Switzerland’s Young Stage 2012 International Circus Festival Basel, sometimes called the “circus Oscars,” was held at the end of May for its third year. Sung Chia-cheng, a student at Taipei Physical Education College who gained notoriety after traveling to China to participate in China’s Got Talent, dressed up as an Indian prince for the festival in Basel, combining theater, dance and playing Chinese yo-yo, also known as “pulling bell” or che ling in Mandarin. He is the first Asian to ever win the first place Golden Star award, be voted top contender by the audience, and be selected to give a Grand Prix performance on Swiss national television.
The 19-year-old’s biggest dream is to one day be able to join renowned circus troupe Cirque du Soleil. At the beginning of the year, Sung traveled China to compete on a Dragon TV contest show. Out of more than 10,000 contestants, Sung came in second place, wearing his well-known clown costume and using the very technically demanding burning Chinese yo-yos.
Sung successfully advanced to compete in the circus festival, eventually becoming one of the 16 final contestants chosen out of 200 audition tapes sent from all over the world. During the competition, which ended two weeks ago, he combined the highly challenging single, double, triple, and vertical yoyos in a six-minute performance that stunned his audience and left them cheering ecstatically.
Photo courtesy of Young Stage International Circus Festival Basel
照片由瑞士國際雜技大賽提供
“I never think about winning. I just think about how to come up with something new and inventive,” Sung said. This was the first time he ever competed overseas by himself, so he decided to wear an Indian outfit and add LED lighting to his Chinese yo-yo’s, combining theater and modern dance in ways that went beyond showcasing his skills and put more life into his act.
His teacher, Liu Shu-yi, also commented on how this was the first time an Asian had ever been selected to perform in the competition, and that Sung beat all of the other talented competitors from 16 different countries. In four rounds of audience voting, he was voted top performer by the audience and voted best performer by the national Swiss television station. Sung will be traveling to Switzerland in September for an interview and to give a performance at the television station.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
素有「雜技界奧斯卡」之稱的瑞士國際雜技大賽五月底舉行第三屆。台北體育學院學生宋佳政曾遠赴中國，參加電視節目「中國達人秀」一戰成名。這次變身「印度王子」，以融合戲劇、舞蹈的扯鈴絕技，拿下評審金獎，並勇奪觀眾票選第一名、瑞士國家電視台最佳演員獎等三項殊榮，是亞洲首位入選。
Photo courtesy of Young Stage International Circus Festival Basel
照片：照片由瑞士國際雜技大賽提供
十九歲的宋佳政最大夢想是加入最有名的太陽馬戲團，年初以招牌的「小丑」造型、高超的火鈴技術參加中國東方衛視的選秀節目，從上萬名選手中，一路過關斬將，勇奪亞軍！
宋佳政再接再厲，報名參加瑞士國際雜技大賽，先在兩百組來自世界各國的甄選影帶中入選前十六強，兩週前出賽，六分鐘的表演結合單鈴、雙鈴、三鈴、直立鈴的高難度動作，震撼演出博得全場觀眾如雷喝采。
「沒想過會得獎，只想著該如何再突破！」宋佳政說，這次是他首次的國外個人賽，改走印度風穿著，將傳統扯鈴加上LED特效裝置，融合戲劇與現代舞蹈，不只是單傳展技，也傳遞生命力。
指導老師劉述懿說，這項比賽過往從未有亞洲代表入選，宋佳政擊敗來自十六個國家的高手，拿下冠軍，更在四輪的觀眾票選中以超高人氣拿下票選第一名、瑞士國家電視台最佳演員獎等三項大獎，九月將前往瑞士接受當地國家電視台採訪演出。
（自由時報記者邱紹雯）
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