GSU rings in Chinese New Year with Golden Dragon Acrobats

Jon Cobb, theater manager of Governors State University's Center for Performing Arts in University Park, looks forward to the return of the Golden Dragon Acrobats.

"You see things that you can't believe with your eyes with these guys," he said. "It's all real. It's not magic tricks. It's not some magician that's faking you out or pretending to levitate. These are all amazing feats of human skill.

"It's inspiring to see them do these things that seem to defy the laws of physics. It's really something."

Scheduled to grace the stage and airspace at the Center on Jan. 29, Golden Dragon Acrobats have been dazzling audiences worldwide for nearly 35 years now. The 27-member ensemble, who hail from China's Hebei province, are practitioners of acrobatic techniques said to date more than 2,500 years.

In 2005, Golden Dragon made their way to Broadway, where they received a pair of Drama Desk awards. Over the course of the last 3-1/2 decades, the troupe's seemingly gravity–defying acrobatics and dancing have wowed crowds in more than five dozen countries, spanning five continents.

"It really is a great family show," Cobb said. "There's nothing in it that's risqué at all. It's definitely a family oriented program, and that's the audience we're trying to attract."

Golden Dragon's Jan. 29 performance at the center is their first there since January 2007, and serves as the center's Chinese New Year celebration.

"They have some incredible balancing acts and do things that make your heart pound," Cobb said. "We try to get one big bang out of every season, and this is our big bang this year."

Golden Dragon Acrobats are also scheduled to perform Jan. 31 through Feb. 4 at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie.