The Golden Dragon Acrobats redefine “impossible” in Cirque Ziva
Have you ever tried to ride a unicycle? It’s not that easy, is it? Now picture trying it with a half-dozen of your friends along for the ride. Or how about balancing on the back of a chair? Sure, you could do it—for a moment. But put that chair on another chair, and another chair, and another chair. Now put it all on a table.
Those are just a couple examples of how the Golden Dragon acrobats take the ordinary, and make it extraordinary, in Cirque Ziva.
After a sold-out show in early 2015, the Golden Dragon Acrobats will once more return to The Events Center at Harrah’s Resort SoCal, to take the stage and dazzle the crowds on February 5 and 6, with a series of juggling, acrobatic and contortionist performances that will leave you breathless.
Cirque Ziva, which takes its name from the translation of ‘light, brilliance and power,” features two dozen performers who have been training for more than half of their lives. They have each been hand selected from acrobatic schools throughout China and have been performing, on average, for more than 12 years.
Contortionism is one of the most impressive parts of the show, particularly to those of us who cannot touch our own toes. Mixing elements of Buddhist animal poses with Russian ballet, and Mongolian “Biyelgee” dance, it is the art of stretching and bending the body into unusual positions.
Another ancient tradition brought to life in the show is the art of juggling. Combining balance and precision, it has been recorded in early cultures throughout Asia—in China it is rumored to have been performed by warriors as a means of honing their skill with swords. Today, it’s seen in performances and practiced as a hobby all over the world—but not like this. Because you may have juggled, but you’ve never juggled umbrellas. With your feet.
The costumes are dazzling, the music is exhilarating and the acrobatics are mindbending. Any one of these is reason enough to come see the show, but when put together, Cirque Ziva takes on an almost supernatural aura that will leave you wondering two things:
How did they do that?
And how did they do that so beautifully?
