Gravity is challenged on the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall stage this week by the touring production of "Chi," a troupe of Chinese acrobats that seem to float free from the physical pull that holds most of us tight to earth.

This is a young group of lithe and willowy women and powerful and explosive men who perform to contemporary music with obvious dedication and superlative skill. If you're old enough, you may remember some of their routines from "The Ed Sullivan Show," but "Chi" has plenty of new tricks, some of which pale by description.

Imagine a young woman balancing a pyramid of wine glasses.

On a tray.

Held atop a 3-foot long stick.

Balanced on a shorter stick.

Held between the woman's teeth.

While she swings from a trapeze.

By her toes.

You have to be there to truly appreciate it.

The opening night audience was obviously appreciative, oohing and gasping in all the right places, for the "Chi" production is not only athletic, but suspenseful and comic as well.

A woman balances upon a tower of chairs that she can't possibly build any higher, and then does a shoulder stand that tops the proscenium. Another kicks half a dozen metal bowls high into the air to land atop her head — while riding a unicycle.

A dozen people climb aboard for the bicycle trick while a forest of saucers spin atop sticks like a breezy field of Queen Anne's lace. You may have seen an upside-down juggler twirl parasols with her feet, but have you seen what she can do with plain, square blankets? Can you picture her slinging pizza dough?

The men stand out in a rapid tumbling sequence that has them sailing through high wooden hoops — sometimes backward — and climbing, monkey-like, up vertical parallel padded poles, only to plunge down headfirst, clinging by their ankles.

The finale features two mixed couples swirling high above the stage in a sequence that is part-aerial act, part-ballet and a two-man, slow motion balancing routine in which they use only each other's body for support.

You may enter the theater with a "been there, seen that" attitude, but will likely experience something new and jaw dropping before you leave.