Before the event has even started, the buzz is palpable. A few rows behind us, a group of primary school pupils, dressed in exquisite red and gold outfits, are clearly readying themselves for some kind of involvement in the proceedings (they end up opening Act Two with a delightful Chinese song), and the hall is packed. The stage is bedecked with columns of iconic paper lanterns in those same colours - you have to hand it to the Chinese, this aesthetic is a winner.
From there, it gets better and better. A beautifully-crafted dragon’s head peers round the side of the stage, enters, and just keeps on coming, unfurling its unfeasibly large self onto a stage that can barely contain it After beguiling us with its rhythmic writhing and curling, it takes to the aisles to (literally) brush itself up against the audience. Next up is a solo folk dance performance involving a portly vase - combining elements of dance, acrobatics, and circus theatrics, it provides a breathtaking yet delicate spectacle which is a harbinger of what is to come. The combination of these three elements is a feature of many of the performances, and it means that by the time we get to the more straightforward (but nonetheless awesome) ballet performance in Act Two, my kids, at least, are ready to receive it with an open mind - even to the point where my suggestion afterwards that we go and see the forthcoming ballet of Hansel and Gretel next month was met with a positive response. A definite win in my book!
Other performances are closer to what might be considered, to western audiences, more ‘traditional’ circus acts. The juggling is phenomenal - beginning with a solo performer, gradually adding balls to reach, I think 7 or 8 at a time (yes, I lost count), producing a cascading yellow blur. The precision required brings home not only the painstaking hundreds (thousands?) of hours of practice that must have gone into all of these acts, but the reality of “art as discipline” in this form of entertainment. When joined by a second juggler, this becomes even clearer. One particularly staggering moment is when one of them steals and replaces the other's falling clubs, mid-flow, at a pace so fast you cannot even see what’s happening.
New to me was the art of “umbrella foot juggling.” Judged by my eight-year old to be the highlight of Act One, this is not really juggling in the usual sense, but closer to the practice of spinning plates. Except with umbrellas. And feet. What follows are the most incredible feats (excuse the pun…) of dexterity, elegance and balance, as seemingly impossible numbers of parasols are spun simultaneously. Our engaging host for the night, Owen, explains afterwards that this is, in fact, one of the oldest known circus acts, originating during the period of the Han dynasty around the time of Jesus.
An acrobatic troupe from Guizhou province perform similarly unbelievable feats of poise, balance and strength, tiptoeing on one another’s heads and holding each other up by their fingertips - and yet so relaxed throughout. It must take years of effort to appear this effortless.
Light relief is provided throughout by the Giant Pandas. These perform a role something akin to clowns, interrupting the host and making bumbling attempts to imitate the performers. As the night progresses, however, it becomes clear that they, too, are possessed of a certain grace and charm, engaging in some impressive hoop diving and acrobatic formations, and even drawing our quietly talented host into their schemes.
Also making several appearances are the Wushu team. Wushu integrates elements of various other martial arts such as Kung Fu and even Tai Chi and is to be included in the Olympic Games for the first time in 2026. To the uninitiated layman like myself, it appears like a combination of acrobatics, fencing, breakdancing and the fighting arts. Some of the performers look like they are no more than ten years old; but already seem to have a mastery of their chosen sport. Sometimes involving long sticks, swords or nunchucks, it is satisfyingly mindboggling to behold.
Finishing as it began - with ferocious giant puppets - the event ends with a Lion Dance. Again, it beggars belief how it is all so precisely coordinated from within the darkened costumes.
All in all, this was a spectacularly entertaining evening; stunning, delightful and incredible throughout. There is no such thing as perfection, but the precision of timing and posture required for everything we saw tonight made this perhaps as near as it's possible to get. As one satisfied spectator summed it up: “Mindblowing! It’s amazing what the human body can do.”