Stepping up for the goat
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Acrobats from Xinjiang come to Bangkok to celebrate the Chinese New Year
More than 50 award-winning Chinese acrobats bring the magic of the snow-covered Tian Shan mountain range in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to Bangkok this week for a series of mind-blowing performances at Future Park.
Brought to Thailand by veteran Thai-Chinese magician Chanai Sangthongsuk to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Goat, the “Extraordinary Xinjiang Festival” featuring the Xianjing Acrobat Troupe, champions of the 2014 National Acrobat Competition, runs at Casacata on the mall’s ground floor from this Friday through February 22.
The highlights include the “Pagoda of Iron Men” and the “Queen of Tian Shan”, which won the gold medals at 2014 National Acrobat Competition 2014 in the men’s and women’s categories respectively.
The “Pagoda of Iron Men” features 10 men in bodysuits shaping themselves into a three-mere-high pagoda while in the “Queen of Tian Shan”, female acrobats dressed all in white form a pyramid in front of a backdrop showing the snow-covered mountains from which the piece takes it name.
The gold medal winner at China’s Golden Lion Competition, the “The Great Tai Chi” blends the gentleness of tai chi movements with acrobatic strength in a stunning show that combines cowboy-style lasso, dancing and acrobatics.
Xinjiang’s unique “Bowls Balance on One-wheel” portrays the talented dancers riding a one-wheel bike while balancing ceramic bowls on their foreheads before changing to bigger wheel bikes that top 2.5 metres in height.
Based on the story of Buddhist monk-scholar Xuanzang, who travelled over the Yanghua Sun Mountain on his pilgrimage to India, “Heng Jia Crosses the Mountain” showcases the balancing skills of the acrobats as they form a human tower.
Each show will be accompanied with colourful light and sound |performances.
