DEFYING gravity was top of the bill when the Chinese State Circus rolled into town.

The "big top" might have been a theatre, but the artists literally climbed to the rafters (or in this case, the light rigging) to thrill the crowd.

A drum roll began proceedings as two Chinese "dragons" burst on to stage and young girls in red and gold uniforms danced with ribbon flags the colour of fire.

The sets, the costumes and music were loud and colourful, and as the show progressed, each act tried to outdo the one before in skill and daring.

We’ve all seen spinning plates before, but here we were presented with spinning parasols, diablos and giant padded cylinders.

A balletic contortionist bent her body to near breaking point with just one hand resting on a raised mini-platform. Later, this act was taken to greater heights on eight stacked chairs, and saw our brave performer dance in the air while almost touching the ceiling stage lights.

There was an incredible display of tumbling as the fellas took it in turn to leap through a set of silver hoops, which steadily became higher.

One of the most impressive sections came from the man who walked Matrix-like through the air horizontally while holding on to an upright pole. Seeing was truly believing.

The greatest cheer came near the end when the women performed their renowned bicycle act. It started with six girls and six bikes and ended with six girls but two bikes. As they cycled around the stage they changed position, seats and swapped bikes over and over again, without getting a pedal wrong.

A night to remember.