By Dave Woods
dwoods@joplinglobe.com
BRANSON, Mo. — It takes Ken and Vickie Cox only five minutes to drive down the road from their Indian Point, Mo., home to Silver Dollar City. It’s a drive they love to take.
“We come down here all year long and we never miss World-Fest,” Vickie, a 70-year-old grandmother, said after watching a performance of the Zhejiang Acrobats and Balancing Monks. “It’s phenomenal. I don’t know how they do that. They are so strong and graceful.”
Nathan Trumbo and his wife, Katie, were also wowed.
“I (was a cheerleader) in college and know some of those moves, but they take it a lot further,” Nathan, 23, said. “They’re all very flexible. Those guys are solid muscle.”
It took the 23-year-old couple from Barnhart, Mo., more than five hours to get to Silver Dollar City from their home south of St. Louis. Like the Coxes, they were glad they made the trip.
“It’s crazy how good they are,” Katie said after the 50-minute performance. “It’s crazy how fast it was over. It went so quick. I wanted more.”
Through May 3, tens of thousands of Branson visitors will trek to Silver Dollar City to take in World-Fest, the theme park’s annual celebration of international entertainment.
New at this year’s festival are the Zhejiang Acrobats and Balancing Monks and Jallamay, a 28-member Peruvian music and dance troupe. Returning to the World-Fest lineup for 2009 is Feet of Fire, the park’s largest Irish production ever staged; the Invaders, a steel drum band from Trinidad and Tobago; the Russian Academic Band; and Jenny Blackadder, New Zealand’s banjo queen.
China to Branson
Hong Cheng, the producer of the Zhejiang Acrobats and Balancing Monks show, said her group of 28 twisting, turning, dancing, juggling, flipping and flying performers are thrilled to be included in the month-long festival.
“They are very excited to be here because they are representing China,” Hong said. “They are excited about seeing the other international performers as well.”
Hong said the show is styled after traditional Chinese folk tales from the Zhejiang Provence of southeast China. Many of the performers have been training and performing since they were 6 years old.
“The show is built on the West Lake theme of heaven above and West Lake below,” Hong explained. “West Lake is one of most famous lakes in China.”
The show, Hong said, offers something for everyone.
“We have traditional music and some contemporary songs American audiences can connect with,” she said. “It’s nice for audiences to hear traditional music and get some exposure to the music of China.”
The group recently returned from an engagement in Mexico, and in January were honored with a French Presidential Award for the Arts.
International exposure
Brad Schroeder, director of events and entertainment at Silver Dollar City, said he was impressed the first time he saw the acrobats and balancing monks in action.
“When I first saw the DVD, I was like, ‘Wow! It’s amazing,’” he said. “It’s a religious discipline for them, all part of their religious background. They have found a way to put it into a show that’s amazing.”
One performer, Schroeder said, walks up a set of stairs while balancing on his head. “No hands,” he said.
World-Fest is a good opportunity to get up close and personal with the international performers, Schroeder said. And the guests love the performers.
“It’s a world community kind of thing,” he said. “Some of the performers speak good English, and some don’t speak English at all. It’s worth the hassle of cutting through so much immigration red-tape to secure the international performers.”
As the Coxs filed out of the theater after the Chinese acrobats performance, Vickie said she wished her grandchildren could see the show.
“There are some children who will never get the chance to leave the country and see these kinds of things,” she said. “It shows our kids how to get along with people from other places. We are all just one people.”
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