By James Kon
Breathtaking acrobatic stunts are expected to keep the audiences glued to their seats for hours when the China National Acrobatic Troupe makes its way to Brunei Darussalam at the end of this month.
From July 24-26, the China National Acrobatic Troupe will be performing its "Beauty & Strength" show at the National Indoor Stadium for three consecutive nights.
Organised in conjunction with two auspicious occasions, namely, His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam's 60th birthday celebrations and the 15th anniversary of Brunei-China diplomatic relations, the colourful and stunning performances will combine tradition with innovation.
The National China Acrobatic Troupe was founded in 1950 under the attention of the late premier Zhou Enial. It covers a large variety of fields; acrobatics, aerial acts, farces, vocal imitations, magic and others.
Bruneians will be able to witness some of the 28 acts of the troupe, which have won 41 awards and gold medals in both domestic and international acrobatic and circus festivals.
Considered as the biggest acrobatic troupe in China, the China National Acrobatic Troupe not only preserved many traditional programmes but also integrates acrobatics, music, dance, drama, Chinese kung fu and others. Keeping in line with changes of time, the resilient troupe also created new programmes such as Chinese Soul, Chinese's Legend in Wonderland, Spectacular Acrobatics and Circus Gala.
Among the awards the troupe has picked up in the numerous festivals where they had performed was the Gold Chrysanthemum Award at the 1st China Acrobatic Festival in 2001 for the Chinese Soul Performance.
The troupe's magic show performed by Li Ning with his mask and illusion earned the Gold Magic Stick Award at the 16th International Star Magic Festival in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Other awards are The French Republic President Award at the 24th Tomorrow Circus Festival in France in 2003 achieved by Zhang Fan with his Slack Wire, the Golden Clown Award at the 28th International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo, Monaco in 2004 with a performance called Pagoda of Bowls and the French Republic President Award at the 26th Tomorrow Circus Festival in France in 2005 for the troupe's performance named Diabolo.
Tickets are priced at $40 and $20 for the premiere show on July 24, 2006, while tickets for the July 25 and July 26 shows cost $30 and $15.
The public can obtain the tickets at all Hua Ho department stores and all Dee Jay outlets.
- Borneo Bulletin
(12th July 2006)
