PRESS RELEASE: Artbeat Presents: New Shanghai Circus
February 8, 2011 by Jess · Leave a Comment
For Immediate Release ~ Artbeat Presents:
Sold-Out on Broadway!
Academy of Music Theatre Northampton, Mass
Sunday, March 13 at 2 pm
Astonishing athletes defy gravity and execute breathtaking feats as they stretch the limits of human ability in this spellbinding show. Fearless performers with boundless energy bring you more than two thousand years of Chinese circus traditions. If it’s humanly possible-and even if it’s not! – Shanghai’s acrobats, jugglers and contortionists do it with spectacular flair.
The New Shanghai Circus, “Cirque de Chine” is coming to Northampton’s Academy of Music, Sunday, March 13th for a 2 pm matinee performance, presented by Artbeat, Inc. The theater is located downtown at 274 Main Street. Tickets are available in person at Academy of Music Box Office ; Tuesday through Friday, 3 to 6 pm
and via telephone at: 413-584-9032 x105. Tickets range from $29 for adults and just $12.50 for youth 18 and under. Generous group discounts are available.
New Shanghai Circus has a company in residence and its own theater in Branson, Missouri. With a hundred theaters, Shanghai Circus is among the five most popular in town. They are also the only Chinese acrobatic troupe to play Broadway (see laudatory New York Times review)
CHINESE ACROBATS TUMBLING THROUGH HISTORY
The Chinese acrobatic tradition dates back to 700 B.C.; that’s over 2,000 years of tumbling, balancing and juggling. Ancient stone carvings, earthen pottery and early written work trace the ancestry of today’s spectacular acts. Relics tell the tales of famous acrobats like Confucius’ father, who is believed to have lifted a pair of 1,000-pound city gates to let an army storm through.
The art of Chinese acrobatics developed out of the Lunar New Year harvest celebrations, where the village’s peasants and craftsmen would hold a kind of Chinese Thanksgiving. Acrobats would use household tools and common items found around the farm and workshop as part of their exciting feats. Performers passed their skills down from generation to generation and great acrobatic families of China entertained everyone from city rulers to village people, performing at ceremonial carnivals and public theaters across the country.
Over the years, as China plunged into economic and social upheaval, many fine arts were lost and acrobats found themselves on the verge of extinction. Since the Revolution in 1949, the government has made great efforts to foster and develop traditional arts and culture in China, and acrobatics has enjoyed a new life.
Today only a few descendants of the old and famous acrobatics families remain. These individuals have organized China’s traditional entertainers into professional acrobatic troupes with formal academies for training young, promising entertainers and internationally renowned companies. Modern-day Chinese acrobatics reflect the industry, resourcefulness and courage of the Chinese people. At present, there are over 120 professional acrobatic troupes across China, and more than 12,000 performers.
Founded in 1951 as the Shanghai Acrobatic Theatre, The New Shanghai Circus has won more Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals in domestic and international circus competitions to date than any other Chinese acrobatic company. Breathtaking and polished to perfection, the singular skills performed by The New Shanghai Circus have their roots in everyday lives of the village peasants, farmers and craftsman of the Han Dynasty.
The following is a description of some of the acts and their origins:
Contortionism: Using strength and balance, contortionists gracefully bend themselves into beautiful and bewildering positions.
Foot Juggling: Performers use their feet to juggle rugs, jars, umbrellas and even a table.
Kung Fu: Acrobats tumble, flip, jump, kick and create intricate poses reminiscent of Chinese martial arts.
Slack Wire: A performer bounces on an elastic tight rope, while executing flips and turns in the air.
Spinning Plates: Acrobats dance and climb all the while balancing plates atop long sticks.
PRESS RELEASE: Children’s Programming Increasingly the Academy of Music’s ‘Cup of Tea’
January 27, 2011 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE
Children’s Programming Increasingly the Academy of Music’s ‘Cup of Tea’
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – From next week’s stage adaptation of the true story “Three
Cups of Tea” to the March production of “Willy Wonka, Jr.,” the Academy of Music
Theatre is expanding its slate of programming for the community’s youngest
members.
The calendar for the next several months reflects opportunities for youngsters to be
delighted by productions on screen and on stage at the downtown historic theatre.
On screen, the selection includes; “Kids Best Fest,” throughout February vacation
week – including “The Eric Carle Museum’s Picture Book Art Day,” February 21-25.
On stage, “Three Cups of Tea,” February 8; “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical,”
March 4, and a cast of youths’ ages 7 to 14 will perform “Willy Wonka Jr.,” March 11.
And, puppeteers and marionette artists will perform the timeless tales “Jack in the
Beanstalk,” April 19; “Sleeping Beauty,” April 20; and “Pinocchio,” April 21.
In many cases, the Academy of Music is offering special rates for youth and
their chaperones. The recommended ages for each production are listed on the
Academy’s online calendar.
In addition, this summer the Academy of Music will again offer four weeks of
musical theatre training, in separate two-week sessions geared to ages 7 to 11, and
11 to 14.
“This program is designed to nurture each child’s self-esteem and to foster
self-discipline, arts appreciation, creative thinking, trust and teamwork,” said
Debra J’Anthony, executive director of the Academy. “We provide a supportive
environment that encourages participants to have the confidence to try new things
and to believe in their own abilities as they express their talents and have fun on
stage.”
About “Knuffle Bunny – A Cautionary Musical”
Friday, March 4, 7 p.m.
$12, General Admission; $10, Children under 12. Box Office fees may apply
It sounds so simple, just a quick trip to the Laundromat with Daddy, Trixie, and
her beloved Knuffle Bunny. But, before you know it things go horribly, hilariously
wrong. Chock full of adventure, song, and gigantic dancing laundry, Knuffle Bunny: A
Cautionary Musical tells a tale of family, best friends, baby steps, and memories that
last a lifetime. Based on his beloved Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, six-time
Emmy Award winner Mo Willems joins Grammy Award–winning composer Michael
Silversher to lovingly celebrate the heart and heartache that can only come from
a family visit to the local Laundromat. A Kennedy Center production. Mo Willems
will be available to answer questions. One hour. Appropriate for young children and
their families.
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