New Shanghai Circus, Feb 6 09, Mother Lode Theatre, Butte, MT

Artbeat Proudly Presents: THE NEW SHANGHAI CIRCUS - FRIDAY FEB 6 09 - MOTHER LODE THEATRE - BUTTE, MT

(Brought to you in part by the following sponsors: Montana Standard, KXLF TV, and KAAR Radio)

As seen on Broadway and PBS!

Text of New York Times Broadway review:

Ladies and Gentlemen, New Acts of Derring-Do

In acts that often trace their origin to the harvest festivals of more than 2,000 years ago, this youthful, handsome and graceful company spends a swift two hours in a range of demanding performances, most of them typifying Chinese circus and constituting a refreshing alternative to the Western tradition. Under the direction of Zhao Lizhi, the artistry, individually and collectively, attains levels that make it seem almost unfair to single out any act, from jugglers to the comic knife throwers and the bicyclist who finishes by piling about 10 of his colleagues aboard his vehicle.

Fans of circus of any sort are bound to appreciate the young women spinning six plates at a time atop sticks, while one of their number goes through amazing contortions without ever dropping a dish. And what about the woman who stacks chair atop chair on a fragile foundation of four vases atop a table, and makes her way acrobatically to the pinnacle of this rickety structure? Or the The Shanghai Circus - Jar Jugglingyoung man who juggles a huge jar, usually using only his back or shoulders, and catching it on edge atop his head? Or the young man who builds an absolutely ungainly structure of more than 20 wooden benches and balances them on his head? What is the secret of the young woman who manages to lie horizontally with no apparent support but the point of a sword placed against the back of her neck?

And let no one overlook an act called the nose balance, on which a young woman balances a glass of water on her nose, covers it with a glass plate, adds four small glasses, covers them with a plate and proceeds to build a lofty, glassy structure before beginning a series of acrobatic moves and then walking across a bridge of light bulbs.
Confronted by feats like this, onlookers can catch their breath while witnessing a very funny knife-throwing act and soothing eye and ear with the consistently artful costumes, atmospheric lighting and music." - The New York Times

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• New
• Shanghai
• Circus
• Acrobats
• Chinese
• Montana
• Butte
• Mother
• Lode
• Theatre
• Performing
• Arts