Child performers from the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe will present the circus and dance show “Flood Fighting.” Choreographed by Chinese dancer Liu Yanan, Erik Kaiel from the Netherlands and Vince Virr from Britain, the show tells an ancient Chinese mythology story, combining acrobatic performance with folk culture.

The story follows the Chinese goddess who patches up the sky to save people suffering from flooding due to water falling from the sky. In the show, she borrows the body of a little girl, Wuse. It also showcases humans’ ignorance, innocence and weakness.

A lion dance and traditional acrobatic skills, including stilt walking, a human pyramid and diabolo performance, are featured in the show.

In 1995, the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe presented a diabolo act that won a gold medal at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in France. The following year, this act was presented at Cirque du Soleil, thus beginning a long association with the Canadian circus. The Beijing Acrobatic Troupe has received many awards in Chinese acrobatic competitions and was awarded the first prize at the Third International Circus Arts Festival in Russia in 2007 for its remarkable act, which was also featured at Circus Krone in Germany in 2011.

Kaiel is a winner of the Dutch National Award for Choreographic Talent. He has worked in dance education, choreography and performance around the world. He is known as “one of the most promising and interesting young dancers in Europe.” He is particularly good at creating environmental dance dramas for unconventional stage spaces, such as subway stations, sculpture gardens, empty pools, city streets, etc., and greatly expands the physical expression with extraordinary imagination and sense of play. His work “Tetris” won a Victor Award, the highest honor for the public at the International Performing Arts for Youth, the largest children’s fair in North America.

Virr is a British Barrowland Ballet Dance Troupe Master Artist. His dance drama “Tiger,” which had its premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014, has been widely toured around the world. In 2019, he led 13 children to create the work “H.O.M.E” and performed at the Avignon Fringe Festival in France.

Young Chinese contemporary dancer and choreographer Liu actively breaks down the barriers of art, and tries a sincere and free dialogue between body, emotion and environment.

Time: 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., June 5-6

Tickets: 120-420 yuan

Booking: WeChat account “mixcworld”

Venue: Theater in MixC World, Nanshan District (南山区万象天地剧场)

Metro: Line 1 to Hi-tech Park Station (高新园站), Exit A

(SD News)