Acrobatic Monkey King’s Paris Debut

Chen Danning

When the curtains of a 100-minute acrobatic show， ， presented by Zhejiang Folk Art & Acrobatics General Troupe Co.， Ltd.， opened to show the phantasmagoric stage， on the night of November 24， 2018， the atmosphere of the night， in the worlds most coveted acrobatic ground， reached its peak.

The shows debut in Paris， in the middle of the “golden season” of the citys festival calendar of this year， also ushered in a total of three months commercial performance including one months global tour. The 20，000 tickets of the first five performances in Paris， at 20-90each， were sold out two weeks before the debut.

Chinese Ambassador Zhai Jun in France takes a look at the troupes kitchen to see how the artists from Zhejiang are doing in France.

The inviter and initiator of this exciting cultural exchange project is the world-famous French company that owns Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain （Worldwide Festival of the Circus of Tomorrow）. First created in 1977， the festival showcases the most talented ambassadors of the circus arts. Wu Hangping， now President and GM of the Zhejiang Folk Art & Acrobatics General Troupe Co.， Ltd.， and Ma Chao， Vice Director of the troupe， are among the proud laureates of this grand acrobatic event.

The Paris tour is the result of two years vigorous communication and preparation between the two parties. When Wu Hangping received an invitation letter from the 37th Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain to be one of the jury members， he took the opportunity to recommend three representative shows of his troupe to the French company. The effort led to one of the three shows winning a silver award from the 2017 festival.

Impressed by the remarkable stunts of the performers representing the Zhejiang troupe， the general manager of the French company sent an invitation letter， again， and later sent a delegation to Hangzhou to discuss details.

The communication took more than one year to reach the finish line.

The acrobatic team and staff of the Zhejiang troupe landed at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport at 5：30 on November 16， 2018. The rehearsal started the next day. Stage preparation began two days later， and took several days to complete， with a dragon dance session added into the show and Chinese festival elements woven into the stage design.

“For every one of us， the Paris show was a big challenge， physically and spiritually， and more importantly， an eye-opening experience that went far beyond its commercial success，” Wu Hangping shares. “The make-up and styling team of the French company went out of their way to make fur costumes for the ‘monkeys; and the lighting and acoustic control shows the stunning skills and detail-oriented professionalism of the French team， bringing the stage presentation to the pink of perfection.”

The warm-up also went smoothly， with a press conference held on the afternoon of November 21. To ensure a flawless show， the organizer arranged a trial performance on the night of November 22.

Great effort was put into the plotting of the acrobatic show. Scenes were carefully selected from the original story and painstakingly choreographed to appeal to the Parisian audiences， presenting all forms of circus performance： juggling， acrobatics， balance， contortion…， stunts representing unique Chinese acrobatic traditions， and plenty of new surprises that delighted all senses.

The awe-inspiring skills of the acrobats from China and the superior stage effects crafted by the French professionals also impressed Franck Riester， the newly appointed French Minister of Culture， who made a 7-minute speech ahead of the show. “I am happy to be here tonight with all of you， to enjoy the best acrobatic show from China in the worlds best acrobatic venue in French， a country that has long been reputed for encouraging cultural diversity，” he announced.