BusinessTN

Since 2007, Cirque de Chine has brought award-winning acrobatics, contortion and Chinese performing arts to the Smoky Mountains. Beyond astounding audiences, the production at Sevierville's Smoky Mountain Palace Theater, formerly the Governor's Palace Theatre, recently played a large role in bringing international acclaim to the area.

Last summer, the theater was named the official U.S. office of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Representing China's art world elite, associations of musicians, writers and others comprise the 14,000 member sub-branch of the national federation.

To celebrate the naming, an unveiling ceremony and performance by Cirque de Chine took place on August 8. Those attending included Chinese dignitaries, media members and celebrated acts, such as the Jungjo Drummers of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, and "Mask Changing" artists, who rarely perform outside China. News of the ceremony, which launched the Shanghai Artists' Performance and Exhibition Week, was even broadcast on Chinese national television.

"We beat out Washington, D.C., and New York City for the honor of being named the official U.S. office," says Jim Callicott, the theater’s public relations director.

How exactly did Sevierville win the title over major U.S. cities, including the nation's capitol? Callicott credits both the presence of Cirque de Chine and the credentials of executive producer, Lizhi Zhao, who also serves as president and CEO to parent company, Non-Stop Creativity Corp. Most notably, Zhao became the first to independently produce a Chinese acrobatics show within the United States upon bringing the "New Shanghai Circus" to Branson, Mo., in 1997.

With the goal of showcasing Chinese arts, the federation also aims for economic viability, especially within the states. "Up until the mid 1990s, artist federations were totally subsidized by the government," says Jan Berris, vice president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Now existing independently in the market, an increasingly less insular China shows federations "using their clout, power, knowledge and performers to expand China’s soft power," Berris says.

To keep up their end of the bargain, Callicott says, "In 2010 or 2011, the theater will send American artists to Shanghai for performances as a cultural exchange."

In the meantime, hosting one of the state's most unique spectacles has its perks. "Any time you open up an area to international interest, it gives opportunities for business and cultural growth," says Amanda Marr, marketing director of the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce.

For Sevierville, Cirque de Chine's tourism draw is just one of the benefits. Equal in value are the connections created as home of the sole U.S. office of an esteemed Chinese federation. Sevierville's latest distinction only furthers the relationship between the Volunteer State and the Middle Kingdom.