Spring Break
Golden Acrobats flying high
Western Hall hosts the famous Korean acrobat troupe
Jenny Wittman
Issue date: 10/6/06 Section: The Edge
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Golden Dragon has the "longest running" performance art act with 27 centuries of tradition. All the way from Cangzhou, Hebei province in China, the company has traveled to all 50 states and to 65 countries worldwide.
The colorful and vibrant costumes, award-winning acrobatics, traditional dance and atmospheric music gave the audience a jaw-dropping performance.
Golden Dragon falls under the same category as "The Blue Man Group" as an unexplainable spectacle. The pure concentration and discipline were remarkable as balance and gravity were controlled with smooth movements.
Act I included a dramatic scene of one woman who laid down on her back upon a raised platform and slowly added stacked tiers of small glasses of water on each of her feet, arms and the middle of her forehead. As she turned from her back onto her stomach, she twisted her legs to keep the tiers from falling.
Again, it is hard to explain the pure difficulty of this stunt. The music was serene and beautiful, which made the audience clap through each pose the woman moved into.
Act II displayed Chinese umbrella juggling, ball juggling and hat tricks. The umbrella juggling looked particularly interesting because all of the women laid down, tossing and controlling the umbrellas with their feet.
They moved and twirled the umbrellas by only the rim. The bright orange and yellow umbrellas were colorful and the audience was in awe.
Act III included the Dancing Plates, in which about ten women came out with three-pronged rods in each hand that spun plates while they danced into the splits and other difficult poses.
After more detail and precision, the men jumped out in bright blue costumes and showcased their gymnastic ability. They placed rings on the platform that were half the size of a hula-hoop and jumped through head-first. Diving somersaults broke their falls and more rings were added to create difficulty.
Act IV brought out the Spinning Wheel that looked like a hamster wheel for people, but with cutouts on the side. The music turned into a techno-style beat and the body suit costumes were sparkling with blue, purple and green. The wheel was moved in a circular motion to twist and more people jumped in the created momentum to spin and wobble like an amusement park ride.
That was only the first half of the show. Even more stunts and exquisite detail amazed audience members in pure wonder.
With each and every pose, dance move and stunt, the performers did not break their concentration and smiled through the entire show.
"It was great and pretty amazing," said Karrie Roeder, freshmen general orientation major.
"Visually, it was so beautiful with the color and symmetry," said Mary Elizabeth Vos, Macomb resident. "It was stunning."
The Bureau of Cultural Affairs sponsored this event. Other performances, including Olivia Newton-John, Curtis Stigers and the musical "Rent" are coming up this month. Check out BCA's Web site at www.wiu.edu/bca for more information.
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