Special to The Herald-Sun
DURHAM -- Audiences will see entertainment once only available to Chinese emperors when the Golden Dragon Acrobats perform this weekend at the Carolina Theatre.
To say China has a long tradition in balancing acts would be an understatement as this art form runs over 2,000 years deep in this country.
Although the 25 Golden Dragon Acrobats range in age from 17 to 25, each has studied the art form for at least 10 years since children may begin as young as 7 at one of China's acrobatics schools, the troupe's choreographer/costume designer Angela Chang said in a telephone interview earlier this week.
Her husband, Danny Chang, was 7 when his father, Lien Chi Chang, began to teach him acrobatics. The son performed in his father's troupe and eventually, in 1984, took over the troupe as artistic director when his father accepted the head coach position at the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts. The son continued the legacy that began in 1949 when his father and family had brought acrobatic performance from China to Taiwan. The family stayed and his father started his own troupe there when they were unable to return to China because of civil war.
The troupe is now based in Plano, Texas, but all the performers come from China, Angela Chang said. Members of the troupe change. The current performers, from Hebei Province in northern China, have been touring the U.S. since 2009 and will continue until 2011. Then, Danny Chang will return to China to scout for other talented acrobats.
Since acrobatics requires not only personal skills but the ability to work together, it's best to choose performers from the same school who have been together for some time, she said. On a personal level, this also helps them feel more comfortable and less homesick when they come to this country, she added.
"Running the show is sometimes easier than running the life," she said.
In addition to their professional roles, she and her husband also serve as surrogate parents. "We are a big family," she said.
When her husband went to Hebei Province, these young acrobats impressed him, she added. In an acrobatics ballet act, a girl in toe shoes balances "en pointe" on the shoulder of her male partner. In other acts, they use their feet to juggle heavy objects like a table and jar. A young woman balances umbrellas, first kicking these paper parasols into the air. "The umbrella is light so it's hard to know which side will come back to your feet," Angela Chang said. Sometimes, an umbrella lands on top of another umbrella and the performer must balance those along with several other umbrellas.
In another act, 11 people, including the one who pedals, balances on a bicycle. In Tower of Chairs, a male acrobat balances on one hand on the back of a tilted chair on top of many stacked chairs.
Such feats require many years of practice. Unlike a singer, who can learn a song in a week, acrobats spend five and even 10 years perfecting an act, she said.
Angela Chang had her own learning curve almost 31 years ago when she and her husband married. "I knew nothing about acrobats," she said.
As a teenager, she had seen him perform with his father's troupe in Taiwan. After she graduated from the Chinese Cultural College where she studied ballet, traditional folk dance and modern dance, they met in 1976 when both were part of Taiwan's government-sponsored show. The show, featuring 70 performers, including acrobats, folk dancers, traditional musicians and Kung Fu artists, toured the United States. They became serious after they both appeared in a second such show and married in 1981, she said.
Today, she draws on both her dance training and knowledge of acrobatics, gained over almost 31 years, to create choreography that enhances the performances. There's even some modern dance to "New Age-style music" before some acts.
As costume-designer, she must take into account the nature of each act and create outfits that don't get in the way. "The most important thing is using high-stretch fabric," she added.
