Kids

Roll Up, Roll Up By Jennifer Chater

Issue 11 November 4 - December 2, 2004

	Jennifer Chater
	Chinese contortionists: Planeta Tsirk

The joint project with France’s Balagan International production firm brings together circus artists from Germany, Gabon, China, Mexico, Britain, France and Russia, under the direction of France’s Pierrot Bidon, considered one of the most progressive circus directors in the world.

“I promise lots of surprises in this show, plenty of suspense,” Bidon said through a translator, at a press conference in the circus arena to announce the show’s opening. “It will get your hearts racing with alarm.”

One of the show’s highlights is the Wheel of Death — “and it’s not called that for nothing,” Bidon said. In this daring act, never before seen in Moscow, two French acrobats perform tricks in and on two treadmill-like wheels at each end of a giant spinning pendulum, vertically rotating on its own axis. Bidon added that if a Wheel of Death artist was to fall, he would fall hard, as the performers use no safety nets or wires — and an Internet search revealed Bidon was not joking, as the Wheel of Death does have an injury and death toll.

Nathan toohey
Main attraction: Wheel of death

Special lighting by France’s Jean-Marie Prouvez is designed to heighten the emotion spectators feel while watching the show.

Apart from the Wheel of Death, the German juggler, the somersaulting acrobats from Gabon, the flying Rodogels of Mexico, the Chinese contortionists’ balancing tricks and other international acts, spectators can also expect to see a Russian clown and some performing animals: Yury Durov’s elephants, Alibek Kantemirov’s horses, and Pyotr Prostentsov’s white poodles that perform pawstands, saltos and other tricks.

Planeta Tsirk runs until Dec. 12.