Since its premiere in Shanghai in March, the acrobatic version of Swan Lake by the Guangzhou Acrobatics Troupe has won acclaim from both audiences and critics.

It is considered a culmination of a continuous endeavor to make acrobatic shows more appealing to audiences worldwide.

According to Liu Siqi, a veteran critic of acrobatic shows, acrobatics in China emphasized techniques more, but today, the acrobats and their managers think more in terms of performing arts and drama.

Traditionally, acrobatic shows presented a mixed bill, such as short skits in drama shows. The acrobats indulged in showing off their prowess and skills at bicycle riding, juggling, aerial flying or contortion, Liu said.

The coaches and acrobats strived to "break through the limitation of techniques and create new techniques," Liu said.

Of all 63 programmes during the Golden Lion Award National Acrobatics Tournament in September last year, 30 per cent belong to the traditional category.

However, traditional acrobatic shows began to lose their glamour even during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), though there were very few forms of entertainment at that time.

Acrobatic performers and experts started their initial experiments to add theatrical elements to dazzling techniques at that time, according to Zhang Shouhe, dean of the department of dance choreography at Beijing Dance Academy.

There were attempts to integrate dance and music into acrobatic movements. And some even added drama to the short bills, such as a chef working in a kitchen grappling with a host of plates as he juggles them.

However, the experiments were still limited in the 1980s, Liu said.

"No matter how beautiful a single acrobatic bill is, it's only an individual pearl," said Li Xining, vice-chairman of the Chinese Acrobats' Association.

"A golden thread is needed to string them together so that these separate pearls can be crafted into a terrific necklace."

Full-length drama was introduced into the new acrobatic shows in the early 1990s, Liu said.

"The golden thread was found, that is the so called theme acrobatic evening," Liu said, adding that from then on, acrobatics ushered in the era of drama.

"Theme is regarded as the nucleus," he explained. "Acrobatic techniques and comprehensive artistic elements are merged into a cohesive whole."

In this way, he said acrobatics transforms itself from a collage of technique and artistic elements into a whole drama with its intrinsic personal relationships and ceaseless developments to push the story to its climax.

"The creation of the acrobatic drama 'Swan Lake' opens a new page on the history of acrobatics in China," Liu said.

Liu and Zhang both agreed that there is still plenty of room for improvement. "Improvement especially lies in how to accurately and delicately render a dramatic story," Zhang said.

(China Daily December 9, 2005)