To the 'cradle of Chinese acrobatics'

The China Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School has trained more than 200 acrobatic students from abroad. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

Well known as the "cradle of Chinese acrobatics", the China Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School in Wuqiao county of Hebei province, has not only fostered local talent, but also attracted several overseas students.

In 1999, the school was authorized by the Ministry of Culture to establish an international acrobatic training center for foreign students. Since 2002, 208 foreign students from 12 countries have graduated from this center.

Last October the school admitted its ninth batch of overseas students. Thirty-three foreign students from nine countries are currently studying in the acrobatic school. Next year the school plans to add another 25 foreign students to its rolls.

Liu Feng'en, vice-president of the school, says that the foreign students came here as part of a human resources project under the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture. The government covers the tuition fee and expenses of the overseas students.

From Mondays to Fridays the students undergo training sessions of seven hours, while on Saturdays the training is for three hours. Besides acrobatics class, the students are also get training in Chinese culture, language and history.

Liu says that after the training most of the students are able to pursue better career opportunities in their countries.

"Some (of these students) became acrobatics stars, some set up their own training schools and some serve as teachers," he says.

"It was a great opportunity to come to China, the hometown of acrobatics, to improve my skills and gain more experience as well," says Mohamed Ali Yones, a 26 year-old student from Egypt.

Yones came to the school with five other professional acrobats from Egypt. He says that he picked up gymnastics when he was nine, and then went to a circus school to learn acrobatics. After that he became a professional performer in a local circus, and traveled around the world to present performances.

Yones says acrobatics is quite popular in Egypt. "It is so vivid and everybody likes to watch it," he says. "It is good entertainment for the audience."

For Yones the current training fulfills his desire to master new programs and sharpen teaching skills. It will also help him and his friends when they set up an acrobatics school in Egypt.

He is practicing for a new program called "bungee". In the program, he grabs two ropes hung over the ceiling, and climbs to a height of 8 meters before making different body gestures even as he maintains a perfect balance without a protection wire.

He says that what attracts him most in acrobatics is the "element of danger". "These challenging programs make me excited."

Xu Ying, 51, the coach responsible for training foreign students, says that the students are aged between six and 40.

"The older students come here to study new programs and teaching methods, while younger ones come to learn basic skills," he says.

Xu says that foreign students are more self-motivated and practice very hard. They usually master three to four programs after one year.

Melissa Constant, 17, is a student from Mauritius who started to learn acrobatics when she was 14.

She is practicing very hard on a program called "straw hats" with two other girls. They take the straw hat off each other's heads and put it back on their own by turns.

Constant says training was more difficult in the beginning stages. "But if you like the art, all difficulties are just nothing."

"We practice from morning to the night. If you do not practice enough, you would waste a whole year," she says. She adds that other people here are also very hard-working and if she is lazy, she would fall behind.

Constant plans to stage performances around the world after graduating from Wuqiao. "With enough experience, I could also be a teacher back in my hometown."