Being unnaturally smart gets you into college, being unnaturally fast gets you into the Olympics, but being unnaturally flexible usually gets you the midnight show behind a thick sheet of Plexiglas. Or, better still, a place in a troupe such as the Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats. It's a lot of balance, a lot of contortion and a bit of kung fu. It's the Way of the Pretzel. It's the Eastern answer to the West's insistence on making bears balance on balls, which , I mean, really. Come on. These plate-spinning, gravity-defying acrobats come to the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 10 a.m. ($10) and 7 p.m. ($30). 2880 Mountain Road. Call 261-ARTS or visit www.artsglenallen.com.