The 'Diabolo.' (Photo courtesy of Tessa Mangahas)

MANILA, Philippines - During their one-day special show last Dec. 29, the 52-member National Acrobatic Troupe of China swung, cartwheeled and backflipped their way to the hearts of less-fortunate children via “Splendide: The Grand China National Acrobatics Circus.”

Just before the performance, Bulletin Entertainment spoke with Gines Enriquez, Araneta Coliseum Sales and Marketing Manager, about the Charity Day hosted by the Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI).

“Dito sa Araneta Coliseum, we always want to give back. And this year, we're giving more than 2,000 children the chance to see the Grand National Acrobatic Circus. Libreng-libre po 'yan.

“The Binibining Pilipinas Charities have tied up with DSWD, [at] sa iba pang mga charitable organizations around Quezon City. And not only [are the kids treated to] a free show this afternoon, binigyan pa sila ng Binibining Pilipinas Charities ng mga goodie bags from BPCI,” he said.

This is the first time the National Acrobatics Group of China is performing in the Philippines. The Beijing-based troupe has impressive achievements under its belt, including performing for the 2008 Olympics’ opening number in Beijing, and having a big number of its members perform for another famed circus group, Cirque de Soleil. Just last week, they bagged another prestigious acrobatic award at the Guangzhou Acrobatic Competition.

“They are not a local or 'yung community group. Sila talaga 'yung tinaguriang Pambansang Acrobatic Group ng bansang Tsina. Karamihan sa kanila eh nagperform noong Beijing 2008 Olympics at more than, let's say 80, 90% of them also performed with Cirque de Soleil. Dahil 'yung National Acrobatic Group of China, kumbaga sila 'yung nagte-train ng mga acrobats na pinadadala sa mga ganun'ng programa, 'yung mga Cirque de Soleil... 'yan,” Enriquez shared.

“Splendide!” certainly stays true to its title as it successfully awed the audience with its 13 almost flawless and award-winning acts, each of which is truly memorable.

The “Diabolo” trick showed a group of females doing cartwheels and pyramid formations while performing yoyo tricks with bowls and ropes. This act won the Coca-Cola Crystal Cup Golden K Prize, the Princess Cup at the Monaco International Circus Festival and the France President Prize at the 26th Tomorrow Festival in France.

The crowd clapped and cheered excitedly as the acrobats executed the difficult balancing acts, most notably with male acrobats jumping through spinning rings and a 7-tier stack of rings. Dubbed as the “Hoop Divers and Vertical Poles” trick, it won an award at the St. Petersburg International Circus Festival in Russia. It was obviously a crowd favorite since it got perhaps the loudest cheer that afternoon.

The finale, the “Pagoda of Bowls,” featured a group of girls balancing bowls on their feet while doing handstands on male acrobats' shoulders. They are then thrown back and forth from one acrobat’s shoulders to another. What’s very impressive about this trick is that the girls are thrown to another acrobat a good few meters away from them. This act won the Golden Clown award at the 28th Monte Carlo Circus Festival, and gold medals at the Budapest and Wuqiao Acrobatic Festivals.

Unbelievably, the performers managed to “defy gravity” and retain their gracefulness while doing these stunts, which most Filipinos might deem impossible and can only be seen in movies. Aside from these tricks, the unique stunts presented were of a girl standing on tiptoe atop the shoulders of her partner, a male acrobat juggling nine balls while going up and down the stairs of a makeshift stage; a male acrobat doing handstands and splits on a spinning seven-layer contraption; another male acrobat climbing and jumping from one pole to the other ala action stars climbing trees in traditional Chinese movies; a girl balancing up to five umbrellas on her feet while lying on her partner’s feet and back; and a group of 12 girls simultaneously riding one bicycle.

The performers did not simply showcase their acrobatic expertise, they also incorporated in their acts some dance and song numbers, a feat that would take a lot of practice before being finally perfected. One particular number that showed a balancing act/song-and-dance number showed a group of females balancing 8 plates on 8 bamboo poles, 4 on each hand, while singing and dancing to a traditional Chinese folk song.

Adding to the appeal of the acrobatic acts themselves are the colorful costumes, lights, and minimal stage design. Distinct Chinese instrumental music, meanwhile, accompanied the performances. At certain points during the show the music was stopped altogether, signaling the audience to anticipate a breathtaking twist to the stunts.

After the show, 2010 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Venus Raj gave her take on the charity day and “Splendide!”

“This is our charity day, and most of the kids na pumunta dito 'yung may mga karamdaman, may mga sakit. So parang, this is the first Christmas I think na napanood nila 'yung acrobatics from China. So 'yun, I hope magiging mas masaya 'yung Christmas nila since, alam mo 'yun, hindi naman normal sa Philippines na nakakapanood ka ng ganitong klaseng show.

“In our very little way, siguro hindi lang 'yung mga pamaskong nabigay namin sa kanila, pero 'yung moment na kasama nila 'yung family nila, na makakapanood sila ng ganito. It's something special para sa kanila this Christmas,” the Ms. Universe 4th runner-up said.

With her “major major” delight showing, Venus has nothing but praises for the Chinese acrobats.

“Amazing, sobra! Tama nga na 'Splendide!' ang title ng show. Sobrang galing na parang, may mga moments na talagang hindi ka humihinga kasi tinitingnan mo 'yung ginagawa nila. Sobrang gagaling. And I know this group is [the National Group from China], and sila 'yung nag-perform sa Beijing during the [Olympics]. 'Yun, parang amazing na at least this year nandito sila sa Philippines [for the first time],” she gushed.

Venus said she had a hard time choosing her favorite but had only one word to describe them all: “Amazing!”