Busking is the art of street performing or street theatre. It is a style of performance unlike any other. A musician playing in the open air, tap dancers hoofing on a sidewalk. These are the images that first come to mind when you hear the term "busker". But the beauty of street theatre is that it can take on many guises. There are buskers who create temporary art on the pavement, knowing it will be trampled on after they are finished.

Buskers can be passionate dancers or interstellar mimes. There are jugglers, actors, comedians, magicians and musicians. Busking is a way of bringing the entertainment to the people. There is no form of theatre or art more diverse, more spontaneous or more accessible. Some performers start as buskers and move to other things. Some busk for the philosophical freedom it symbolizes. Most performers agree that there is nothing harder than busking but seldom is there anything more rewarding.

Busking is a style of performance that is difficult to describe before it has been experienced. A play takes its shape in writing and rehearsals and then is shown to an audience complete, but a street performance is a social event in which the spectators are often as active as the performers.

A good street performance draws its substance from the audience itself, reacting and improvising around the peculiarities of the group. No two performances are ever identical - spontaneity and improvisation take precedence over perfection. Buskers display an eclectic array of talent outdoors using the sidewalks, the parks and the street as their stage.

Although their is no admission fee or tickets to sell out, with good street theatre it is very definitely standing room only! And the only cost is an appreciative contribution to the performers hat at the end of the show.

~Definition provided by the Halifax International Busker Festival