San Francisco School of Circus Arts trains Bay Area children to be world-class acrobats
Feature article in the July 13, 1998 edition of the San Francisco Examiner
The Heart of the the San Francisco School of Circus Arts
This feature article in the Spring 2001 issue of Spectacle Magazine chronicles Master Lu Yi's life from his childhood in China to the present.
"Known for inventing daring new twists on old tricks and for creating new ones, Lu Yi enriched the lexicon of an art form whose basic grammar has changed little over 25 years. At least one of his tricks, a two-man, head-to-head catch launched from a teeter board, has, as far as he knows, never been repeated."
The Master of Acrobatics
Feature article in the December 11, 1990 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Master Lu Yi is a trainer for the U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Team
See feature article in the San Francisco Chronicle
June 22, 2008
The troupe 7 Fingers performed their show Traces in Paris, at La Cigale, in December 2007. According to Libération, the French newspaper founded by Jean-Paul Sartre, the show was "full of energy" and "a great success". Most of the members of 7 Fingers have been trained by master Lu Yi at the San Francisco Circus Center.he troupe 7 Fingers was performing their show Traces in Paris, at La Cigale, in December 2007. According to Libération, the French newspaper founded by Jean-Paul Sartre, the show was "full of energy" and "a great success". Most of the members of 7 Fingers have been trained by master Lu Yi at the San Francisco Circus Center.
7 Fingers "A Great Success" in Paris
Spark, the program produced by KQED Public Television about Bay Area artists and arts organizations, has a segment about the San Francisco Circus Center and Master Lu Yi.
Lu Yi is transplanting the centuries-old art of Chinese circus to the Bay Area. Since the early 1990s, the former star performer and artistic director of the world-renowned Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe has turned the Circus Center into the most comprehensive Chinese acrobatics program outside of China.
Master Lu Yi featured on KQED Public Television
Training the U.S. Synchronized Swimming Team
Master Lu Yi was associated with China’s celebrated Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe for 33 years, first as a star performer, then, after he retired from performing, as its Artistic Director. Founded in 1957, the Nanjing Troupe was one of China’s finest because of acts conceived and performed by Lu Yi. During Lu Yi’s tenure as artistic director, the troupe gained worldwide fame, winning top prizes at circus festivals and competitions.
In 1990 he moved to the U.S. to become Master Teacher of Chinese Acrobatics at Circus Center in San Francisco, and he collaborated with the New Pickle Circus for many seasons, before its merging with Circus Center. Master Lu Yi has judged international circus competitions in Paris, Monte-Carlo and China.
