MUSIC AND DANCE REVIEWS : PEKING ACROBATS

The Peking Acrobats pitch their dazzling acts upon a knife-edge of risk and sometimes things don’t work out as planned, as an unfortunate accident reminded the audience Friday at Excelsior Auditorium in Norwalk.

Youthful slack wire walker Dongsheng You, after exciting balancing exploits, crashed to the floor as he somersaulted off the wire from a height of about eight feet. Contorted in pain, he was quickly comforted by two members of the troupe and assisted off stage. The stage lights went out; then, after a brief pause, the show--in the usual tradition--went on.

The Chinese troupe is in its fifth month of a six-month American tour and perhaps a grueling performance schedule is wearing on them. Earlier in the evening, several other mishaps occurred. In the opening gymnastic routines, one man tumbled into the huge red flag that was being swept under him during a flying somersault and another acrobat immediately after collided with the flag-bearer. Later in the program, the nine women perched on a bicycle took a spill.

To be sure, there were many thrilling moments in the program, which repeated many of the acts seen in January at Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton. Hongwen Kong ascended a precarious tower of chairs. Xiaozun Zhang squeezed himself through an 14-inch hoop and barrel. Strongman Xueqing Cao strung five 90-pound bows all at once. Foot-juggler Huiling Zhu spun fans and umbrellas on her dainty toes. Still, the evening was clouded over by concern for You. The women aerialists performed with safety wires. Maybe wire walkers should use them too.