DANCE

The Grand 1894 Opera House presents Cirque Shanghai-Bai Xi. Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 8pm and  Sunday, November 8, 2009at 3pm.

Cirque Shanghai-Bai Xi somersaults onto the stage at The Grand 1894 Opera House the weekend of November 7-8! Sponsored in part by Blue Bell Creameries, performance times are at 8 pm on Saturday, and 3 pm on Sunday. After striking poses you can't fathom your own body accomplishing, the performers of Cirque Shanghai love to bellow "hai!" to earn a well-deserved ovation. It’s Cirque. Limitless skills!

Dating back to the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, Chinese acrobatic spectacles were first called “Bai Xi,” meaning “one hundred amazing acts,” in reference to the performer’s seemingly limitless skills and innumerable feats they could perform. These daring and beautiful talents were featured in command performances for China’s imperial courts and have been passed down and enhanced through generations.

Cirque Shanghai-Bai Xi combines all aspects of the traditional and the modern in acrobatic stage performance: awesome displays of physical strength with incredible feats of balance; graceful folkloric pageantry with fast paced contemporary dance; energetic martial arts with phenomenal balancing skills… all performed in spectacular costumes, on the stage and high in the air, in a grand theatrical production. Featuring state-of-the-art computerized lighting and beautiful orchestrations that range from exotic Oriental to trend setting electronic faction, Cirque Shanghai-Bai Xi is a breathtaking spectacle that establishes a new standard of acrobatic and entertainment excellence.