Acrobats provide spectacular show

I was absolutely positive he was going to kill himself. Balancing precariously atop a tower made from a tall platform, four wine bottles and seven chairs stacked on top of one another, the tiny man looked like he was perfectly comfortable standing on what was obviously a death trap. He was, of course, fine. He threw the chairs down to men waiting below and flipped to safety with a smug little grin on his face amid a standing ovation and riotous applause.\nHere's the best part: For the National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C., this is just an ordinary day.\nThe National Acrobats of Taiwan, formerly the Fu Hsing Chinese Acrobatics Troupe, was founded in 1980 and has flourished incredibly since then. The majority of the 40 or so members of the troupe are highly trained, averaging eight years of specialized schooling. Most have attended the National Fu Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy (N.F.H.D.A.A.) or the Republic of China Folk Art Training Center. The N.F.H.D.A.A. is widely regarded as Asia's forefront arts academy, and the members who have graduated and joined the National Acrobats of Taiwan are now part of what is considered the best acrobatics troupe in Asia. They travel internationally, sharing the cultural art of dance, music and acrobatics with people everywhere.\nIt is obvious how much discipline the members of this troupe have. The feats of strength, balance and flexibility they accomplish are at a level beyond any I have ever seen. It was astounding to watch two women gracefully reach over their shoulders and pull their legs over their heads and down their chests as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Equally amazing were the men who jumped -- blindfolded -- through fiery hoops lined with swords and landed unscathed on the other side. These are just a few examples of the stunning program.\nThe program included a large variety of ordinary household objects, such as tables, chairs, plates, jars and ladders as props for the different segments of the show. In one section of the show, women in gorgeous blue costumes danced while holding three-foot-long thin poles topped with three spinning plates. They jumped, spun and did elegant somersaults -- all the while keeping the plates balanced. Incredibly, not a single one dropped.\nIn another section, several men and women rode bicycles upon which other acrobats hopped, creating a tower of men and women going in circles on stage to the music of an extravagantly dramatic soundtrack. The combination of a bald man gleefully riding in circles while 10 other people clung to each other on top of him, along with the booming and crashing of dramatic 1980s "Karate Kid" style music, was almost ridiculous. It certainly got a good laugh from the audience.\nAnother section of the program could only be described as beautiful. A tiny woman in a tight purple costume dangled in the air, wrapped in taut green and red silk. She danced in the air as if she was born there, swooping, spinning, wrapping and untangling herself 30 feet in the air. It was done in front of a night-scene backdrop and with a singer's haunting voice in the background.\nThese are only parts of a program that was as grand as it was educational. Other portions of the program included a wonderful magic show, a scene from the Emperor's court and a finale with firecrackers and pyramids of people as high and wide as the front of the theater. It was a phenomenal show that accomplished the joint goals of being highly entertaining and sharing a portion of Taiwanese culture with Bloomington. There was not a single instance those in attendance weren't captivated and on the edge of their seats, either white-knuckled or laughing hilariously. This show was, in one word, magnificent.