UAB's Alys Stephens Center will present the Peking Acrobats at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 28 in the center. Tickets are $45, $35, $25; $20 for students and $10 kid-friendly tickets. A limited number of VIP tickets are available. Call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org.
Hailing from the People's Republic of China, the Peking Acrobats are cultural diplomats who perform spectacular feats of talent and imagination. Since 1958, this elite group has toured the world, leaving audiences spellbound by their ancient folk art, acrobatics. Carefully selected from the finest acrobat schools in China for grace and athleticism, these gymnasts, jugglers, cyclists, contortionists and tumblers transform 2,000-year-old athletic disciplines into an all-ages kaleidoscope of entertainment and wonder. This outstanding troupe remains the largest of its kind and boasts three generations of Chinese acrobatic performers. The performers are accompanied by live music from a Chinese orchestra, playing traditional Chinese instruments, for the two-hour show with one intermission. A Los Angeles Times critic declared that the Peking Acrobats "regularly passed from the seemingly impossible to the virtually unbelievable."
The Peking Acrobats set the world record for the human chair stack on Fox's television show, "Guinness World Records Primetime," when they astounded television audiences with their bravery and dexterity as they balanced six people precariously atop six chairs, 21 feet up in the air, without safety lines. The troupe also appeared on the silver screen in director Stephen Soderbergh's hit film "Ocean's 11" with Hollywood's elite such as Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
The Peking Acrobats also will perform free for hundreds of local school children during a "Meet the Artist" arts education event presented by the Alys Stephens Center's Arts in Action program Monday, March 29.
This show is part of the Movement & Magic Series and is sponsored by Mrs. Albert L. Fairley Jr., IMS-Integrated Medical Systems, Jemison Investment Co., The Birmingham News and Viva Health.