Seeing an eight-foot-tall unicycle isn’t a daily occurrence for me. Being in an elevator with an eight-foot-tall unicycle and its rider certainly was a first for me yesterday.
But when buskers are in town, such encounters are to be expected.
The buskers? In the simplest definition, buskers are street performers. But they bring much more to town than the amateur shows at Mallory Square in Key West.
Each year, the World Buskers Festival descends upon Christchurch for 11 days, bringing national and international entertainers to the city streets around Cathedral Square, Victoria Square, and the Arts Centre. Save a few shows, the performances are free except for the highly sought-after donations to buckets and hats.
Straightjackets, swords (to swallow!), and pogo sticks abound in solo, duo, and group performances throughout the day. Slackwire Sam, who traveled from Vermont to perform, juggled flaming batons while riding his unicycle across a slack-rope.
However no one I’ve watched competes with FUSE Circus. The five Kiwis (New Zealanders) take to an aerial performance stage to swing high above the crowd on trapezes, flip from bar to bar, and twist on aerial fabrics. The audience gasped every time a group member went airborne across the stage outstretched toward another member’s hands.
FUSE Circus’ human balancing acts likewise garnered audible compliments from the crowd. I still am in awe remembering my favorite balancing stunt of the evening (pictured top left).
Pictured: FUSE Circus performing in Victoria Square on Tuesday, January 27.
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