THE BALLOON MAN

Ringling Bros.' 'Dragons' is one of circus' best
REVIEW: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ★★★½

 

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus presents "Dragons"
(November 4, 2012)
from:  chicagotribune.com
Chris Jones, Theater critic
November 4, 2012
Ever since David Carradine played a warrior monk on the run in that 1970s TV classic "Kung Fu," the Shaolin Warriors of the Henan province in China have been the public face of qigong, that uber-disciplined form of exercise that makes the rest of us feel like the rough equivalent of the strawberry jelly sloshing around inside a Dunkin' Donut.
There is one such tasty treat aside my keyboard right now, which perhaps explains why I could never be a member of the barrel-chested Shaolin Warriors and also why their feats at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus so blew me away Saturday night.
These gentlemen — whose pride did not prevent them from joining the circus parade and waving to the giant lollipop-holding, sugar-dosed American kiddies — not only bent steel with their necks and chopped oak with their skulls (I had a vicarious headache), but, in one truly heart-stopping moment that one young member of my family was constantly talking about even a full day later, one of these terrifying brothers dove through a spinning octagon that was outfitted with sword blades and filled with flame. Just for kicks, he then stuck a hood over his head and, so blinded, traced his w-a-a-y back through the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, eventually diving again and landing bang in the middle of the tiny target, apparently through some kind of osmosis one develops at the age of 4 on the slopes on Mount Song.
read more:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/ct-ent-1105-ringling-review-20121104,0,2640609.column