The Peking Acrobats Bring High-Flying Feats of Precision and Balance to the Southern Theatre March 11

Redefining Chinese acrobatics, The Peking Acrobats® push the limits of human ability, defying gravity with amazing displays of contortion, flexibility, and control. Accompanied by live musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments, the company performs daring maneuvers atop a precarious pagoda of chairs and displays technical prowess at arts such as trick-cycling, precision tumbling, juggling, somersaulting, and gymnastics. The time-honored Chinese music, high-tech special effects, and awe-inspiring acrobatic feats create an exuberant entertainment event with the festive pageantry of a Chinese carnival.

CAPA presents The Peking Acrobats at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.) on Wednesday, March 11, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $28.50-$38.50 and can be purchased in-person at the CBUSArts Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), online at www.capa.com, or by phone at (614) 469-0939.

Since their founding in 1986, The Peking Acrobats have been featured on numerous television shows and celebrity-studded TV specials, including Nickelodeon’s “Unfabulous,” “Ellen’s Really Big Show,” “The Wayne Brady Show,” “That’s Incredible,” ABC's “Wide World of Sports,” and NBC's “Ring In the New Year Holiday Special.” They have also appeared on HDNet TV's “In Focusseries” and regularly on NBC/Comcast's new 3D Channel. The Peking Acrobats set the world record for the human chair stack on FOX's “Guinness Book” primetime television show in 1999, balancing six people atop six chairs 21 in the air without safety lines.

The Peking Acrobats have also made their way onto the silver screen with company members being featured in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven. Alumnus Shaobo Qin also appeared in the film's two sequels, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen.

The Peking Acrobats achieved another milestone in the fall of 2003, when they made their orchestral debut at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, performing as part of the fireworks season finale. The company blended their unique brand of acrobatics with the majestic sound of the 100-piece Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Since their Hollywood Bowl debut, The Peking Acrobats have performed with many of the most prestigious orchestras in North America today, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The Peking Acrobats return often to the Hollywood Bowl where they perform with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra as special guest artists.

In their more than 30-year career, The Peking Acrobats have achieved international acclaim, dazzling audiences around the world. In 2005, The Peking Acrobats premiered in Italy on a five-week, 12-city tour. Their opening in Milan became a spectacular media event covered nationally by the Italian press. In city after city, The Peking Acrobats took the stage before sold-out crowds, and the reviews were filled with accolades attesting to their superb performances. Since their Italian debut, The Peking Acrobats have performed in seven European countries on six European tours.

The Peking Acrobats are part of a time-honored Chinese tradition, rooted in centuries of Chinese history and folk art. Tradition demands that each generation of acrobats add its own improvements and embellishments, so high honor is conferred upon those skilled enough to become acrobats. The Peking Acrobats seek to uphold this rich and ancient folk-art tradition, bringing it to new technical heights while integrating 21st century technology. In the words of Clive Davis of the New York Post, "The Peking Acrobats [are] pushing the envelope of human possibility, combining agility and grace in remarkable feats of pure artistry.”