Highlights:
· The group has 27 members, including two coaches, a leader, a teacher and an interpreter.
· The youngest performer is 10, the oldest 38.
· The Qi Qi Har Troupe is one of the most famous circus and acrobatics performance groups in China. The group began in 1952 in its namesake city. Today it boasts more than 210 performers at a modern acrobats and arts school.
Qi Qi Har Acrobatic Troupe
Aerial /Acrobatics/Contortion
Imagine an apparatus, slightly larger than a balance beam hanging high in the air, swinging from side to side, with gymnasts flipping and tossing each other from end to end in the fluid movement of a trapeze.
Such is the performance of China’s renowned Qi Qi Har Acrobatic Troupe (think: chee-chee-har) in the 139th Edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®.
In a ZING ZANG ZOOMSM featured performance, this troupe of silk aerialists, contortionists, and acrobats land high-flying jumps on two swinging balance beams. As the swinging beams gain speed, the troupe’s smallest members flip high into awaiting arms. The act, which was created specifically for Ringling Bros., combines bold acrobatics and rich folk culture in a spellbinding display of motion and timing, grace and athleticism.
“We want Americans to learn more about of Chinese culture and the charm of China’s acrobats,” says Wu Guosheng, the troupe’s leader.
The group has 27 members, including two coaches, a leader, a teacher and an interpreter. The youngest performer is 10, the oldest 38. Imagine the job of coordinating so many performers on two swinging beams. To make the work look simple, they practice every day and challenge the limit. Says Guosheng: “We’re pretty sure the performance is spectacular!”
Audiences catch their first glimpse of the troupe in the show’s opening number, when its oldest members fluidly juggle 13-foot-tall bamboo poles adorned with colorful Chinese artistry. The jugglers manage to keep the heavy poles standing straight, even as they twist and turn their bodies beneath.
Bamboo holds a special place in the hearts of the Chinese people. It’s considered a universal provider of human needs, having been used in all manners of sort, from farm and building equipment, to flutes, fans, baskets and chopsticks. Bamboo poles adorned with paper lanterns once illuminated entry-ways. And during holiday festivals, the Imperial Guardsmen carried bamboo poles festooned with lanterns and banners.
The art form of juggling bamboo poles dates back over 1,300 years – to the Tang dynasty. Its magic is kept alive today by select Chinese troupes, including the Qi Qi Har Troupe.
The Qi Qi Har Troupe is one of the most famous circus and acrobatics performance groups in China. The group began in 1952 in its namesake city. Today it boasts more than 210 performers at a modern acrobats and arts school. Children from the city can start training at 8 years old. While they receive their acrobat training, they also receive an education at the facility’s school.
Qi Qi Har troupes have toured the world and won accolades for aerial gymnastics, bamboo balancing acts, foot juggling, contortions and animal shows. This is the group’s third tour with The Greatest Show On Earth®, having previously performed in 1994 and 2000.
The troupe prides itself on innovation and constantly evolving acts, such as the swinging logs.
“We are bringing the performance up to the sky and making it move,” Guosheng says with pride.
And my, how it moves.