Peking Acrobats at the Granada

Chinese New Year is fast upon us, and unless you have already made plans to travel to China by January 24, you’ll be ringing in the Year of the Rat right here in Santa Barbara. Fortunately, the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts at The Granada Theatre has thought ahead and provided a very auspicious evening on Wednesday, January 22, when the world-renowned Peking Acrobats will take the stage as part of their latest North American tour.

This particular group, formed in 1986, represents the best of the best when it comes to this nearly three-millennia-old traditional art form. What a fabulous Santa Barbara coincidence that the Peking Acrobats’ most famous alumni, Qin Shaobo, played the Amazing Yen, Danny Ocean’s “grease man” in the remake of Ocean’s 11, and at the same moment that his Ocean’s costar Brad Pitt takes the stage across State Street at the Arlington Theatre, the Amazing Yen’s old gang will be flying through the air at the Granada with the greatest of ease.