Stilt Walkers
Busker Central

Stilt walkers are heads above the rest. From ancient times, stiltwalkers have enthralled us with their smooth moves and amazing feats. They are mostly clowns with bright orange hair and a big red nose, red-striped pants and huge funny shoes. By twirling, dancing, extending, and running, these acrobats are able to perform quite incredible displays of agility. Some are mimes, some are comedians, some are musicians, some are crazy. The beauty of this ancient dance is that literally anything goes.

In the Chinese book "Leizi", there was a man named Lanzi in the state of Song who entertained the first Song emperor with his stilts. Traced back to the 7th century B.C., Lanzi performed by walking and running with two wooden poles taller than himself attached to his lower legs. This ancient performance employs two lengths of wooden sticks over three meters long. It came to be known as "tied-on long feet" usually performed today at holiday folk festivals. Stiltwalkers in colorful ceremonial garb portray legendary folk characters of China.




Stilt Walkers Gallery