The Chinese Magic Circus of Taiwan

You will find a different sort of magic here--the kind created by performers who invest a lifetime of long hours and strained muscles to perfect a physical art form that is part of their heritage. The circus's roots are deep in Chinese culture, with most of the acts dating back 2,000 years.

The show opens with a production number inspired by the Chinese lion dance, a tradition used for centuries to announce the arrival of traveling acrobats to a new locale. The following acts include the "Tower of Chairs," a juggler who keeps armloads of fragile Chinese jars and vases aloft, and a female contortionist who twists her body into positions that, as Hughes describes them, would turn Gumby a deeper shade of green in envy, all the while balancing burning candles on her head, hands and feet.