Session Obsession

When I told one of my friends that I was going to perform this summer on the street she said “its good that you are exploring other life styles.” It made me wonder, what people think of street performers. Are they beggars begging for money, business people bartering with their performance or artists bestowing their craft?

Check out this video I took while in Paris:

Would you consider these guys beggars, business people or artists?

Personally I don’t think anyone who is offering you something in return for another is a beggar.  I have seen quite a few street performers in my time and I’m here to tell ya, most of them have been quite talented.

I’m not sure people fully understand how much practice goes into a performance. To put it in perspective, I could literally spend hours, if not days, just learning one tune. I can’t even imagine how long it took that juggler to learn to juggle fire without hurting himself or that tight rope water who learned to ride a unicycle on a rope smaller than my pinky finger. To even imply that street performers are beggars I think is just plain silly.

Most performers I know, have spent hours, months and years learning how to do the very thing they love the most. The passion for their craft and the joy of sharing it with others is why they perform.  But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get paid for what they do.

So I ask you again are street performers begging, bartering or bestowing. What do you think?