Debra Li

"Splendid," the show that attracted audiences of more than 50,000 and performed 50 consecutive nights in Beijing last summer is coming to town next week.

Presented by the Beijing-based China National Acrobatic Troupe, the show will grace the Shenzhen Poly Theater between Wednesday and Sunday.

The two-hour show incorporates a luxury line-up of more than 100 acrobats, 40 of whom are international golden prizewinners. The show is brainstorming on the traditional concept of acrobatics with a combination of dance, martial arts, traditional Chinese opera and gymnastics in 13 acts.

There are no grimaces or groans, it's a happy show with beaming faces, flashy costumes and dazzling lights. The effects are heightened by a backdrop corresponding to each performance.

Act 1: Ballet on hands

Like a gentle serenade, the episode combines the beauty of classical ballet with stunning traditional acrobatic twists. In the moonlight, a woman dances on her partner's shoulders, arms, elbows and even his palms, his muscles bearing her exquisite posture as well as her weight.

Act 2: Plate spinning

Scores of women sing and dance as they each spin a dozen plates, as if they were maids on a joyous journey to a country fair. The performers complete a complicated set of manoeuvres, such as one standing on top of another on one foot while she bends backwards and extends the other leg vertically. In the meantime, the plate spinning does not stop for a second.

Act 3: Kung-fu kingdom: aerialists

Set against lightning strikes, this episode tries to relive a world of kung-fu masters from ancient China. The aerialists, in white robes and wearing swords, jump and somersault high in the air, flying from the hands of one pair of catchers to another. Difficult moves like three consecutive somersaults and two flyers somersaulting at the same time will wow the audience.

Act 4: Ball juggling

Zhao Hanlong, the coolest juggler, bounces and juggles nine balls at a time, making them appear to be a miraculous necklace. This handsome young man started juggling when he was 14. After six years of training, he became the best in the world, able to juggle 11 balls at the same time.

Act 5: Contortionists with glasses

Accompanied by ethnic minority music from West China, teenage girls perform a series of difficult moves balancing glasses on their heads, hands and feet, propped on a partner. The girls roll and even stand on their heads while balancing the glasses on their hands and feet.

Act 6: Polevaulters

Dressed in black-and-white armor, male performers engage in breathtaking movements, jumping over vertical poles without protection.

Act 7: Diabolo

The young acrobat plays diabolo on a 2-meter-tall table. She somersaults 16 times with the diabolo, then throws it into the air and catches it after two somersaults. Consumate athletic ability and a keen sense of timing are vital to her performance. "Diabolo" won the French Republic Presidential Award at the 26th Tomorrow Circus Festival in France in 2005.

Act 8: Tumbling through hoops

A group of lads jump and tumble through hoops, challenging gravity and agility. The No. 1 jumper on the stage, springs over 3.1 meters with dazzling somersaults.

Act 9: Aerial gymnasts

Two men with perfectly built bodies, like gladiators from ancient Rome, display the most difficult skills. What they do is nothing short of gymnastics in the Olympic arena.

Act 10: Bicycle skills

The show incorporates 24 acrobats on two tandem bicycles. With their hands outstretched in the air, they form a splendid peacock.

Act 11: Temper force with grace

Performers balance glasses on their mouths, noses and other parts of their bodies as they perform a series of difficult moves in a display of strength and contortion.

Act 12: Skillful feet: umbrella juggling

A woman performer rests on the back of a male who serves as a base. Five umbrellas are simultaneously thrown and deftly caught with her feet.

Act 13: Bowl pagoda

Thirteen performers in black give a dazzling show of tossing bowls and a girl balancing bowls on her head up a five-meter-tall human ladder consisting of three young men. The masterpiece reached the top of the acrobatic world, winning a Golden Clown Prize at the international circus festival in Monte Carlo.