The diabolo, or "Chinese yo-yo," is a child's game that Quidam brings into the realm of art. Four young Chinese performers each hold two sticks linked by a string, on which they slide, juggle and toss a musical wooden spool. The audience holds its breath as the four performers attempt to outdo each other in dexterity and ingenuity. This act won the Gold Medal at the 1995 Festival du cirque de demain in Paris.

As the acts progress, the Quidam's world becomes more fantastical, more chaotic, and more beautiful. After the German Wheel rolls off, the troupe returns to the stage running, leaping, dancing across it with the young girl, Zoë, taking in all she can. Her parents appear, still in oblivion, her father with his head pushed through the newspaper lost in the confusion. Performers traverse the stage in a chorus of Zoë look-alikes, teasing her and John alike, while the remainder of the troupe come on with varying sizes of drums - from small, tinny snare drums to the large, thundering taïko drums, now an essential part of any Cirque production.

Through this group come the four young girls carrying their Diabolos who perform a quartet of juggling by tossing them across the revolving stage, forming pyramids and seeming- impossible uses of the ropes and spinning tops. In one of the most beautiful uses of the stage, at the end of the act, the four girls spin their tops up ropes hanging from the ceiling of the tent, from which drop in synchronization streamers of white and blue.

Text written by T. Clay Buck, as published in the “Fascination! Newsletter”.