Illustration by GRACE HUANG
By Michael Rosen-Molina
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
On Friday nights, the Campus Events Commission usually offers
students cheap entertainment with its popular movie series. On
Nov. 17 they offer slightly different fare, however ““ the
world renowned Chengdu Acrobatic Troupe of China.
“Campus Events usually only does Hollywood stuff, but this
is a real cultural event,” said fifth-year design student
Bryan Matsumoto. “This is something entirely new, and I
can’t wait.”
His praise is well founded. The Chengdu Acrobatic Troupe
succeeds the famous Great China Circus Troupe, the best known
acrobatic company prior to 1950.
Chengdu adopted its current name in 1952 and was then the
largest such group in China. It has made numerous appearances
throughout the world, even being invited to provide entertainment
during the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles.
Accommodating the ensemble involved some schedule shuffling for
Campus Events.
“We cancelled the planned seventh week movie to make more
time for this performance,” said Jennifer Tse, a fourth-year
communications studies student. “This is a one-time thing so
I think it’s worth it. We’re hoping for a really big
turnout.”
Because the troupe arrived Thursday, little is known about which
stunts it plans to perform, but students have their own favorites
they hope to see.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing them do the
bike stunt, where 20 people ride the same bike at the same
time,” Matsumoto said.
Tse observed the troupe in action during her tour of China over
the past summer and talked about some of the troupe’s more
popular stunts.
“They do all sorts of amazing things,” she said.
“They do inhumanly impossible things, contorting their bodies
in amazing feats.”
The repertoire is indeed impressive, according to Tse.
 The Chengdu Acrobatic Troupe of China will perform in the
Ackerman Grand Ballroom on Friday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. “One
guy balances candles on girls,” she said. “The girls
hold lit candles on their toes, hands and in their mouths. They
contort their bodies in ways you wouldn’t believe.”
Past displays have included memorable stunts such as wire-rope
dancing, balancing on a pyramid of chairs, ball-spinning,
springboard stunts and pyrotechnics. Additionally, traditional
Chinese folk music and clowns often accompany the troupe’s
performances.
Although the Ackerman venue might prevent Chengdu from
performing some of its more death-defying attractions, such as high
wire acts and fire stunts, organizers are still expecting an
impressive display.
Tse described one especially impressive feat in which a line of
women perform a hula hoop demonstration using 20 hoops each. For
the climax of the stunt, all the women toss their hoops to the
center girl, who continues using all of them.
By bringing a more unusual show to campus, Campus Events hopes
that Chengdu will promote attendance at Bruinfest, UCLA’s
annual carnival.
“We wanted to give the week a cultural feel,” said
Leila Attari, a fourth-year business economics student, and member
of Campus Events. “We have this spectacular event in
congruence with Bruinfest. The Chengdu performance starts at 7 p.m.
and lets out right in time for Bruinfest, which is right outside
with all its rides and games.”
The main purpose of the performance, however, is to introduce
American students to Chinese culture. Vincent Zhang, President of
China Art and Culture Co., was largely responsible for bringing the
troupe to UCLA.
“We wanted to do this performance as a cultural
exchange,” said Zhang. “Usually the troupe will put on
shows for money, appearing in casinos and stuff like that. This is
a free performance, to help let America know more about China. We
hope that this will help illustrate the changes that China has been
through, and introduce her culture and history to a new
audience.”
Zhang went on to describe the rigorous training through which
acrobats must go for their career. Potential acrobats are chosen at
a very young age, often as early as 2 or 3 years old. They then
begin training at a special school when they are about 4 years
old.
China Art and Culture Co. works to promote awareness of Chinese
arts by bringing top-class Chinese performing artists to the United
States.
“China Art and Culture Co. came to us, wanting to do this
as a cultural exchange,” said Attari. “They’ve
been touring different cities, but this is the first time
they’ve visited a major college.”
ACROBATICS: The Chengdu Acrobatic Troupe performs on Friday,
Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. The event is free to UCLA students, faculty and
staff with valid ID. Following their UCLA debut, Chengdu is
scheduled to perform at California State University Long Beach on
Nov. 20.