Cal Performances Presents Program
Friday, March , , pm Saturday, March , , pm & pm Peking Acrobats Sunday, March , , pm Zellerbach Hall PROGRAM Peking Acrobats Adagio for One Keep It Under Your Hat Hoop Diving Feet Balancing Teeter Board Bowls Jar Juggling Chutes and Ladders Water Meteors Kung-Fu Surprise Double Pole Position
INTERMISSION
Th e Nose Knows It Th e Happy Chefs Let the Spinning Plates Spin Get Strapped In In the High Chair Pagoda of Chairs Human Pyramid / Bicycle Pagoda Finale
Th ere will be one intermission.
Th e Peking Acrobats reserve the right to make alterations in the order of the program or in the cast due to illness or any cause whatsoever. Th e use of cameras, fl ash or video photography and tape recorders is strictly prohibited.
Th e Peking Acrobats recommend that you advise your children that what they see on stage takes years of practice and should not be tried at home!
Cal Performances’ – season is sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank.
10 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 11 Program About the Artists
Peking Acrobats Staff Since their debut in , the Peking Acrobats (– BC) and Chinese acrobats through the have redefi ned audience perceptions of Chinese ages have continued to perfect what has become an Ken Hai Company Director acrobatics. Th ey perform daring maneuvers atop evolving folk art form. Th e Peking Acrobats ability Shao K. Wan Group Leader a precarious pagoda of chairs; they are experts at to perform the astounding is rooted in centuries Fei Liu Technical Consultant treacherous wire-walking, trick-cycling, precision of this Chinese history and folk art. Tradition de- Quan Yang Stage Manager tumbling, somersaulting and gymnastics. Th ey mands that each generation of acrobats add its own Yuan Yuan Zhang Orchestra Director defy gravity with amazing displays of contortion, improvements and embellishments. Generations of Adam Troughear Technical Director fl exibility and control. Th ey push the envelope of families carry on this highly acclaimed and popular John Varesio Assistant to the Technical Director human possibility with astonishing juggling dex- tradition. Children begin training at a young age Erin Sparks Lighting Designer terity and incredible balancing feats, showcasing and adhere to a rigorous training schedule which tremendous skill and ability. Th ey are masters of they follow for the rest of their lives. Today, the agility and grace. Accompanied by live musicians acrobat in China is considered an artist. Because Tour Credits skillfully playing traditional Chinese instruments of the unusual and diffi cult nature of the feats in- and high-tech special eff ects that coalesce with the volved, high honor is conferred upon those skilled IAI Presentations, Inc. music, featuring the acrobats’ awe-inspiring feats, enough to become acrobats; an acrobat can be P.O. Box an exuberant entertainment event appears before considered the Chinese equivalent of an American Pismo Beach, California your eyes, featuring all the excitement and festive opera star. It is telling that the Chinese acrobatic () - pageantry of a Chinese carnival. tradition just gets stronger, due to the continued Don Hughes President Many of the magnifi cent acts we see today, innovation of the artists and the endless enthusi- Cynthia A. Dike-Hughes Vice President despite their sophistication, were performed in asm from their adoring public. Marissa Bywater Marketing and Production Associate ancient times. Th e history of Chinese acrobatics is Th e Peking Acrobats have been featured on Rebekah Golde Production Associate rich in tradition and dates back over , years. numerous television shows and specials, including Th roughout the history of China the acrobatic Th e Wayne Brady Show, Th at’s Incredible, ABC’s International Asia, Inc. arts fl ourished, but in varying degrees. Originally, Wide World of Sports, NBC’s Ring in the New Year P.O. Box court entertainments were formal and monoto- Holiday Special, Artistgalla—a benefi t show that was Walnut, California nous, quite the opposite of the lively, folk arts of fi lmed live at the Drammens Th eatre in Oslo—and Ken Hai President the people. And, it did all begin with folk arts: on Nickelodeon’s new hit show, Unfabulous. Th ey tumbling, juggling ordinary household objects and set the world record for the Human Chair Stack balancing. Common games of the people, such as on Fox’s Guinness Book Primetime, where they as- Tour Direction “Rang Hitting,” or throwing a small wooden strip tounded audiences with their bravery and dexter- SRO Artists, Inc. the size and shape of a shoe sole at a target, de- ity as they balanced six people precariously atop () - veloped accuracy. Modern day Whip Feats are six chairs feet up in the air without safety lines! sroartists.com traced back to this game. Myth and religion also Th e Peking Acrobats are also making the scene on infl uenced the acrobatic performing arts. Th e Lion the silver screen: Company members were featured Dance is Buddhist in origin. Th e lion was seen as in Stephen Soderbergh’s hit fi lms Ocean’s and the reincarnation of a woman who was teased into Ocean’s , playing alongside Julia Roberts, Brad revealing her true identity. Th is dance was a sym- Pitt and George Clooney. Qin Shaobo, an alum- bol of spiritual renewal and also revered for dispel- nus of the Peking Acrobats, appears in Ocean’s , ling bad luck. featuring many of the original cast members as Eventually, however, the excitement of the ac- well as Ellen Barkin and Al Pacino. Th e Peking robat’s amazing feats caught and held the attention Acrobats were also the featured performers at the of the ruling class. Acrobatic performers were rou- Hollywood premiere party of Ocean’s , where tinely invited to the court to entertain and impress they impressed the star-studded audience with visiting dignitaries. Th e varied acts of tumbling, their incredible acrobatic feats. singing, dancing and juggling became known as Th e Peking Acrobats are also pleased by the “Th e Hundred Entertainments” during the Han tremendous success of their fi rst commercial DVD, Dynasty (– AD). Records of acrobatic released on their North American Tour and acts can be found as early as the Ch’in Dynasty fi lmed in as a television special for HDNet.
12 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 13 About the Artists
Th is crystal-clear and thrilling DVD is available In December , the Peking Acrobats for sale at the performance and on the internet returned to Europe for a six-week tour of the at www.iaipresentations.com. Th e show, shot in Netherlands, Belgium and Holland. Sparked by High Defi nition format, has aired many times on their tremendous success during their fi ve-week, HDNet. Th e Peking Acrobats are honored to have -city debut tour of Italy in , this tour took been selected by HDNet to participate in this tech- them to many exciting and fascinating locales, nological innovation, thereby putting this art form where they enjoyed sharing their ancient artistry on the cutting edge of modern technology. with an ever-widening European audience. Th ey Th e Peking Acrobats have performed for sym- visited Amsterdam and many Dutch cities, as well phony concert audiences across America. Fans as Bruges in Brussels and several cities they had yet will recall that this milestone in their career was to visit in Italy. Th ey returned to the Netherlands, reached when they debuted at the Hollywood Belgium and Italy in October of for their Bowl, performing as part of the the Bowl’s third European tour, where they also debuted in Fireworks Season Finale, blending their unique Switzerland. brand of acrobatics with the majestic sound of the A performance by the Peking Acrobats brings -piece Hollywood Bowl Orchestra to create a with it the opportunity to view the epitome of a multicultural, multimedia spectacular. Concerts rich and ancient folk art tradition, highlighted by such as this have led to many other performanc- today’s technology, melding the ancient and tradi- es with orchestras across the United States, such tional with the modern wonders of the st cen- as the San Francisco Symphony, the San Diego tury. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy as these stellar Symphony, the Buff alo Philharmonic and the performers reveal to you their mastery of an an- Cincinnati Pops . cient art form, thousands of years in the making.
14 CAL PERFORMANCES