Shandong Acrobatics Troupe has made great efforts over the past 20 years to spread Chinese culture throughout the world using its breathtaking acrobatic techniques.

Yao Jianguo, the director of the troupe, hopes that the performances will not only help popularize Chinese culture around the world, but also achieve more lasting change.

Soon, Shandong Acrobatics Troupe will begin a world tour with a show titled "Because of Love", cooperating with a prestigious Broadway theatre in the U.S. This show has attracted funding of over 10 million yuan from the China Performing Arts Agency, and will likely become a big success overseas, raising the profile of Chinese acrobatics around the world.

However, this is not the first time the troupe has performed abroad. In 2012 the group made an extremely well-received appearance at the 84th Academy Awards with "Deng Ren", a high-energy acrobatic performance that wowed the assembled guests.

The performance titled "Deng Ren". [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

During the performance, actors dressed in costumes from the movie "The Matrix" and made dazzling leaps into the air.

Yao credits the Oscars invitation to the reputation of his troupe around the world, their stunning performances and their success at bringing Chinese culture to new audiences. He also said that before they were invited to the Oscars ceremony, the troupe had been performing with the world-famous Cirque du Soleil in Chicago, where the director general of the Oscars awarding ceremony had watched their performance.

"Since 1991, every year we will have one or two teams perform overseas with around 30 to 40 actors" Yao said proudly.

As one of the two domestic acrobatics troupes that have won the highest world prize in the acrobatic circle and performed on the CCTV Spring Festival Evening Gala, Shandong Acrobatic Troupe has established good relationships with famous foreign teams in the process of performing overseas.

"In the past 20 years, we have entertained audiences with the best acrobatic performances. Now we want to infuse Chinese traditional stories into our performances and popularize Chinese culture to the world" Yao said.

In addition to the acrobatic performances and working with a Broadway theatre, the Shandong Acrobatics Troupe plans to stage an acrobatic drama adapted from a traditional Chinese fairy tale. It will adopt 3-D technology and hi-tech lighting to express a love story between a scholar and a demonic fox in ancient China.

A breathtaking performance adapted from a traditional Chinese fairy tale. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

For Yao and his group, the next step is to challenge the ideas rooted in people's minds that their performances rely solely on death-defying acrobatics and breathtaking actions to attract audiences. They want people to see all aspects of their performances, including the time and effort they put into their acting. "Because of Love" will soon give audiences all around the world the opportunity to appreciate their talents.

In addition to highly skilled acrobatics, the performers from Shandong Acrobatics Troupe also pay attention to their acting skills and expressions. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]