IT'S not often you hear gasps of astonishment coming from an audience but there were plenty of oohs' and aahs' as the Chinese State Circus cast its spell over Blackburn last night.

If you thought that a circus meant clowns with big shoes and exploding cars and girls in spangly leotards then think again.

This is circus as an art form and it will leave you spellbound.

It is one of those shows which you watch not quite believing what you are seeing as acrobats fly through the air, gymnasts contort their bodies into positions they were surely never meant to go and swords and sticks are whirled around until they become a blur.

Indeed the performers are so good at what they do and make it all look so natural that there is a tendency to under-estimate what they are actually doing.

The posters say that the circus brings with it 2,000 years of tradition and you do get a real feel for the Far East it is genuinely something very different.

The Shaolin Warriors displayed some amazing martial arts moves and a number of feats that definitely fell into the category of don't try this at home'.

There was also a fabulously colourful and lively lion dance which sums up the traditional nature of this show.