Chinese acrobats to dazzle Warriner Auditorium
Dazzling, colorful and fun, the Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats will perform Saturday at 8 p.m. in Warriner Auditorium.
Sponsored by CMU's Artists Course series, the 18-member troupe will perform acrobatics, Kung Fu and other spectacular feats of daring ability and flexibility, said Robert Ebner, director of University Events.
"The Artists' Course Committee is one that tries to bring in culturally diverse things," Ebner said.
According to a press release, the Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats, from the Peking-area of China, will perform daring feats such as jumping through blazing and knife-lined hoops blindfolded, crushing bricks on a man's head with a sledgehammer and doing a headstand on top of 12 chairs stacked on four wine bottles.
Acrobatics are common in China, he said, and can be compared to the United States circuses and dance performances.
"Chinese acrobats are really like a circus in some ways. In China they are highly respected and very popular. It will help students to relate a bit to the countries and their histories. Plus, they're entertaining as the devil," he said.
According to a press release, the Shangri-La troupe of acrobats is the "cream of China's acrobatic crop."
"It truly is centuries of tradition for them to have acrobats and traveling-acrobatic companies," Ebner said.
Chinese acrobats take pride in their craft, he said, because they feel it "demonstrates the achievement of perfection through finding harmony in mind and body.
"It's an ancient concept of the Orient," Ebner said.
The performance will be eye-catching and entertaining, he said, because of the bright outfits of the acrobats and their amazing skills.
"I think people are really going to enjoy the costuming," Ebner said.
Tickets are free for students at the Central Box Office and most downstairs seats are sold out, he said.
The show is definitely worth seeing though, Ebner said.
"It's a really colorful, bright, incredible show"
