Saturday, September 10, 2011

Street shows

This is something that I really enjoyed throughout my travel in Europe.
Each place has its own style of entertaining people.
Its just a pleasure to simply wait on the side-lines and watch them perform. Some of them are so excellent that one can imagine the practice they must have gone through to perform so well. It’s a pity that I could not capture more of these performers.


When the hat is passed around your hand automatically goes to the wallet to contribute something. And talking of the hat, sometimes its not the hat, but then imagination runs wild in such cases. . . . . . . . . .


There is the Houdini act,


the silent statue act (and this comes in various forms and styles and attires)





The musicians (single or as a group)





In Amsterdam, after the Gay Pride Parade, there were impromptu dances held on the street. Passers-by just join in for a minute or two, dance to their heart’s content, and carry on walking. There was a young lady who was cycling down, she stopped and joined in (meanwhile a good Samaritan took her cycle from her and carefully parked it on the side) After a few minutes of hilarious fun and laughter and shaking the leg, she slowly melted away, took her cycle and pedaled off. (I could capture some of it on my video)

I realized that the music that they were dancing to, came from a house on the first floor. Probably there was a party there and they were kind enough to turn one speaker facing the street so that passers by could join. Also observed that as soon as it was 7pm the music was put off (maybe in line with the local law)

I noticed this young boy with the placard Free Hugs and was surprised that there were very few takers, considering the fact that there were so many tourists milling around.
I tried to make up for it by giving him some hugs before and after clicking his pictures.

There were other shows that we saw like the Moulin Rouge show and will write about it separately, but don’t expect any pictures of the show as photography is strictly forbidden .

I will be writing on the Gay Pride Parade too later as there is lots of footage that has to be processed.
Enjoy the video . . . .. . the tunes are catchy  (the last pull out shot is from the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris)




22 comments:

hamaarethoughts.com said...

lovely..I love the free hugs..Its in New York too By GIRLS,..
the shows on the road are very inviting..and its fun..I have seen couple of them..
Las Vegas has a lot of stuff to catch on road side or streets..
these are the real performers..the people who look like statue and freeze,,for hours..hats off to them..

Beth said...

What a great collection of street shows. They're a lot of fun!

Indrani said...

Great scenes from your trip.

Renu said...

you have captured them well..these performers also add a charm to tourists visiting Europe.

The Classic Honeymooners said...

loved it and i really wish if i can visit this place soon!!!!

deeps said...

thats a colorful collection...
the best among the lot is, (of course) the guy with free hugs placard :))

My Inspired Reality said...

I really enjoyed that, very nice shots:) Surprised that not too many people wanted free hugs, but then we, as a society, are a little cautious about hugging strangers, aren't we?:)

Connie said...

Wow, you really did come across a lot of street performers. There is a wide variety of them too. I enjoyed the pictures. It must have been fun to watch them.

Jose Paul said...

Thanks for sharing the great pics. Enjoyed watching the street performers. Keep going.

Jose Paul

jacinta said...

Enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed the shows there .Wish we see more of the Free Hugs!!like that both of you are game for it all too .

S.. Diva said...

tagged you

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hello,

Walking around the roads and streets in Europe should be very interesting and exciting. Full of fun and thrills. Lovely photos.

Best wishes,
Joseph

DeniseinVA said...

Great photos and a great video, so enjoyable, thank you! Street shows are always so much fun to watch.

Sovina said...

thanks for visiting..I do want to go to Europe some day and these pictures are wanting me do so more now!

And, I agree..Tying saree is really an art and skill both, though honestly I myself have to muster it..

http://weddingonthecards.blogspot.com/

P.N. Subramanian said...

Apparently they are creative people. Thoroughly enjoyed your post. Thanks.

Rekha said...

Enjoyable pictures...you have captured a slice of life out here...as for the free hugs, maybe Europeans are not into hugs like us.

Haddock said...

@ Harman
Yes did see two girls too at another place (for free hugs, but again no takers there !!)
Oh yes ther are the master craftsmen (with little resource)
@ Beth
Thanks Beth, and it was fun
@ Indrani
More to come
@ Renu
Thanks Renu. Yes like some one said, the street shows too have some class.
@ Shadow of my Life
May your wish come true.
@ Deeps
I had a tough time eliminating other pics which were also good.
@ Kala
Yes the free hugs thing puzzled me too.
@ Daisy
I still feel I could have captured more as there was a lot of more
@ Jose Paul
Yes lining up more (and there are lots)
@ jacinta
Yes Free hugs were limited. We hope to make a comeback visit again and explore more.
@ Sneo
Thanks for the tag
@ Joseph Pulikotil
It was exciting (we were sacrificing on our sleep to see more)
@Denise
Thanks Denise. It was fun and I wonder how people "give it a miss"
@ Sovina
You will and should make that trip (mark my word, its worth it)
As for the Saree thing, I think it comes with practice.
@ P N Subramanian
Definitely creative. They can feel the pulse of the audience and perform accordingly.
@ Rekha
Good to know you enjoyed.
You may have a point there regarding Europeans

Susan Kane said...

What a trip you had! So many colorful people and events surrounded you!

Shivani Singh said...

Enjoyed every single one...felt like i am there too, wide-eyed and clapping with super enthu...
Also feel bad that i missed out the show from the top of Arc de Triomphe. We (my husband and me) were there too this Jan-Feb and although we caught the musicians on the subways we missed this/many like this act. Simply because we didn't know.
Thanks for this piece of information...shall remember to pass it around.
Enjoyed the music specially the concluding part which took me down memory lane...listening to 'Come September' on 45 r.p.m.
And thanks for all...the pics...ur conversation...for passing the happiness around...inviting me to to this happiness and last but not the least for stopping by on my blog and saying HELLO that not only sounded unique but also very warm.
Three cheers!!

Haddock said...

@ Susan Kane
Yes tried to make the most of it and trying to compile as much as possible so that others can read and enjoy.
@ Shivani
Good to know that you enjoyed it. That is the general idea :-)
Frankly speaking we did not go up the Eifel (huge line) so decided on the Ac De Triumph.
It was an equally good view.
Getting the performers is just bit of luck, so I hade my eyes peeled for anything like that. As for the music, that is the toughest part for me. Getting the right music for the video that I make. By the way Come Sept was my fav (from the time I was in fifth std)
And the old jive is the best form of dance I like.
If you like things about nature and birds, then there one apt post for you. See "Choti Chidiya" in Aug 2010

Kalyan said...

simply beautifully captured shots...lovely!

Jack said...

Quite interesting journey! Loved reading your post. It's beautiful, and definitely worth it if you visit this place. It would be much easier with a car than on public transport though.
Route perfect review