Wuqiao acrobatic art has become a cultural ambassador of China, and every Chinese should be proud of it, said Eduardo Murillo, president of the U.S. based World Talent Inc. here Sunday.
Murillo made the comments after watching the great circus show of the 8th China Wuqiao International Circus Festival (CWICF) at the well-decorated Hebei Provincial Art Center.
As a jury member of the 8th CWICF and a popular acrobatics expert, Murillo has served for thirteen times as the general director of international circus festivals in France, Germany, Russia and other places.
The 8th CWICF has provided a good chance to foster traditional Chinese culture and to enhance international acrobatic arts exchanges, Murillo said.
He said the Chinese circus has a very long history and is an excellent cultural legacy of the Chinese nation. The acrobatic art of Wuqiao is enjoying increasing popularity in the world, he said, adding, artists from Quqian are now working in many acrobatic troupes of more than 20 countries, and they spread the Chinese culture to almost everywhere in the world.
He highly praised the festival as among the best in the world and the troupe kept improving its skill. The improvements were made in the use of new lighting and acoustic effect, new technology and new costumes, in addition to hard practice.
"The first acrobatic artists came from China three thousand years ago, which is a proud achievement of every Chinese, and it is indeed a moral obligation for Chinese to support the art," said Murillo.
The biennial Wuqiao festival has been held seven times since 1987. The festival was named after Wuqiao County in the southeast of Hebei province which is known as the "home of acrobats."
(People's Daily 10/29/2001)
