CIRQUE SHANGHAI REVIEW--

'Cirque Shanghai: Cloud 9' on Navy Pier: Cheering their return, thrills, spills and all

THEATER REVIEW: "Cirque Shanghai: Cloud 9" ??? Through Sept. 6 on the Pepsi Skyline Stage at Navy Pier; Tickets: $12.50-$19.50 at www.ticketmaster.com
Somewhere in the middle of “Cirque Shanghai: Cloud 9” — the annual Chinese circus performance on Navy Pier — something went wrong with a balancing act and several performers took an unscheduled Saturday afternoon tumble. One brave young lady, hanging precipitously off the edge of a bicycle, went up in the air, tugged to safety by the wire attached to her back.
Since “Cirque Shanghai” has billed itself for five years as a feast of acrobatic proficiency, you might think that was one of the low points of the show. In fact, it was the reverse. Everyone near me seemed to perk up in their seats, a grin breaking out across their faces and their hands rushing to applaud. Onstage, the performers dusted themselves off, re-attached their smiles and did the trick again. Perfectly.
I've been going to “Cirque Shanghai” for all of its five years. The first year was pretty bad. It was the debut of a Chinese acrobatic show that was terrified of merely being a Chinese acrobatic show, and thus there were was a lame comedian and some dumb theme involving Marco Polo. The comic was thrown overboard, thank goodness, and, since then, Cirque Shanghai has become a consistent and much-loved summer tradition. This year's edition features the usual spirited set pieces, including juggling, balancing, twirling and, for the first time, a globe filled with interweaving Chinese motorcyclists.
read more at:http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the_theater_loop/2010/06/cirque-shanghai-cloud-9-on-navy-pier-cheering-the-return-of-cirque-shanghai-thrills-spills-and-all.html