This tour was a triumph! It was the first time that the Chinese Circus had performed in a tent in Europe. Ms. Xia accompanied the group on tour and she was soon also impressed by the atmosphere that simply belongs to a travelling tent circus. The immense success also made her very happy. I had great respect and admiration for her passion and dedication to the Circus during the tour. She was never absent from any performance. She was very strict with her artists, but she was also ready to support the artists if they were injured. She was a circus mother who made sure that no one disturbed the discipline, which is simply the basis of the circus, or did not take it seriously.
The presentations were also special and new for Europe. The star was Ms. Xia’s protégée, the snake girl Li Liping, who won the Golden Clown (the Oscar of the Circus World) that same year at the Monte Carlo International Circus Festival in January. That victory was also a triumph for Mrs. Xia Juhua, who, after all, transferred all her experience and knowledge to Li Liping whom she had trained herself since childhood, as a young girl, and brought her to a top level where she was also a star for many years. The programme had many century old traditional acts: the Lion Dance, the Chairs Pyramid, the Rotating Plates, the Hoops, etc. From 1987, playing predominantly in a big circus tent around the world, was a major breakthrough for the Chinese Circus. Shortly after, the tent was no longer a global taboo for the Chinese Circus. In Germany, where André Heller had ensured that the Chinese Circus programmes were performed only in the theatre for several years, also opted for a tent. There were more important developments during our long journey to 2012.
We had been very impressed by the Chinese Circus’ high level of physical performance; the consequence of good circus schools where one starts to educate and train children at a very early age and who also received normal education. This training is the secret of the success of the Chinese Circus, even now. The discipline may sometimes be hard, but that applies throughout the world to top sports, such as gymnastics, running, swimming and other Olympic sports. No one in the world works as hard as in circus schools training in China. What is so special is that the big circus talents of yesteryear pass on their knowledge and experience. There is nevertheless that Chinese attitude, often stoic, of not complaining, but mainly working exceptionally hard and with particular perseverance and willpower. There is a statement in circus circles regarding pain: “without pain, you are not a good acrobat”.
In the past very little attention was paid to the whole presentation of the acts. The performances, often in sports-like clothing, were more expressions of strength, balance and huge flexibility of the Contortionist Girls and the Pagoda acts. The artists rarely exhibited a smile, as if they were busy with every performance trying to win a sport event. The costumes that had no charisma and often looked like gym outfits were, compared to the developments in the field of circus in the world, a negative point.
This also applied to the music, which was often not appropriate to match the acts and, certainly for the public outside of China, was too disturbing and monotonous, whilst globally the circus became more theatrical. Cirque du Soleil in particular, created a new style. People in China understood it was not possible to remain in the past. A definite cultural difference was also expressed here. The artists were more introverted and modest in China and in other Asian countries.
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