The first performance of the China National Acrobatic Troupe, “Running to the 61st Gold Medal”, was well received by the audience.
On April 30, 2017, with the audience’s sustained and enthusiastic applause, the large-scale acrobatic stage work “Running to the 61st Gold Medal” performed by the Chinese Acrobatic Troupe Boutique Team ended brilliantly at the Grand Theater of the Palace of Nationalities in Beijing. From the perspective of an acrobat, the work presents the rich historical accumulation of China National Acrobatic Troupe over the past 66 years. The performance showcases four Golden Clown Awards, the “Acrobatic Oscar” of the Chinese Acrobatic Troupe and more than 10 classic programs. The performance will last until the evening of May 1. “I’m one of them. The world of acrobatics is always like a space with infinite magnetic force, attracting us to move closer to it. It is so steep, beautiful and mysterious. It is our secret place to linger, and it is also our lifelong dream. The show kicked off with the actor’s bold opening remarks.
Adhering to tradition and innovating the old Four “Golden Clowns” programs run throughout the show.
“Pretty Hua Dan – Collective Empty Bamboo” is one of the classic programs of the Chinese Acrobatic Troupe, which has been passed down from generation to generation, combining opera, dance, martial arts and other arts and disciplines. As early as 2004, it was well-known to the national audience at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. After that, he won many gold awards at home and abroad, such as the “Yellow Crane Gold Award”, the “Presidential Award of the French Republic” and the “Golden Clown Award of the 39th Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival”. Thirteen years later, “Pretty Hua Dan-Collective Empty Bamboo” retains its original performance form. From the familiar music at the beginning to the “vitality” of the lingzhi on the actor’s head, even the most classic dance moves have not changed. The only thing that has changed is the increasingly superb technical movements of this show, and the actresses’ difficult actions, such as “flying over”, “empty bamboo skipping rope”, and “turning over and running”, really excited every audience at the scene.
As we all know, most of the props used in Chinese acrobatic shows are taken from life. Bowls, altars, ropes, whips, plates, forks, rods, tables, chairs, umbrellas, hats and other seemingly ordinary objects in life are indeed transformed in acrobatic performances, highlighting the close relationship between Chinese acrobatics and labour life. “Running to the 61st Gold Medal” has such a show: “Teng Yun – Top Bowl”. The show won the “Golden Clown” award at the 28th Monte Carlo International Circus Festival in Monaco in 2004, and it was also the first “Golden Clown” award won by the Chinese Acrobatic Troupe. In this show, the part of the prop is extremely simple, but the audience is thrilled. The small bowls folded up are firmly glued to the hands and feet of the actors, and they do not move as the actors “fly” in the air. “Two intercepts”, “three intercepts”, and “four intercepts”, the difficulty of the 13 actors in the show continues to advance with the climax of the music, which makes the audience feast their eyes.
In the program “Concerto • Black and White Rhapsody – Male and Female Skills”, which won the gold medal at the 9th National Acrobatic Competition, the gold medal of the 35th French Tomorrow International Circus Festival, and the gold medal at the 39th Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival, the props used are exactly the opposite of the small props of “Teng Yun – Top Bowl”. The seemingly “bulky” table in the middle of the stage can be described as “exhausted”. Still, sometimes moving, sometimes open, sometimes combining, sometimes rising, sometimes falling… The black-and-white table props complement the actors’ black-and-white costumes, making the whole show clean and neat. “Yuanbao Top”, “Pinching the Neck”, “Jumping Music with One Hand”, “Lifting and Turning Overhead”, and many other ultra-difficult technical movements all made the audience at the scene marvel at the show.
The “Saint Dou – Earth Circle” program, which won the “Golden Clown” award in the same year as “Pretty Hua Dan – Collective Empty Bamboo”, brought a tense and solemn atmosphere to the immediate audience when the opening music sounded. More than 10 male actors, like “warriors”, are in high spirits, as if they have brought the audience to the “battlefield”; In the show, the actors’ compact and neat “turning body flip”, “body flip”, “front flip”, “backflip” and “backflip” difficult technical movements seem to bring the audience to the “Olympic arena”. The actors’ skilful movements and coherent and compact choreography dazzled the audience.
Ingenuity, praise from the audience Let the world audience see the best Chinese acrobatics.
Acrobatic art has a long development history, and there are records of acrobatics as early as the “Classic of Mountains and Seas”. Today, acrobatics is a precious heritage of the Chinese nation, an enduring form of performing arts passed down from generation to generation. It is still an indispensable alternative in the field of traditional Chinese art. In the Chinese acrobatic troupe “Running to the 61st Gold Medal”, most of the actors are young people from the 80s and 90s, who shoulder the heavy responsibility of acrobatic inheritance, shoulder the mission of acrobatic development, experience the revolution of acrobatic innovation, and interpret the future of Chinese acrobatics. In the 66 years of growth of the Chinese Acrobatic Troupe, the “ingenuity spirit” of generations of acrobats has continuously inherited, developed and innovated the art of Chinese acrobatics. In this era full of noise and restlessness, “ingenuity spirit” represents the temperament, practicality and spirit of excellence of this era.
Ms Liang, an audience member from Tiantongyuan, said: In recent years, some TV programs often mention the “Golden Clown Award”, and TV introduces this award as the dream of every acrobat, but I have never seen the show with my own eyes. Today is an eye-opener; there are four “golden clowns”, as well as many wonderful shows such as jiu-jitsu, pole climbing, spinning flower plates, racket (ball skills), umbrella pedalling, etc.; after watching it, I refreshed my old thoughts about acrobatic performances, which can be described as a feast for my eyes. I think we acrobats are like what everyone often calls “craftsmen” now; they have always worked tirelessly for the development of traditional Chinese art; if not for the “10 years of merit” in the audience, how could there be a wonderful performance on the stage today, let alone win the gold award. The vigour of this drama also inspired me, and I was moved by the picture of the actors running forward at the end; my eyes were moist at that time; I was infected, worthy of the Chinese acrobatic troupe!
Mr Wu, an audience member who works in the international sports and catering industry, said: “I am no stranger to the programs of Chinese acrobatic troupes, and I often bring my foreign friends to their Dongtu and Guanyuan Theater to watch acrobatic performances, and sometimes the performances of Dongtu Theater cannot buy tickets at all. For my foreign friends, it is very exciting and lucky to see the performance of the Chinese acrobatic troupe because it is difficult to see such a high-tech level of acrobatics abroad; it can be said that there are scenes without content and pictures but no skills, watching the performance of the Chinese acrobatic troupe is one thing they must let me “do well” before coming to China. And this party, I can see 4 “golden clown” programs; as soon as I sent out a message on Facebook, my friends abroad immediately began to “blame” me. I hope our Chinese people can support Chinese acrobatics, our Chinese culture and traditional art.
As the opening sequence of the fourth “Dreams Come True” performance season of Beijing Performing Arts Group, the Chinese Acrobatic Troupe “Running to the 61st Gold Medal” interprets classics and blooms glory from the perspective of acrobats; The second half echoes the theme of this year’s performance season’s “Inheritance Journey”, looking back on the succession of the road and the glory of the years. The subtleties can be seen in the beautiful pursuit of the Chinese Acrobatic Troupe to “let the world audience see the best Chinese acrobatics”.