During my summer vacation in Reno, Nevada, I had a chance to see an acrobatic show performed by an acrobatic team from China, Imperial Acrobats of China,  ‘a world class’ performance as presented in its introduction of the show.  

The performers’ Asian looks surely add additional merits to their ‘world class’ performances in this highly competitive entertainment environment.  They didn’t talk, nor they sang.  They performed with virtually every part of their body, unthinkably flexible and balanced, beautifully synchronized to complete one after another highly difficult acts that their audiences would think impossible to perform.  Probably a little is known to their American audiences that these performers all have an uncommon background.  They usually start their training as early as elementary kids.  When their American counterparts are playing computer and video games in the comfort of their home, they are practicing in school.

Watching their performances with their smiles on the stage, I realized that kids in China indeed sacrifice too much of their childhood in preparations of their future.  What I mean is that this phenomena happens not only to acrobatic field, but virtually very fields that you can imagine, sports such as gymnastics, swimming, arts and music such as painting, piano, violin, and many more.  Sometimes I would doubt if it is worth it because such kids may have a incomplete childhood, losing many aspects of life of being a kid that their peers take for granted.  Even thought I can understand the mentality of those parents sending their young kids to those schools for this kind of special training, I sometimes still find it hard for me to comprehend the harsh path they need to go through, living in the dormitory far away from home, leaning and practicing all day long, only being with their family a few days in a year, mostly for their entire childhood. 

Behind their smiles on their faces and the applause from their American audiences, I wonder who really know or care about their losses, their resentments and their tears they shed along their paths to the stage.