"Acrobatics + Tourism": The global market has unlimited potential

Source: China Culture News

The 5th China Acrobatic Arts Festival, which opened on November 8, once again focused people's attention on those excellent acrobatic performances and magic shows, focusing on Puyang, Henan Province, where the acrobatic art festival is held, known as the "hometown of Chinese acrobatics". The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to "adhere to the use of culture to shape tourism, use tourism to highlight culture, and promote the deep integration and development of culture and tourism". From a global perspective, as a long-established cultural and artistic genre, acrobatic circus has unique advantages and is closely integrated with tourism, which can continuously promote industry innovation and achieve win-win development. As a big country in acrobatics, China has also made many useful explorations in the integration of acrobatics and tourism over the years, and has continuously created a unique and attractive Chinese cultural tourism experience.

Chinese acrobatic art has a history of more than 3,000 years, from the prevalence of court performances in the Han Dynasty, to the popularization of the Song Dynasty in Wazhufang Alley, to the learning and reference of Western circus art, generations of acrobatic performers have launched many highly skilled programs, and also promoted the survival and development of acrobatic art in continuous innovation.

The Western circus originated in the Roman Empire. In the 18th century, the Englishman Philip Astley revived the circus industry, and modern circus flourished in different parts of Europe and spread to other parts of the world. Until the 80s of the 20th century, the international acrobatic circus market has maintained a rapid growth rate. But after that, due to the instability of the industrial structure and the emergence of new forms of entertainment, the acrobatic circus market was gradually saturated. In addition, animal protection issues in the circus industry often spark protests that negatively affect the reputation of the industry. All these have led to an increase in the operating cost of the acrobatic circus, a decrease in the audience, and a decline in the industry.

Founded in 1984, Cirque du Soleil Canada has injected fresh life into the industry. It subverts the traditional circus performance form, introduces human elements and life elements into the performance, and attracts a wider audience with an unprecedented entertainment experience. The emergence and success of Cirque du Soleil also reflects the mutual influence, mutual borrowing and integration of Chinese and Western acrobatic traditions. In fact, Chinese acrobatics and traditional European theatre forms are important sources of inspiration for Cirque du Soleil's artistic style. Since the mid-80s of the 20th century, China International Performance Company has cooperated with Cirque du Soleil for nearly 20 performances, which not only promotes the development of international culture and tourism, but also brings the dissemination of Chinese acrobatic arts to a new height.

Globally, the revival of the acrobatic circus industry and the development of tourism have gone hand in hand. Around the world, more and more hotels are hosting acrobatic circus shows to attract tourists. Acrobatic circus is also the preferred performing arts cooperation project for many theme parks, because theme parks usually integrate amusement experience, cultural landscape, and performance, emphasizing entertainment, ornamentation, and popularity, and the acrobatic circus that matches its positioning has a special attraction.

Since the 50s of the 20th century, Las Vegas has attracted a variety of performing arts methods to settle down, and has gradually developed into the world's top tourism and entertainment center. In the early 90s of the 20th century, circus, acrobatic and magic shows were introduced to Las Vegas hotels, and the industry developed very rapidly, and soon occupied a significant share of the market. At the end of December 1993, Cirque du Soleil's "Mystery Show" appeared in a theater specially built for it in Las Vegas, USA, and began its "pioneering journey" in Las Vegas. Despite the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, in 2022, Cirque du Soleil still operated 6 different styles of shows in Las Vegas to provide differentiated services for tourists. Among them, "Water Show" creates a unique atmosphere through the clever use of water, and performers perform acrobatics, swimming and diving inside and outside the 1.5 million gallon pool; "Mystery Man" is mainly acrobatic, with moderate ticket prices, suitable for the whole family to watch; "Beatles Love" pays homage to classic music, blending music with acrobatic skills well; The visual effects of "Crazy Apple", which depicts the theme of New York City, are quite different from the previous performance style of Cirque du Soleil.

Chinese acrobatics is active in the international tourism market. Since the 80s of the 20th century, well-known theme parks such as Disneyland Orlando, Universal Studios, Six Flags Park, Bush Park in the United States, Disneyland Paris in France, Fantasyland in Germany, Europark in Germany, Blackpool Tower in the United Kingdom, and Gardalan Park in Italy have repeatedly invited Chinese acrobatic troupes to perform. The "thrilling and beautiful" acrobatic performance has become an unmissable highlight in the park, conveying the infinite charm of Chinese culture to visitors. Some Chinese acrobatic troupes have been stationed in theme parks for more than 10 years, creating a good reputation for Chinese culture and Chinese actors. Chinese high-altitude acrobatics has always been the signature event of Phuket FantaSea, Thailand, and according to statistics, since the Sino-Thai cooperation began in 1998, 1/10 of Phuket tourists have seen acrobatic performances here. Chinese acrobatic troupes have held residencies or toured tourist hotels and resorts in Japan, Turkey, Israel and other places for several years. Many hot spring tourism areas in Japan have invited Chinese acrobatic troupes, and some hot spring tourism hotels have invited Chinese acrobatic troupes to perform for more than 10 consecutive years, which is deeply loved by tourists.

Cruises are also an important venue for acrobatic circuses. On the one hand, since the rise of cruise tourism, acrobatics, magic and burlesque have been important items of cruise entertainment, firmly consolidating their position with the characteristics of shortness, adaptability and interactivity. Later, some cruise ships also opened dinner theaters, combining acrobatic arts with dining culture, such as Mediterranean Cruises and Cirque du Soleil to create dinner shows, which were very popular with tourists. On the other hand, cruise tourism solves part of the employment problem for the acrobatic circus industry. Because it is more difficult for graduates of acrobatic circus schools in Europe and the United States to find jobs in big cities and large theater companies, cruise ships provide these young people with a stage for exercise and a "springboard" for employment, they can travel around the world with the cruise ship for free, and have more opportunities to interact with the audience.

Since 1997, dozens of acrobatic troupes in China have performed on cruise ships such as the Starry Princess under the American Princess Cruise Company and the Pinnacle Celebrity under the Celebrity Cruise Company, and the cooperation that has lasted for more than 10 years has produced good social and economic benefits.

Acrobatic circus can greatly help the development of tourism, and when the epidemic passes, the tourism market can also provide new opportunities for more acrobatic circus performers, so that the acrobatic circus has a broader stage and market, and the further integration of the two has great potential and development space. China has abundant acrobatic resources and talent advantages, so it should further enhance its awareness of innovation, create more high-quality brands that integrate culture and tourism, and exert greater competitive advantages in the global market.