For most of us, standing on our own two feet is quite enough of a challenge in the workaday world. But if you’re a member of the National Acrobats of China, which performed to an awed crowd Tuesday at the Maine Center for the Arts, then you not only stand on your own two feet, you stand on all the feet of your co-workers. You might also stand on their shoulders, their hands, their heads and possibly their stomachs. More than likely, you’ll also be balancing a flag, plate or bowl. Make that eight bowls. And don’t forget to smile.

More than 30 graduates of the National Fu Hsing Dramatic Arts Academy in Taipei make up this troupe, which is on a two-month tour of North America. Many of the performers began their careers as 10- and 11-year-old children, and all of them have achieved a breathless level of acrobatic mastery.

That’s exactly what it would take to climb up a 4-foot stand, on top of which was a small table, on top of which were four bottles, on top of which seven chairs were stacked one by one for an acrobat to terrify and astound the audience. His toes nearly touched the ceiling of the Maine Center stage. Luckily, his palms didn’t seem to be as sweaty as those of the rest of us watching him, fearing for his life and loving every minute of his audacity.

Although his act was by far the most intrepid, there were many opportunities to ooh and ahh during this two-hour extravaganza of human flexibility and strength set to the backdrop of techno music and punctuated by luscious costumes. When a woman can make the back of her head touch her rear end, or when 10 people ride one bike (and look like a flower in blossom) or when a man rests his abdomen atop of the sharpest prong of a trident to twirl in the air, then you know you are in the presence of wildly world-class performers.

But let’s say they really had something to prove about their athletic derring-do. They might jump through a hoop of fire and knives. To up the stakes, they wear a blindfold. For the National Acrobats of China, this is just another little jaunt with peril. You can only hope they’re not having a bad day, because this is not a career that offers too many second chances.

The National Acrobats of China remind us all of the power of the human body — much in the style of Canada’s Cirque Du Soleil. But the National Acrobats of China have a refreshing energy, and an approach to traditional arts that never slips into heavy drama. Also, the women in this troupe had balletic finesse, but they used brawn and were often the featured rather than supporting cast. But men and women alike: These are astonishing human beings with a rubbery sense of structure and a defying relationship to gravity.