THE NANJING
CONNECTION
In 1983, the world-famous Nanjing
Acrobatic Troupe undertook the
first of two training projects with
the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Circus
Oz and other physical theatre
artists. The initiative and its two
celebrated shows, The Great
Leap Forward and The Circus
of Tomorrow, revolutionised the
way Australia thought about and
practised the circus arts.
CIRCUS IN MOTION
The roots of these exchanges lay in
an earlier initiative in 1980, when
Carrillo Gantner, then Executive
Director of Playbox Theatre
Company, and Clifford Hocking
brought the Nanjing Acrobatic
Troupe to Australia. It took him
another three years of negotiation
to bring them back, this time not
just to perform – this time they
would change the face of circus in
Australia forever.
To continue the 30-year legacy
of the original Nanjing Project,
Melbourne Festival is proud to
welcome a new generation of
some of China’s best acrobats
to Australia. In partnership with
the Flying Fruit Fly Circus and the
National Institute of Circus Arts,
five hand-picked circus artists will
train with students in AlburyWodonga and in Melbourne at
NICA’s Prahran headquarters,
imparting the innovations of
current Chinese practice.
Melbourne audiences will have
the chance to witness the result
of this cultural exchange firsthand,
when a brand new iteration of
the Nanjing Project is presented
as part of Melbourne Festival’s
celebration of the art of circus.
24
Buy 3 or more eligible circus events and save 15% See page 118 for details