Winning the Award丨Zigong acrobatic "Soft Steel Wire-Hand" won three awards at Basel International Youth Circus Festival

Reprinted from: Sichuan Online

From September 20 to 21, 2025, the 20th Basel International Youth Circus Festival was held in Switzerland. This top European international circus event attracted top acrobatic teams from all over the world to participate in the competition. In the end, the original program "Soft Steel Wire-Chasing" of the Zigong Acrobatic Troupe of Sichuan Province in China won the only "Youth Star" award, the Best Performance Award and the Special Theater Award in this competition, making the Chinese acrobatic style shine on the world stage again.

The competition at this Basel International Youth Circus Festival is far more intense than before. According to statistics from the event organizing committee, more than 640 programs from 66 countries around the world have been registered for the competition. After multiple rounds of strict screening of professional jury, only ten top teams from 12 countries have stood out and won tickets to the finals. Zigong Acrobatics Troupe's "Soft Steel Wire-Chronic" can break through many strong hands and win three awards, which is not only the highest recognition of the quality of the program, but also demonstrates the strong strength of Chinese acrobatics in the international field.

program performer Liao Jie shared the hardships and joys behind them after the game. He said, "Being able to stand on the stage of the International Circus Festival competition is a dream I have been pursuing for many years, and the realization of this dream cannot be separated from day to day persistence and polishing." Since the formal entry into soft wire project training in 2021, Liao Jie has maintained high-intensity training for seven or eight hours every day. Whether it is polishing basic balance ability or breakthroughs in difficult movements, he always demands himself with the ultimate standards.

In the 6 minutes and 30 seconds performance, Liao Jie perfectly integrated technology and art. The steel wire under his feet is only 8 mm in thickness, but it has to be completed on this "line of life" and a series of difficult movements such as rolling and upside down, stair shape, and inverted hand-cranked wheelbarrow. Each movement requires precise control of the body's balance. If there is a slight deviation, it may be in danger. What is even more amazing is that the steel wire will shake nearly 45 degrees during the performance. Liao Jie needs to walk back and forth in dynamic balance, use the subtle adjustments of his body to resolve the challenges brought by the shaking, bringing a very impactful visual experience to the audience, and also makes the judges praise the professional qualities of Chinese acrobats.

As a very difficult project in the field of acrobatics, soft steel wire has extremely high requirements for the performers' physical coordination, psychological quality, and technical proficiency. "Soft Steel Wire-Chronic" not only breaks the limit at the technical level, but also conveys the spiritual core of "not fearing hardships and challenging oneself" through body language and creative meaning, allowing the audience to understand the spiritual power behind it while feeling the visual shock. This time, the three awards in this competition will not only add another international honor to the Zigong Acrobatics Troupe, but also make Zigong Acrobatics' "Chinese Cultural Business Card" more and more shining.

For a long time, Zigong Acrobatics Troupe has always insisted on innovation in works. On the basis of inheriting traditional acrobatic skills, it has continuously explored new forms and connotations of artistic expression, and has won awards in major international competitions many times. Now, the success of "Soft Steel Wire-Chronic" once again proves that Chinese acrobatics can not only rely on hard-core technology to base themselves on the world stage, but also tell Chinese stories with profound cultural heritage, so that the world can better understand Chinese culture and feel the style of Zigong acrobatics through the art form of acrobatics.