I always think that if we had heat like the past couple of weeks I’d never get anything done, between being overcome with tiredness, enjoying the sweet outdoors, or just not having the inclination to do anything remotely challenging. However, last weekend I was at the Street Performance World Championship in Dublin’s Merrion Square and I have finally edited the photos taken, whittled them down, and uploaded to Pix.ie

The weather was fantastic, the crowds were huge and the performers put on great shows. The festival/competition, now in its fourth year, was by all accounts extremely well organised – including getting the full benefit of the web through the blog, Bebo, Twitter, Facebook and a Pix.ie group for uploading photographs.

The majority of the performers were very funny (even if it did seem like some went to the same comedy school), many were very talented, some freakishly flexible, while others, in not necessarily having great talent, were brilliant entertainers.

Magic Brian, had plenty of laughs through his show as he was strapped in a straitjacket then tied in chains. With a final countdown from 1min 30sec after getting loose from the chains he escaped from the jacket with his assistants at the side.

One of which was Boston Phil who, unknown to Magic Brian, was chosen for the 2nd time in a row, this time however, his sitting position got the better of him and no sooner was he up than he was right back down again, on the poor kids below. They lived, but he did manage to get a joke in about the Red Sox being the better team over Brian’s home-town team of the Yankees.

Asher Treleavan juggled machetes on top of five circular containers – seems simple enough yet it was the little ginger kid he picked to help him who stole the show. Before getting to such a height, Asher did a little juggling from the ground, throwing them between his legs stating: “This is dangerous because I might cut my balls off.” Then came the boy’s response, repeated for those who didn’t hear it, “Not if you’re a girl ‘cos they have a nookie.”

For most performers, their show is all about the build up to a finale – plenty of filler, comedy and audience interaction made the likes of Mike Wood, who caught a cabbage thrown from a catapult on a spiked helmet. Odd, but a talent none-the-less.

The word “contortion” was flying about all weekend with Bendy Em, who fit herself tightly into a tiny perspex box balanced on a 7ft scaffolding rig and Alakazam who squeezed his body through a squash racket, tennis racket and toilet seat. Elasticity to the max.

One ‘act’ I was thoroughly impressed with is Titan the robot. Hilariously funny soundbites with great timing. Has to be seen to be believed; some video clips on the creators’ website.

My favourite performer of the weekend was most certainly That Man, from Norfolk, U.K. He combined many forms of juggling and great skill, completely engaging large audiences throughout the weekend, all without saying a word.

Not forgetting, of course, the Bubbles!

The winners were:

3rd Place: Bendy Em
2nd Place: Alakazam
1st Place: USA Breakdancers

Lots of videos from the competiiton on the official blog.
Writeup and photos on the Pix.ie Blog.
The photographs which have been included in the SPWC group on Pix.ie.

Tagged: Dublin, Photography, spwc | 2 comments »