Zazi Perfoming with Fire in Bangkok
We were connected to a community of Thai buskers even before we arrived in Bangkok. An American woman, Christy Lee, who belongs to a community of performers in California and who lives part of the year in Bangkok, heard that we were planning to film in Bangkok and created for us a Facebook page already complete with friends who juggled, ate fire, and break danced in the city. All we had to do was post our needs on “The Busking Project Comes to Bangkok” page in order to get responses from performers who were interested in participating in our documentary.
Break Dancer in Front of Lucky Bar, Bangkok
In Thailand we met performers and performer enthusiasts from Japan, France, Germany, and America. And almost everyone was clued into who the big names in the local performance community were. Oud, for example, was one of these head honchos. He was a small, soft-spoken man who had a sweet smile and a quiet disposition. But he was a big deal to most of the performers we met. He’d taught most of them while they’d been at the beginning of their careers, and had made most of the circus equipment they used. It was recommended to us right away that we meet with Oud for an interview.
Oud in Prasumen Park
Oud sat by the river on the edge of Prasumen Park, a popular practice space for local buskers, and answered our questions, juggling balls in hand. He was disappointed in Bangkok’s general support of street performance and told us that, like many of the other places we’d already visited, busking was seen as a form of begging in Bangkok. It was nearly impossible to make a living solely on street performance, which is why Oud had been teaching juggling and working for Spark Circus, a charity organization benefiting Burmese refugee children in Bangkok.
Spark Circus Website
Also notable in Bangkok was the number of women buskers. Tuki is a fire spinner and hoop dancer who combines physically demanding performances with motherhood. Only once did I see her, dressed in flashy fire show costume and makeup, slip into the shadows to feed her baby before a performance.
Tuki in Prasumen Park
Tuki’s mentor is a talented woman named Zazi. While we were in Bangkok, Zazi did a fire show in the small neighborhood where she’d grown up. She said she’d chosen the area because many of the people who came out to watch her perform were people she used to see everyday on her walk to school or to the park. As we stood in the streets with our cameras and tripods, children in pyjamas trickled out of their homes to see the show. Soon the street was full of fascinated onlookers clapping and gasping at Zazi’s tricks.
Tuki Performing in Bangkok
Many of the buskers we met in Bangkok performed together and individually. After a lot of time practising in Prasumen Park, dancers, fire spinners, and jugglers can be found performing on Kao San Road.