The Beijing Acrobats
DSCF1467 - the Beijing Acrobats, originally uploaded by [Satbir].
Some laugh, others just look scared and confused. These children are trained from as early as five or six years old in the most brutal way possible. They are stretched and contorted and suffer mental and physical abuse in order to create a performance based on the same discipline and precision that underpins modern China’s external image.
Many looked genuinely terrified when they made a mistake on stage. As far as I’m aware, apart from a BBC documentary (Storyville), this is the only photo ever taken of the Beijing Acrobats outside performances.
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