Pole dancer from the East

A young acrobat who performed an entire dance repertoire balancing on a pole stole the show at the Chinese Spring Festival, garnering the biggest applause from the crowd.

The petite girl twisted and turned gracefully on one hand, leaving the audience gasping with incredulity at the way she contorted her body with such ease.

She was the star of the programme entitled Balancing On Single Hand, the Golden Award winning acrobatic show at the International Juvenile Art Festival in Italy.

Presented at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta on Tuesday night, the programme showcased the cream of China's performing arts that included jaw-dropping stunts and presentations of various disciplines of Chinese martial arts.

The performers were well received by the enthusiastic crowd who marvelled at the mystical power and strength human beings were capable of possessing.

The show forms part of the 2010 Valletta Chinese Spring Festival, presented by the China Cultural Centre and the Valletta local council to share the joy of the Chinese New Year of the Tiger on the lunar calendar.

The event is the most important traditional festival in China and is a time for families to be together, just like Christmas in the West.

The Chinese name of the festival is Guo Nian. Guo means pass over and Nian means year. Its origins can be traced back thousands of years through a continually-evolving series of colourful legends and traditions.