A breathtaking evening at the Chinese State Circus

There aren’t many evenings out that are fun for the whole family. Entertainment after a certain time tends to be aimed at adults and whilst children are often welcome, it’s not necessarily much fun for them. One clear exception is the circus. And as circuses go, the Chinese State Circus is by some distance the best I’ve ever seen.

About the Chinese State Circus

The Chinese State Circus is world famous for skilful performances that wow the audience. The team comprises 30 acrobats, jugglers, aerial artists and Shaolin Warriors. Each act is a few minutes long before moving on to a different act. There isn’t a moment when the audience isn’t transfixed by the stage.

Unlike many such shows, the Chinese State Circus is entirely true and authentic. There’s no trickery or optical illusions. Just highly trained athletes that have practiced their performances for years to achieve perfection.

The Chinese State Circus Dynasty production

The production currently touring is called Dynasty. The show starts with a drummer at the back of the stage creating an atmospheric drum beat. He is soon joined by acrobats and the show starts with a bang. From the moment the acrobats came on stage, the whole audience were transfixed. Even my fidgety two year old sat quietly except for the odd ooh and ahh.

There were Chinese dragons accompanied by rhythmic gymnasts complete with ribbons. Male acrobats performed incredible jumps and tumbles. There was a lady who balanced eight parasols on her hands and feet and Shaolin warriors who demonstrated amazing martial arts skills. They used swords and broke sticks with their bare hands.

In lighter entertainment, there was a troop of jugglers who were juggling their hats. The whole crowd enjoyed watching them using such an inconspicuous prop to create a real spectacle. Lia was particularly excited to see the ballet dancers. Of course, they weren’t doing any old ballet routine, it involved acrobatics and gymnastics as well.

One of the hallmarks of the Chinese State Circus is the fact that they use everyday objects to create acrobatic equipment. At one point a gymnast was performing on top of an enormous pile of chairs. There was also a diabolo act and an incredible group cycling act.

The verdict

Throughout the show, we were all utterly transfixed. We had left home at 10 am in the morning and been out for the whole day. The girls were exhausted and I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to sit still. But I needn’t have worried, the show was so captivating they couldn’t look away.

The show lasts about two hours with a 15 minute interval in the middle. There was one element that involved audience participation, when a few audience members were taken onto the stage. They then performed the classic trick where they sit on chairs in a particular way. The chairs are then removed and the people remain sitting there. They weren’t too pushy with people who didn’t want to take part.

The whole evening was brilliant entertainment and I would recommend it to anybody. It would be a great night out for adults without children, but it is also suitable for children of any age. The tour continues next week in Birmingham, with tickets starting from just £12 each.

Win tickets for the Chinese State Circus in Birmingham

The Chinese State Circus starts at Sheldon Country Park in Birmingham this Tuesday, 9th May. It plays there until 14th May. They have given me a family ticket for up to five people to visit the circus in Birmingham next week. As the first show is so soon, this is a mega quick giveaway, open for today only. It closes at midnight tonight.

If you’d like to be in the running to win it, you can enter using the Rafflecopter below. Please read my competition terms and conditions before entering. Don’t forget to check out my other competitions too, there are some brilliant prizes up for grabs.

a Rafflecopter giveaway