Southbank Street Performers

On a sunny weekend I went down to Southbank in London, where street performers lined the bank of the Thames. There were large circles of crowds gathered round numerous acts, which you couldn't help but stop to watch. The different acts included break-dancers, entertainers from Ghana, a contortionist, living statues and guitar players.

Each set of entertainers impressed and got their crowd smiling, clapping and cheering. The atmosphere was infectious and a communal feel good factor, which is something you don't often get in London.

Some of the performers there purely make their living off the coins and pennies collected at the end of their show, like the unusual three-piece from Ghana. Their act consisted of an extremely, wierdly flexible, small man getting into some odd positions and pulling some gymnastic-style moves. Another man balanced, tossed and caught a football on a small horizontal stick and ran around spinning a bicycle wheel from his mouth. The last member was spinning huge metallic bowls on top of an umbrella, which was on top of knife from his mouth. He then went under what seemed to be a virtually impossible, ridiculously low limbo. Most elements of their act were bizarrely entertaining and funny. I was impressed with their creativity, especially in their use of low-budget props.

The other set of performers I really enjoyed and was extremely impressed by, was the group of breakdancers. The whole crowd utterly gripped by their talented moves, which were accompanied by some well chosen dance tracks. Below is a video clip showing the best bits:

I just loved the summery and european ambiance of the day. It reminded me of various holidays around europe which felt much more relaxed, friendly and a sense of community... which I feel is often lacking, especially in London.

adding pics shortly... but here are some videos: