Lang Ling The Aerialist

The sky's The Limit

Bangkok Post : Life/CULTURE, 14 November 2013
By Kanokporn Chanasongkram

In his 15 years of experience as a professional acrobat, Tanabe said he has performed over 600 times. Whenever he is on stage, he said, it is like he is meditating.

"Performing feels like doing meditation. Your body is doing something, but your mind can't be there," he said. "If you let your mind work, saying this and that, it can be dangerous. You just let the body go and not focus on anything." During his three years as Cirque du Soleil's artistic director, he led the troupe through its first Russian tour. Before one performance in Kazan, a bomb threat caused him to evacuate 2,900 people from the theatre. Crisis management was a part of the job, in addition to developing artistic content and marketing strategies to target different audiences in six countries.
Likewise, Lang Ling The Aerialist must relate to a Thai audience while showcasing acrobatic feats at the same time.

"Whether art or science, to me they follow the same processes but give different flavours," Tanabe said. "Staging a show is like cooking. You're mixing ingredients and serving it to an audience for them to enjoy."

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http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/379736/