NATIONAL ACROBATS OF TAIWAN, R.O.C., DEBUT IN PORTLAND
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Portland, Ore. … Gravity-defying stunts, feats of strength and balance and displays of incredible flexibility take center stage when the National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C., China's foremost company in the art of traditional acrobatics, debut in Portland Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The performance is a non-orchestra Oregon Symphony Special Events presentation.

The company of 35 uses objects of daily life such as chairs, tables, poles, ladders, bowls, plates, bottles and jars as stage props in a performance art that has provided entertainment to audiences for centuries.

The program will feature a combination of dance and contortion, a trapeze performance, the "Fire and Knife" ring and acrobatic balancing of spinning plates. The performers will demonstrate foot juggling with desks, ladders and bamboo, a magic show with special effects and the human pyramid. The program features the popular chair-stacking performance in which an acrobat stacks several chairs on top of four champagne bottles. He then raises himself into a handstand atop the chairs, and as fellow members of the troop continue to pass chairs up, the man eventually towers high above the crowd. In his final motion, he holds the back of the chair while only two of its legs rest on the chair below then lifts himself into another handstand, inches away from the ceiling of the concert hall.

The National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C., aim to preserve the systematic teaching methods of ancient China to cultivate performers of folk dramatic arts in order to preserve the traditional art form of acrobatics.

This Oregon Symphony Special Events presentation is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets range from $19 to $57 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.

Lo Jih-Hung, Artistic Director

Lo Jih-Hung was born in 1949 and was educated at the Peng-xiang County Acrobatic Institute in Jiang-xi Province, Mainland China. After performing as a magician throughout Southeast Asia in the early 1970s, Mr. Lo was hired as a magician/comedian for the "Tonight" television show in Hong Kong. He then went on to host numerous television shows in Asia, including the variety magic show "Ha Ha and Little Sweet" in 1976.

From 1984 to 1990 Mr. Lo served as Co-Director of the Golden Dragon Acrobats, which toured throughout the United States and Canada, most notably at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

From 1988 to 1991 Mr. Lo performed in the Diamond Stage Show on CTS-TV in Taipei, and he continues to organize television productions of acrobatics and magic.

In 1991 Lo Jih-Hung joined staff of the Fu Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy as a performer and director, and in 1995 he managed the "Clown Magic Show" at the Fu Hsing Academy. He was named director of the Fu Hsing Acrobatic Troupe in August 1998, which is now the National Acrobats of Taiwan, R.O.C.

Mr. Lo again toured North America and Europe as part of the Han Kuang Goodwill Mission, and was featured as a guest artist of the Shanghai Magic Festival in 1997. He also toured Central and South America in that same year with the Acrobatic Troupe of the Republic of China in a tour sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taipei. He was also honored as a judge in the National Magic Contest in Guei-lin Province, Mainland China. In 1998 he was the magician in the Han Kuang Goodwill Mission and in the Formosa World Magic Conference.

Lo Jih-Hung is a Commission Member of the Taipei Craft and Dancing Art Guild, and has received the Public Welfare Award in Taipei (1991), Outstanding Performance Award from the Taiwan Provincial Government (1996), and the Mayor's Award (1998). He was also named outstanding performing celebrity in Mainland China in 1995.

Chang Chin-Chang, Artistic Advisor

Chang Chin-Chang is one of the world's leading artistic producers of Chinese acrobatics, his reputation solidly based on his real talents as both acrobat and artistic director. He began his training at the age of eight with his family's school, the Chang Family Acrobatic School of Taipei. By his tenth birthday, Mr. Chang was performing professionally with the school's touring wing, the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats. He has toured as director with this company in over 65 countries.

A graduate of the Fu Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy, he has been honored by the Taipei City Trade Union of Acrobatic Dance and has twice received Distinguished Skill in Performance awards from the Republic of China's Ministry of Education. He was awarded the most prestigious Medal for International Faith and Goodwill by the Republic of China's Coordination Council for North American Affairs.