Acrobatics takes a leap

Ropes become art

For the Shandong Acrobatic Troupe, the production is an experiment in turning a familiar everyday activity into demanding stage art.

"We wanted to bring something new to Chinese acrobatics," says Zhao Jinlong, 39, captain of the troupe's performing team.

The idea emerged after coaches came across short videos of freestyle rope skipping on social media. Inspired by its visual appeal, they began exploring how its movements could be combined with acrobatic techniques.

There was no ready-made template. The performers first had to learn the basics of freestyle skipping before developing their own movements. They sketched ideas by hand, tested them for safety and discarded those that failed to meet their expectations. The production gradually took shape through repeated experimentation.

One of its most demanding sequences, Zhao says, has an acrobat performing a side somersault over another performer's shoulder. The finale involves two consecutive backflips from the top of a three-level human tower, while the rest of the team jumps in unison over a rope.

The sequence requires more than individual strength and courage.

"The base needs to be strong, the performers in the middle need to have excellent overall abilities, and those at the top need courage and a strong sense of their bodies in the air," Zhao says.

The troupe plans to continue refining the work. After three decades in acrobatics, Zhao has seen audiences look beyond technical difficulty to the overall stage experience.

"Ultimately, what matters is whether a work can move people," he says.

The production was directed by Liu Mengchen, a dance-trained choreographer who joined the project after the troupe had already spent about a year and a half experimenting with the idea.

Rather than imposing a fixed plan, Liu developed the work with the performers, revising it six or seven times as they discovered new ways to combine rope skipping with acrobatics.

"Acrobatics remains at the heart of the work," Liu says.

For Liu, the production also speaks to how acrobatics evolves over time, with each generation building on what came before while creating something of its own.

"I deeply admire the spirit of acrobats and the way this art is passed down from one generation to the next," Liu says. "That is something truly precious in any era."