BITTERNESS AND REBIRTH

History cultivated the Chinese into a people that can endure extreme hardships. However, whether for acrobatics or sports, is constantly punishing one's body necessary simply to please an audience? Perhaps it is more important to bring them the enjoyment of beauty.

苦路与重生

历史把中国人打磨成特别能吃苦的民族。然而不论是杂技还是体育，如果不能为观众带来美的享受，对身体极限的一再挑战是否必要？

CHINESE ACROBATICS SHOULD CREATE MORE LAUGHTER

1. Ning (below) performs acrobatics Lever with two other actors.

宁根福（下）与其他两位演员表演杂技《杠杆》。

2. As initiator, planner and director of acrobatis show Swan Lake, Ning enjoys success with actors and actresses.

作为杂技剧 《天鹅湖》的主持、策划和编排，宁根福与演员们一起分享成功的喜悦。

Nihao: What's the difference between Chinese acrobatics and Western circus?

Ning:Chinese acrobatics is a stage performance which stresses skills rather than entertainment. Our robust waist, leg, head and excellent somersaults are all the result of countless hours of tough training. As for the Western circus, thirty percent of the performances are aerial acrobatics, forty percent of them are animal training, and the rest is the harlequinade. Among them, the clown is the soul fi gure of the performance and his major function is to interact with the audience. Armed with martial arts, we Chinese acrobatics put more emphasis on kung fu. Meanwhile, Western circus has more entertainment features with closer relationship between audiences and actors and more laughter can be heard from the audience.

Nihao: What characters does acrobatics demonstrate of Chinese people?

Ning:In my opinion, acrobatics demonstrates hard-working, persevering and the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people. Acrobatics exercise is very laborious, which continuously challenges the extremes of the human body. I started to practice acrobatics at the age of fi ve. When I got up in the morning, the fi rst thing I did was to stand on my hands for one hour. At the end of the exercise, I would fall like a log. It is just the willingness to bear hardships that enables our Chinese acrobats to perform amazing actions like somersault for fi ve circles with four people standing beneath vertically. Injuries and fractures are common for acrobats. Nonetheless, if you think from another perspective, which profession is free from hardships? Champion swimmers get their fame through the endeavor of swimming for thousands of meters every day, and gymnasts and volleyball players also suffer many injuries. We Chinese shall have ambition to do the best in what we do.

Nihao: What does acrobatics pursue?

Ning:Acrobatic performance pursues innovation, diffi culty and beauty, and none of these factors are dispensable. Chinese acrobatics used to make a big deal of the diffi culty, resulting in a lack of innovative and ornamental value. The audience felt uncomfortable and nervous when they watched the performance, but they didn't feel mentally stimulated. As I often say,"There are many applauds but little laughter in Chinese acrobatic". So now we start to lay emphasis on the innovation of acrobatic shows and add aesthetic values to them. The acrobatic show "Swan Lake" is a good representative work, with its acrobatic breathtaking moments as well as enjoyment of beauty. Our show in Russia set the highest ticket record in the history of Kremlin Palace. In my opinion, to lift acrobatics to the height of art shall be the future direction.

Ning Genfu

A legendary figure in modern Chinese acrobatics, Ning Genfu is the exleader of Guangzhou Military Region Warrior Acrobatic Troupe, the former vice-chairman of Chinese Acrobats Association, first-class army civilian personnel and a national firstrank actor and director.

During his term as the Troupe leader, he led the troupe to win 126 gold medals at major acrobatics contests home and abroad, including the prestigious Golden Clown Award -the Oscar of acrobatics - three times.

Ning pushed aside all the opposing opinion, and directed Chinese acrobatic show "Swan Lake". Now, it is renowned all over the world, ushering a new era for Chinese acrobatics.

宁根福

中国杂技界传奇人物。广州军区战士杂技团原团长，前中国杂技艺术家协会副主席，国家一级演员、一级编导，全军杂技界第一位文职一级。当团长17年，他率全团拿了国内外主要赛场金牌126块，包括三次拿下世界杂技界最高金奖“金小丑”奖。法国“明日”赛场主席称他为“金牌资本家”，俄罗斯文化基金会专门授予他“最杰出艺术家”金质奖章，日本民族音乐会给他颁发最高奖“民族音乐艺术奖”，摩纳哥蒙特卡洛马戏节授予他“特殊贡献奖”。他力排众议创作的大型中国杂技剧《天鹅湖》享誉世界，开创了中国杂技新纪元。

中国杂技应有更多笑声

Nihao：中国杂技与西方马戏有什么区别？

宁：西方马戏主要突出高空、驯兽和小丑表演，每场马戏演出中有30%是高空杂技，40%是驯兽，30%是滑稽表演，其中小丑表演是马戏中的灵魂，起到与观众特别互动的作用。西方马戏的娱乐性更强，与观众更近，场上经常会欢笑声接连不断。与西方马戏不同，中国杂技主要突出的是舞台表演，腰、腿、顶、跟头等都是结结实实的硬功，都是靠千锤百炼得来的，但是另一方面欠缺了在节目编排上新颖创意，掌声有余，笑声不足。……