Performance Art

Day 353: The grace and elegance exhibited by this stilt-walker at the Western Washington State Fair and her identically-costumed male companion was an utter delight to watch. Moving in slow-motion with exaggeratedly high steps, the pair towered over the crowds by four feet or more, often laying a leafy hand atop a passerby's head or stooping to tickle the ears of an awestruck child, seldom holding still for more than a second. Their arm motions were those of dancers, their facial expressions revealing a background in mime as they interacted not only with the audience but with each other; two flowers, swaying in a gentle breeze, heads nodding, leaves fluttering, bowing on slender stems. As performance art, this pair was for me the highlight of the Puyallup Fair, outshining any jug band, magic show or gymnast who might have been headlining on one of the various stages in the venue.