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THE Chinese State Circus is one of those shows which has to be seen to be believed and is impossible to do justice in words.

The audience at Salisbury's City Hall on Monday night was treated to a spectacular display of logic-defying feats which meant a constant anticipation something was going to go wrong and which left you in disbelief when the performers achieved the seemingly impossible.

As clichéd as it sounds, there really is something for everyone with acrobatics, plate-spinning and contortion by performers from China's seven leading acrobatic troupes, and the Monkey King narrator from the world-famous Peking Opera, who provides historic background to the action. The Shaolin Wu Shu Warriors, also known as "masters of the martial arts", perform amazing mind-over-matter displays, fearlessly bending spears using only their necks and one has bricks smashed on his head with a sledgehammer.

All of the amazing skills displayed make it difficult to pick out highlights but the acrobats who flipped their way through rotating hoops showed impressive teamwork and timing, and the colourful costumes and energetic performance of the Lion Dance was also captivating.

10:45am Thursday 14th February 2008

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