Seven magic acts and three comedy acts win the 12th China Golden Chrysanthemum Award

China News Service, Shenzhen, 23 June (reporter Suo Youwei) — The 12th China Golden Chrysanthemum Award for Circus Arts — National Magic & Comedy Competition was held at Happy Valley Shenzhen from 18 to 22 June, this reporter learned on the 23rd. More than a hundred of the country's finest magic and comedy artists gathered in Shenzhen to compete for the highest award in Chinese circus arts, and in the end seven magic acts and three comedy acts won the Golden Chrysanthemum Award.

Group photograph at the closing ceremony of the 12th China Golden Chrysanthemum Award for Circus Arts — National Magic & Comedy Competition. (Photo courtesy of Happy Valley Shenzhen)

The China Golden Chrysanthemum Award for Circus Arts is a national professional arts award jointly hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Acrobats Association, and is the highest award in Chinese circus arts. As a new-generation large theme park under OCT Group and the China Acrobats Association's only magic cultural and creative industry base, Happy Valley Shenzhen staged this edition of the competition. Twenty-four magic acts and nine comedy acts reached the final of this year's Golden Chrysanthemum Award.

The award-winning magic act "Heavenly Maidens Scattering Flowers." (Photo courtesy of Happy Valley Shenzhen)

According to the organisers, the competitors this year were mainly people born in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, who accounted for a high proportion of both the magic and the comedy competitions. Taking magic and comedy as their form, the entries centred on carrying forward Chinese culture and telling China's stories, applying the techniques of magic and comedy organically to thematic expression, storytelling and characterisation, and raising the artistic level of both.

The award-winning comedy act "Winning Glory." (Photo courtesy of Happy Valley Shenzhen)

The magic acts that took the "Golden Chrysanthemum" were: "Heavenly Maidens Scattering Flowers," presented by the Chongqing Acrobatic Troupe and other teams; "The Saviour · Crossing Realms" by the Shenyang Acrobatic Performance Group; "Light" by the Dalian Acrobatic Troupe; "The Language of Umbrellas" by the Hebei Acrobatic Troupe; "Illusion · Realm" by the China National Acrobatic Troupe; "Encounter" by the Nanchong Acrobatic Troupe; and "Dream of Helu Lake," presented by the Shenzhen Acrobats Association and other teams. The award-winning comedy acts were: "Crazy Chef" by the Guangxi Acrobatic Troupe; "Terror at the Museum," presented by the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe together with the Tianjin Acrobatic Troupe; and "Winning Glory," presented by the Shenzhen Acrobats Association and other teams.

Among them, the magic act "Heavenly Maidens Scattering Flowers" takes Dunhuang dance as the basis of its movement and merges magic, dance and mime into one, conveying the beauty of fine traditional Chinese culture while displaying the wonder of magic. The comedy act "Winning Glory" uses comic humour to portray the contradictions of family education today, urging parents to be more open in their approach and, on the foundation of traditional education, to pay more attention to cultivating children's talents and interests, so that parents and children respect one another and grow together. (End)