All grade levels
Monday, April 5, 10 a.m.
Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall
Monday, April 5, 10 a.m.
Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall
Through breathtaking physical skill and theatrical staging, the Peking Acrobats bring centuries‑old Chinese acrobatic traditions to life. Precise coordination and timing transform each act into a feat extraordinary gravity-defying strength, balance, and control.
What Will My Students Experience?
Students will be immersed in a vibrant cultural experience, offering a window into another part of the world without leaving their seats.
Witnessing a sequence of solo and ensemble sets, students will encounter a range of traditional Chinese acrobatic disciplines, including:
- Tumbling and flips, featuring precision timing and controlled landings
- Plate spinning, combining balance, coordination, and sustained focus
- Chair stacking, including high‑risk human formations that require absolute trust and teamwork
- Contortion, highlighting extreme flexibility and control
- Balance and agility feats, such as partner balances and stacked formations
- Cycling acrobatics, including trick cycling and multi‑performer bicycle sequences
In addition to the acrobats’ carefully choreographed movements, traditional Chinese music is used to shape mood and atmosphere. Together, music and motion students visually and emotionally engaged without any need for spoken dialogue or explanation.
What Will My Students Learn?
Students will develop an understanding of how movement can communicate ideas, tell stories, and express cultural traditions without words. Through observing the performance, they will learn to identify key elements of physical performance such as balance, timing, coordination, and control, and recognize how these skills are practiced and refined over time.
Students will explore the role of discipline and perseverance in mastering complex skills, gaining insight into the dedication required to achieve precision and consistency. They will also examine how collaboration and trust are essential in ensemble acts, particularly in high-risk group formations.
The performance offers an opportunity to deepen cultural awareness by introducing students to longstanding Chinese acrobatic traditions, helping them make connections between artistic expression and cultural heritage.
Did You Know?
Many Peking Acrobat performers begin formal training around the ages of six or seven, spending years developing balance, flexibility, and coordination before ever stepping onto a professional stage.
What Should I Know?
The Historical Roots of Chinese Acrobatics
Chinese acrobatics is one of the oldest continuous performance traditions in the world, dating back more than 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty. Early forms emerged from everyday physical skills such as balancing, climbing, and manual labor, which gradually developed into refined performance arts presented at courts and public festivals. Over time, acrobatic movement influenced and became incorporated into broader Chinese theatrical traditions, including Chinese opera, which relies on physical expression and visual storytelling.
Unlike Western circus traditions, which often emphasize spectacle, novelty acts, and individual star performers, Chinese acrobatics places a strong emphasis on collective achievement. While modern circuses may include acrobatic acts, they are typically combined with clowning, animal acts, or theatrical storytelling. In contrast, traditional Chinese acrobatic performances focus almost entirely on human physical skill and teamwork.
A Closer Look
Below are some examples of the most recognizable Chinese acrobatic disciplines, their origins, and their significance.
Chair Stacking (Deng Zi)
What you’re seeing
Acrobats climb and balance on increasingly tall stacks of chairs — often reaching extreme heights with no harness.
Origins and influences
- Likely rooted in street performance traditions during the Han Dynasty and later periods
- Influenced by construction labor skills (balance, stacking, spatial awareness)
- Connected to martial arts training, especially stance control and core strength
Why chairs?
- Chairs are everyday objects. Turning them into something extraordinary reflects a core Chinese performance idea: elevating the ordinary into the poetic
- The vertical climb symbolizes aspiration, perseverance, and risk
Fan Balancing and Manipulation
What you’re seeing
Performers spin, toss, and balance multiple open fans — sometimes on feet, hands, or heads.
Origins and influences
- Derived from classical Chinese dance and court performance
- Fans have deep roots in literati culture (scholars, elegance, refinement)
- Developed into acrobatics through object manipulation traditions (similar to juggling)
Why fans?
- Fans symbolize grace, intellect, and artistry
- The act blends precision (acrobatics) with aesthetic beauty (dance) — a hallmark of Chinese performance philosophy
Plate Spinning (Zhuan Pan)
What you’re seeing
Dozens of plates spinning simultaneously on thin sticks.
Origins and influences
- Often associated with everyday objects from domestic and agricultural life, adapted into performance through repetition and rhythm
- Commonly featured in rural festivals and later refined for theatrical presentation on stage
Why plates?
