While Ringling made recent headlines for eliminating its famous elephant acts, The Golden Dragon Acrobats put on the circus performance of the month! It was an incredible show the whole family could enjoy.

Any kid who grew up watching Mulan is familiar with the scene of the men slowly moving through poses, in a deliberate and peaceful manner to tranquil Chinese music. The Cirque Ziva show opened with such movements, but quickly turned into something else entirely when the upbeat techno music started. No one was expecting that!

The performers danced through hula hoops as if they were mere extensions of their own bodies. On their heads, spinning, turning, over, under, and around again. I have never seen anything like it, and it was amazing!

One woman balanced a glass chandelier on her foot as she twisted and turned her body without dropping it. Then men came and placed more chandeliers on her feet, head and arms so she was balancing on her chest, completely unfazed by the extra weight. They spun her on a turn-table, and the crowd cheered as she continued spinning, never losing balance. Our true shock came when she removed a glass from the chandelier and poured WATER out of it. Not a single drop fell the whole time!

Cirque Ziva Contortionist
Photo by Maryellen Silvia
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Maryellen is my eleven year old sister. She was one of my tag-alongs to the show, and she could not have been happier to join me at this spectacle. After the show, I asked her what her favorite talent was, and she said the ball jugglers. Folks, I kid you not: these girls actually laid down on chairs and balanced balls on their feet, juggling to each other without dropping a single sphere. Not only that, but one girl managed to get a ball up an entire tower, and made it land in a basket at the very top! Impressive!

Cirque Ziva Jugglers
Photo by Maryellen Silvia
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The last big act was the chair climber. One man stacked SIX chairs on top of each other to reach the ceiling of The Zeiterion stage. He then proceeded to balance himself in various positions, scariest of all was one chair's leg resting on the seat of another. He actually asked the audience if they wanted him to do one more!

Cirque Ziva Chair Climber
Photo by Maryellen Silvia
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