Jorgensen Center Welcomes Nat'l Acrobats of The People’s Republic of China

For the first time in this country, the National Acrobats of The People's Republic of China will leap, juggle, contort and strike a perfect balance over and over on Jorgensen's stage Saturday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. Direct from Beijing, members of this troupe of 150 resident performers and 500 students will test the confines of gravity, time and space and the human body, and come out delightfully on top every time.

"Limber" doesn't describe these bodies. Is there an adjective for a 360-degree back bend, while balanced on another acrobat and performed with the grace of a prima ballet dancer? The troupe's acts include balancing on racing bikes, 24 acrobats fanned out in a peacock tail formation perched on just two bicycles, and sustained single-hand support in a mid-air feat that defies not just death but understanding.

These performers are frequent winners of the "Oscar" of Acrobatics - known as the Golden Clown Award - at international circus festivals in Europe and have been decorated with multiple top national awards in China. Their performance includes martial arts, traditional music, touches of opera and ballet, illusion and much more.

The finale act, the "Grand Pagoda of Bowls," is a study in rhythm and silence as bowls are constantly thrown as stunning, balanced poses are struck. The act peaks with an acrobat soaring to the top of a "pagoda" of three others, stacked vertically. This fourth level is a rarity in the world of acrobats. You'll see it at Jorgensen.

This is the first group of national performers established by the government of the People's Republic of China back in 1950. It has toured more than 40 countries, including Israel, Sweden, Italy, France, Britain, Australia, Japan, India, Greece, Egypt, Costa Rica, Mexico, Russia and Spain. And now, in 2011, it comes to the United States and Canada for the first time.

The Beijing-based company owns one of the largest acrobatic training centers in the world and seeks to influence industry standards. With backing from the Beijing Municipality, it invests in new productions, acrobatic science and research.

You could call their art death-defying, and that would be accurate for the rest of us. But the amazement here is that the National Acrobats of China make it look totally under control and yet an out-of-reach act of courage, or crazy risk, for anyone else.

This performance is co-sponsored by the Asian American Cultural Center at UConn.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Tickets are $30, $27 and $25, with some discounts. For tickets and information, call the Box Office 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Fri at 860.486.4226, or order online at: jorgensen.uconn.edu. Free, convenient parking is available across the street in the North Garage.

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