- Represents balance and harmony
- Also a metaphor for managing many responsibilities at once
Think About It
Use these questions to extend learning after the performance.
- Which moments required the most trust between performers?
- How did timing and teamwork affect success?
- What emotions were communicated without words?
- How do discipline and practice shape artistic achievement?
- What similarities do you notice between acrobatics and other art forms or sports?
- How did the performance change your understanding of collaboration?
How Can I Connect This to What I Am Teaching?
Peking Acrobats offers meaningful entry points across grades and disciplines, supporting both content knowledge and skill development.
World Language and Global Studies
- How do Chinese acrobatic traditions communicate cultural values such as discipline, precision, and collective harmony?
- What can we learn about a culture through performances that rely primarily on movement rather than language?
- How does nonverbal storytelling function across cultures, and what strategies help audiences interpret meaning?
History and Social Studies
- How have Chinese acrobatic traditions developed over more than 2,000 years, and what historical contexts influenced their evolution?
- In what ways do traditional performance forms preserve cultural identity while adapting to contemporary audiences?
- How might acrobatics reflect aspects of daily life, labor, or social structure in historical China?
Language Arts
- How can movement, risk, and visual spectacle be translated into precise, descriptive language?
- What narrative or emotional arc can be inferred from a performance without dialogue?
- How does tension, pacing, and visual detail contribute to storytelling?
Physical Education
- What physical skills (balance, flexibility, strength, coordination) are required for acrobatic performance, and how are they developed over time?
- How do performers manage risk through training, technique, and trust within a group?
- What role does body awareness and alignment play in successful movement?
Music Education
- How do rhythm, tempo, and musical cues support timing and synchronization in acrobatic performance?
- In what ways does music influence mood, pacing, and audience perception of movement?
- How do traditional instruments contribute to the cultural context of the performance?
Visual Arts
- How do concepts like symmetry, balance, and spatial awareness function both visually and physically in acrobatics?
- In what ways do costume, color, and design enhance movement and draw audience focus?
- How can motion be represented in a static visual form?
Educational Standards Alignment
While the following list is not a complete list of applicable standards, it provides a set of relevant standards you can use to develop lessons in line with state and national standards and requirements.
Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework (2018)
Global Studies / World History Themes
- Cultural traditions and belief systems
- Cultural continuity and change
- Global exchange and influence
Connection
Students examine how Chinese acrobatics reflect long-standing cultural traditions and their evolution over time.
Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework (2019)
Theatre / Connecting
TH:Cn10.1
Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
TH:Cn11.1
Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context.
Connection
Students interpret how physical performance communicates meaning without spoken language.
Music / Responding and Connecting
MU:Re7.1
Perceive and analyze artistic work.
MU:Re8.1
Interpret intent and meaning.
MU:Cn10.1
Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experience.
MU:Cn11.1
Relate artistic ideas to cultural and historical context.
Connection
Students analyze how music supports timing, pacing, and emotional impact in performance.
Dance / Connecting
DA:Cn10.1
Relate movement ideas to personal experience and world knowledge.
DA:Cn11.1
Understand movement as a reflection of cultural values and traditions.
Connection
Students explore how balance, coordination, and movement communicate discipline and cultural values.
Visual Arts / Connecting
VA:Cn10.1
Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experience to make art.
VA:Cn11.1
Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context.
Connection
Students examine symmetry, balance, and spatial awareness as both visual and physical concepts.
National Core Arts Standards (NCAS)
Creating
Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
Performing / Presenting
Interpret and present artistic work.
Responding
Perceive, analyze, and interpret artistic work.
Connecting
Relate artistic ideas and work to personal meaning and external context.
Connection
Students engage with performance as a combination of physical skill, artistic expression, and cultural tradition.
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
Culture
- How traditions reflect values, beliefs, and social practices
- How cultural expressions change over time
Individual Development and Identity
- Exploring identity through culture, history, and experience
Connection
Students consider how traditional performance reflects cultural values such as discipline, teamwork, and perseverance.
CASEL Social and Emotional Learning Competencies
Social Awareness
- Respect for diverse cultures and perspectives
- Empathy and understanding across experiences
Self-Awareness
- Recognizing and expressing emotions
- Reflecting on personal responses to art
Relationship Skills
- Collaboration and communication
- Awareness of group dynamics and shared responsibility
Connection
Students develop awareness of trust, teamwork, and perseverance through observing ensemble performance.