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Flying Chinese! Acrobats soar at Brooklyn Center

The ‘Center’ of it all! Chinese acrobats, Russian dancers, flamenco dancers and more

The circus is coming to town — but you can forget clowns, bears on unicycles, and bubblegum-colored cotton candy.

The National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China — a 40-person troupe of jugglers, contortionists, dancers, strongmen and the like — will perform at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts’s 2011-2012 season opener on Oct. 29.

“This is the granddaddy of acrobatics,” said Rick Berube, a Center representative. “It’s like getting Cirque du Soleil rather than a bug circus; they’re like the American Ballet Theater of acrobatics troupes.”

In fact, contemporary circus acts like Cirque du Soleil draw inspiration from the Chinese acrobatic tradition, so expect plenty of jaw-dropping body manipulations, contortions, balancing acts and dance routines.

“There is a wow factor in the unbelievable things these artists are able to do with their bodies, and just a couple of props,” Berube continued. “It should be pretty fantastic.”

National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts [2900 Campus Rd. at Hillel Place in Flatbush, (718) 951-4600], Oct. 29, 1 pm, $20. For info, visit www.brooklyncenter.com.

Reach Arts Editor Juliet Linderman at jlinderman@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-8309.