Chinese State Circus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chinese State Circus is a touring circus which aims to present the Chinese circus arts to European audiences. The show is based on Chinese acrobatic acts. All the performers come from China and are trained in the Chinese Tradition of horse theatre or Ma Xi.
It combines Kung-Fu martial arts from the Shaolin Temple, artists from the Peking Opera and other Chinese speciality acts brought together to produce a single show. Continuity is provided by the figure of the Monkey King who appears between acts. The show also includes a Dragon dance, Lion dance. and an excerpt from Chinese opera.
The circus has toured in the UK since 1992. It is currently (As of April 2008) touring North West England. The Chinese State Circus is part of the Brighton Festival Fringe during May.
The BBC produced a critical report revealing that the members of the circus are poorly paid and have been mistreated when injured.
