Don Hughes said he sees the Peking Acrobats' show an average 35 times a year - a personal annual tradition he has kept up for 20 years and says never gets old.
"People quiz me after each show and I'm never able to pick out a favorite act from any particular show," he said.
However, Hughes, president of IAI Presentations, the company that manages the Acrobats, most proudly recalls when they set the world record for the Human Chair Stack on Fox's "Guinness Book Primetime" television show, he said. They balanced six people precariously atop six chairs 21 feet up in the air without safety lines.
"They were hanging off the stage at a 45-degree angle," he said. "Just imagine a girl 16 feet in the air after taking into account all the chairs and tables, and 12 human feet off the table. It's hard to describe unless you've seen it in person. It was just awe-inspiring."
The Peking Acrobats have toured internationally combining ancient folk art and acrobatics for 50 years. The troupe remains the largest of its kind and performs under the direction and choreography of the Hai family, known the world over for more than three generations of Chinese acrobatics.
Twenty-six gymnasts, jugglers, cyclists and tumblers will transform the 2,000-year-old Chinese athletic discipline into a variety of circus and theatrical acts that will test their flexibility, poise, concentration and strength at 7 p.m. in Emens Auditorium.
Although it doesn't follow a specific plot, sights and sounds of the show incorporate elements of both a Chinese circus and theatrical production. Five live musicians will play exotic Chinese instruments, including the yang qin - reminiscent of the western hammered dulcimer - and the er hu, the most widely used bowed instrument in China, Cynthia Dike, IAI's vice president and producer, said.
"Talent of this caliber unlocks just how incredible human possibility is," she said. "It's awe-inspiring what incredible things can be done with the human body - it makes you want to be the best you can be with all things in life."
The luck of a fourth-generation acrobat stopping by his office in Johannesburg, South Africa, by chance led him to the business of managing and producing gravity-defying performances, Hughes said.
Hughes met Ken Hai, now IAI's artistic director, more than 30 years ago when Hai stopped by his office, all the way from Bolivia with some Chinese acrobats looking to book a show. Hai stopped at Hughes' office in particular because it was the closest to his hotel, Hughes said.
"That started our relationship, and we are still working together," Hughes said. "He handles the artistic side. I handle the business."
Western interest in the traditional Chinese performing arts increased enough during the late '70s and late '80s that Hughes sold his business in South Africa and opened an IAI Presentations production office in Pismo Beach, Calif.
Such fascination with acrobatics and its ancient background is still prevalent in "the generation of iPhones and iPods " of the 21st century, Dike said.
The Peking Acrobats now also travel with a full intelligent lighting system, a complete video system with multiple screens, smoke, ground fog and other special effects, she said.
"[The performance] stays as true as possible to the traditional Chinese art form while still being accessible to people in the 21st century," she said. "The modern sound, lights, effects - it's what keeps the audience interested and coming back year after year."
Hai also returns to China on a regular basis to recruit new performers from acrobatics schools, where a lot of the flexibility and maneuvering skills come naturally to their students. Peking Acrobat performers train in performance and rehearsals for shows beginning three weeks before the tour begins each year, Dike said.
However, because of the unusual and difficult nature of the feats involved, high honor is conferred upon those skilled enough to become acrobats; an acrobat can be considered the Chinese equivalent of an American opera star, Hughes said.
He said the performers are professionals both on and offstage.
"They rehearse to perfection but if they mess up they just stop, pick up the pieces and start again," he said. "Moments like that remind the audience that what they're doing up onstage is rather difficult and takes years to master."
If you goTime: Today, 7 p.m.
Venue: Emens Auditorium
Cost: General Admission: $20 adult, $10 youth (18 & under), $5 BSU students w/valid ID, $15 Artist Series subscribers & Pick 4+
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