Cirque du Chine (New Shanghai Circus)

Date: 2010-01-30
Time: 03:00:00
Location: The Plaza Theatre, El Paso
Official Web Site :

This troupe consisted of young performers from Shanghai. I assume they are actually from Shanghai, as their speech was no Mandarin, and people from Shanghai often speak Wu (Shanghai dialect) among themselves. They range in age from probably about 16 to no more than 22. The performance consisted of acrobatic feats combined with dance numbers, both individual and as groups. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed. As I am a slave to regulations, I didn't take any pictures during the show. There was a 20 minute intermission, and souvenirs were for sale in the lobby. The second half was more impressive than the first, but we also saw the first mistakes. I think the altitude contributed to the dropping of a couple of hats. At this altitude (nearly 4000 ft MSL), aerodynamics of large light objects are noticeably affected.

The show was good family fun, and the cast stuck around for pictures and autographs outside. One of the male performers seemed to have picked up quite a few female fans. We only noticed just how tiny some of the female performers were when we saw them up-close. It had been a sold-out show and the venue was a really interesting place on its own.