New York’s premier theater for kids and families adds East Asian pageantry to this season’s holiday fare when time-honored traditions take on a terrific technicolor transformation in CIRQUE ZÍVA at The New Victory Theater from December 5, 2014 -January 4, 2015. From Hebei Province, China, the Drama Desk-nominated Golden Dragon Acrobats (New Vic 2005) represent the best of Chinese circus in a stunning spectacle of breathtaking skill and spellbinding beauty.
Captivating acts of ancient artistry, dazzling showmanship and spectacular costumes are on display and there’s not a bad seat in the house. Ensemble performances like acrobatic hoop diving and the whizzing diabolo are punctuated by awe-inspiring solo acts of unparalleled precision. An acrobat of incomparable strength winks at balcony patrons as his chair stack teeters over 30 feet high. A gifted contortionist balances over 60 wine glasses while her body bends impossibly backwards. Neon German wheels, an act enticingly called “A Thousand Hands” and a festive lion dance join the impressive lineup to compete for crowd favorite in this thrilling theatrical experience.
The newest show from producer and artistic director Danny Chang, CIRQUE ZÍVA is a fast-paced, technically innovative celebration of an art form steeped in 2,000 years of tradition. The large cast and spectacular set design illustrate Chang’s signature artistry, high production values and solid commitment to cultural exchange. Since 1985, the Golden Dragon Acrobats remain the only Chinese acrobatic company touring year-round in the United States, presenting over 200 performances at hundreds of venues across the country each year. Its members are athletes, actors and artists who have studied and trained in their craft from early childhood. In 2005, their Off-Broadway debut and seven-week run at The New Victory Theater earned two prestigious New York Drama Desk Awards nominations (Angela Chang for Best Choreography and Danny Chang for Most Unique Theatrical Experience).
Today, the Golden Dragon Acrobats are recognized as the preeminent Chinese acrobatic company in the U.S. Every year, Danny Chang and his wife and choreographer Angela Chang attend the world’s top acrobatic competitions to select elite performers to join the Golden Dragon Acrobats. The company works with the industry’s best, including CIRQUE ZÍVA lighting designer Tony Tucci, a two-time recipient of the B. Iden Payne Award and a Critics Table Award-winner for lighting. In recent years, members of the Golden Dragons have won the President’s Award at the International Acrobatic Competition and received awards at the Hebei Regional Acrobatic Competition, the China National Acrobatic Competition, the National Teen Acrobatic Competition, the Italian National Acrobatic Competition and the International Young Adult Acrobatic Competition in Japan.
The cast includes Mei Zhuo Cao, Kang Chen, Bing Bing Cui, Shen Tong Guo, Ya Nan Hou, Wen Cai Li, Yu Shun Liu, Yuan Yuan Pan, Hui Min Pang, Jia Hui Shen, De Long Sun, Wei Kang Wang, Ya Ru Wang, Zhi Yang, Hua Ye Yin, Meng Di Zhang, Ning Zhang, Tai Long Zhang, Xiao Zhang, Chen Ying Zhao and Hui Yuan Zhu.
Watch a trailer of the Golden Dragon Acrobats’ CIRQUE ZÍVA on the NEW VICTORY website.
Performance Schedule: 30 performances
Friday 12/5 7pm
Saturday 12/6 2pm, 7pm
Sunday 12/7 12pm, 5pm
Saturday 12/13 2pm, 7pm
Sunday 12/14 12pm, 5pm
Friday 12/19 7pm
Saturday 12/20 2pm, 7pm
Sunday 12/21 12pm, 5pm
Tuesday 12/23 2pm, 7pm
Friday 12/26 2pm, 7pm
Saturday 12/27 2pm, 7pm
Sunday 12/28 12pm, 5pm
Tuesday 12/30 2pm
Wednesday 12/31 2pm
Thursday 1/1 2pm
Friday 1/2 7pm
Saturday 1/3 2pm, 7pm
Sunday 1/4 12pm, 5pm
CIRQUE ZÍVA has a running time of 2 hours including one intermission, and is recommended for everyone ages 5 and up.
CIRQUE ZÍVA has a running time of 2 hours including one intermission, and is recommended for everyone ages 5 and up.
General Ticket Information
For CIRQUE ZÍVA at The New Victory Theater (209 West 42nd Street) tickets for Members start at $13 and full price tickets start at $19 based on seat locations. Theatergoers who buy tickets for three or more NEW VICTORY shows qualify for free Membership, with benefits including up to 35-percent savings on tickets all season long, invitations to special events and unlimited free ticket exchanges.
Purchase tickets online or by phone at 646-223-3010.
The NEW VICTORY box office (209 West 42nd Street) is open Sunday and Monday from 11am-5pm and Tuesday through Saturday from 12pm-7pm. For more information, visit the NEW VICTORY website.
About The Golden Dragon Acrobats
Hailing from Cangzhou, Hebei Province, in the People’s Republic of China, Lien Chi Chang officially established the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats in 1967. The company has toured the United States continuously since 1978, and is the only Chinese acrobatic company touring year round in the United States. The group averages 200 performances each year and has toured to all 50 states and over 65 countries around the world. In recent years, Danny Chang has built a reputation as both an exemplary performer and Artistic Director of the Golden Dragon Acrobats. He started his training at the age of eight at his family’s acrobatic school in Taipei. After more than 17 years as an apprentice under his father, Chang stepped up to helm the Golden Dragon Acrobats, and has won awards including the prestigious Medal for International Faith and Goodwill by the Republic of China’s Coordination Council for North American Affairs. The company has performed in the nation’s capital—twice at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and for a six-week engagement at Ford’s Theater. In addition to a seven-week OffBroadway engagement at The New Victory Theater in New York City (2005), other major Northeast venues played in recent years include Boston Symphony Hall, Princeton University, Flynn Center for the Performing Arts and the Palace Theater.
About The New Victory Theater
The New Victory Theater introduces extraordinary performing artists from around the world to extraordinary audiences in New York City, bringing kids to the arts and arts to kids. Created in 1995 for young New Yorkers, their families and schoolmates, The New Victory Theater presents a diverse season of international companies at low ticket prices year after year. Through the theater’s award-winning education programs, The New Victory continues to provide access to schools and communities of New York City who seek to experience and engage with the work on our stages, often for the very first time. The Off-Broadway theater’s contributions to the cultural landscape of the city were celebrated by the prestigious New York critics’ organization, The Drama
Desk, which presented The New Victory Theater with a Special Award for “providing enchanting, sophisticated children’s theater that appeals to the child in all of us, and for nurturing a love of theater in young people.”
