The Peking Acrobats have wowed audiences with their Human Chair Stack. But their biggest fans might be the filmmakers behind Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and the upcoming Thirteen, who cast troupe member Shaobo Qin as a contortionist capable of cramming himself into a small box. “[George] Clooney loves him,” says Don Hughes, who’s produced Acrobats shows for more than 30 years.

The Chinese group’s performance includes everything from spinning plates on sticks to tumbling a dozen feet in the air. “Their training is very similar to preparing for the Olympics,” says Hughes. “The experience is beyond belief. If I don’t hear oohs and aahs in the first five minutes, there must be something wrong.”
Thu., March 22, 7:30 p.m.

This article appears in Mar 21-27, 2007.