Thursday, June 9, 2011

Most Amazing Street Performers


Ramana: The Man Who Levitated outside the White House


Ramana's repertoire includes "flying" up to 10 metres above ground, mind reading and other forms of Indian street trickery. A household name in his native Netherlands, Ramana has performed for Queen Beatrix and has been honoured in India with the Golden Cloth award, the highest cultural honour ever given to a westerner. On 2007, the dutch magician levitated in Times Square and in front of the White House as well.


Senmaru is a japanese street artist who performs the art of Japanese traditional juggling: the Daikagura. From a teacup balanced on top of a long pole, to other objects being spinned around on the top of his umbrella. The original purpose of Daikagura was to serve as a talisman for the people, chasing away evil on behalf of the gods of the shrines. Thus, Daikagura was originally a very sacred and serious performance.


Johan Lorbeer: Defies Gravity



German performing artist Johan Lorbeer became famous in the past few years because of his “Still-Life” Performances, which took place in the public area. His installations includes “Proletarian Mural” and “Tarzan”, which are famous in Germany. Several of these performances feature Lorbeer in an apparently impossible position.


With his still-life performances, this German artist seems to unhinge the laws of gravity. For hours on time, he remains, as a living work of art, in physically impossible positions. Elevated or reduced to the state of a sculpture, he interacts with the bewildered and irritated audience, whose appetite for communication rises as time goes by, often culminating in the wish to touch the artist in his superhuman, angelic appearance in order to participate in his abilities. The Secret? His arm is the supporting bar, and his real arm is hide inside his cloth.


Ho Eng Hui: Breaks Coconuts with his finger


Ho Eng Hui is 56-year-old Kung Fu king and street performer in Malaysia who uses his index finger to smash through the tough shells of coconuts. Ho broke his finger in 1993, but perservered to win an entry in the Malaysian Book of Records for breaking through 3 coconuts in just over a minute. On this video by Reuters (after the ads) he shows his skills.