Meeting the Aquarêve Stiltwalkers

Lunchtime at the Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette did not mean a break in the entertainment—just a change in its form and location.

Musicians and singers perform on one of six stages, but there are also street performers that can be found at unexpected times and locations throughout the days.

When I was en route to the food vendors on two different days, I encountered members of the Aquarêve Stiltwalkers along Jefferson Street.

Coming face-to-stilt with one of these “walkers” as I rounded a corner resulted in my breaking stride and then reaching for my camera.

The reactions of both young and old were very similar; it was just that the smiles of the older folks were a little bigger as the stiltwalkers moved among the crowd.

The novelty of seeing people on stilts gave way to amazement during the second encounter with two members of this troupe.

The second member (metal stilts are visible) is behind the walker in white

The crowd was moved out of the intersection by the walker in black, so something out of the ordinary (as if stiltwalkers strolling among the crowd is “ordinary”) was anticipated.

One member of the crowd was asked to stand still while the walker in black cleared a path. What followed was a run-up to the standing gentleman and a leap over him.

Impressive. Landing on stilts.

But then this same walker cleared a wider path halfway down the block. The crowd became very quiet.

The walker became a stilt-runner. Even that was impressive.

A half-block run was followed by a flip!

Very impressive!

The Dragon Knights Aquarêve Stiltwalkers (Malabar/U.S./France). WOW!