Folsom, CA — It will be a performance of daring artistry, the kind that makes you blink and look twice. From the People’s Republic of China, Hebei Province, comes Cirque Mei — a colorful and lively celebration of renowned Chinese circus arts. The performance features a company of 40 elite artists and acrobats, performing popular Chinese circus routines such as Hoops Diving, Lion Dance, Flying Meteors, Foot Juggling with Umbrellas, Ladder Balancing Act, and more. The troupe was founded in 1976 and supports a community of circus performers who tour the world over — soon to bedazzle in Folsom!

Cirque Mei comes to the Harris Center on Saturday, September 21, 2019, at 2 & 7:30 pm; and Sunday, September 22 at 2 pm. Tickets are $28-$42; Premium $48. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from the Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. The Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

Cirque Mei features traditional and contemporary Chinese circus acts in a colorful, lively celebration of the internationally renowned Chinese circus arts.

The performance, featuring a company of 40 elite circus artists and acrobats, include the most popular Chinese circus routines including Hoops Diving, Lion Dance, Collective Bicycle Skills, Flying Meteors, Foot Juggling with Umbrellas, Female Contortion, and Ladder Balancing Act. The troupe was founded in 1976 and supports a community of over 130 circus performers who tour throughout China and the world.

The company needs to be seen to be fully appreciated; there are numerous photographs of Cirque Mei at https://www.harriscenter.net/about/press-room/19-20-event-images.

The show opens with Balancing Skills on Ladder and the Charming of Peking Opera; this program won the Silver Lion Prize at the 15^th China Wuqiao Int’l Circus Festival in 2015 and the Silver Elephant Prize at the 6^th Spanish Figueres Int’l Circus Festival in 2017. Then it’s on to Umbrellas - Foot Juggling Girls (“Their nimble feet spin the umbrellas skillfully and steadily. The act won the Gold Lion Prize at the 11^th China Wuqiao Int’l Circus Festival in 2007, the Silver Prize at the 29^th French Cirque de Demain Festival in 2008, and the Bronze Prize at the 11^th Italian Latina Int’l Circus Festival in 2009”). Don’t miss Flying Meteors  (“Dancing and moving swiftly with enthusiasm and energy, each of the artists spins the meteors tied to both ends of a rope and throws them up in the air and catches. The act imitates seeing meteors in the night sky. It was an award-winning act at China Wuhan Int’l Circus Festival, Monte Carlo Young Acrobats’ Festival, and Hungry Budapest Int’l Circus Festival.”) The show concludes with Bicycle Girls (“A group of girls in red costume, ride bicycles on the stage, as swift as swallows. They do tricks on two bicycles or on several bicycles. The climax will be the lotus-blooming pose and the peacock-flaunting-its-tail pose on one bicycle”).

Not to be missed!

September at the Harris Center

The first lecture of the Folsom Lake College Speakers Series is scheduled September 5, with Adam Steltzner. . . . At age 35, he was an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories and led a team in inventing the system that successfully placed the Mars rover Curiosity on Mars. The Harris Center presents the romantic lyrics and lush harmonies of Latin America in Ánimo Production’s Boleros de Noche on September 20, featuring Los Panchos and the all-female Trio Ellas, a recent Latin Grammy nominee. Elite circus artists and acrobats from the Heibei province, China, Cirque Mei dazzles for three shows September 21-22. The Greatest Love Of All, a tribute to Whitney Houston starring Belinda Davids, returns by popular demand September 24-25 with two performances of “vocal power and precision that are a perfect match for Whitney’s power ballads” (Herald Sun). The poignant Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical RENT takes the stage for five performances September 27-29. And The Simon & Garfunkel Story uses state-of-the-art video projection and a crack live band to tell the tale of the two young boys from Queens (September 30).

This Year Marks Nine Seasons of Great Shows. Up Close. In Folsom!

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences, presenting the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts over 400 events attracting 150,000 annually.

Event Summary