed by what they saw that they agreed to enter into military and trade alliances with the Han Emperor.

In China today, professional acrobatic troupes have many outlets for displaying their talents. Some appear on Chinese television shows as the broadcast industry in China has expanded to include several television channels featuring diverse programming. Some travel throughout China bringing their own unique costumes, stage props, and acrobatic styles to factories, villages, army units, remote areas, and frontier outposts. Still others have formed joint ventures with Theme Parks as an economically thriving China has fostered the growth of its own family entertainment industry, where they perform seasonally as part of the theme park's entertainment, much like here in the U.S. As time goes by, it is telling that the Chinese Acrobatic tradition just gets stronger, due to the continued innovation of the artists and the endless enthusiasm from their adoring public.

The Peking Acrobats® have been the featured performers on numerous television shows and celebrity-studded TV specials including appearances on The Wayne Brady Show as well as NBC's Ring in the New Year Holiday Special, NICKELODEON'S Unfabulous and Ellen's Really Big Show, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.

The Peking Acrobats set the world record for the Human Chair Stack on Fox's Guinness Book Primetime where they astounded television audiences with their bravery and dexterity as they balanced six people precariously atop six chairs, 21 feet up in the air, without safety lines! They were also in director Steven Soderbergh's hit film Ocean's 11. Qin Shaobo, an alumnus of The Peking Acrobats, appeared in that film's two blockbuster sequels, Ocean's 12, and Ocean's 13.

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