Street performing sensation Aidan Orange has busked his way to Singapore, TV screens and beyond, but now he’s back home to bring his jaw-dropping act to next week’s Scotiabank BuskerFest.
Let’s get this straight. You juggle while pulling yourself through a tennis racket and balancing a running lawnmower on your chin. How do you even come up with something like that?
All of those particular things I learned after becoming a professional entertainer. I started out as a juggler, and I found that my tricks weren’t really that exciting or unique so I started doing more and more bizarre things just to have that unique element.
How long does a stunt like that take to perfect?
It all depends. Specific things are harder than others. For example, I do a trick now where I balance a large object on my chin while I juggle three flaming torches. That trick took me at least three years. Generally, buskers will do a finale that’s really difficult because that way they have put in the time to learn something so you have a great, spectacular, unique finale trick like that.
There’s got to be a lot of danger involved. Any accidents of note?
The worst accident I had was a few years ago when I was doing a trick that I no longer do. I would fit my body through a squash racket, but I would do it while I was balanced on a Rolla Bolla, which was also balanced on top of a small stage and at the end of that trick, I’d have to do a one-foot balance to get my feet out of the racket. I fell off, and I was pretty shaken up about it.
Were you the kind of kid whose mom had to take Valium, or was she cool with your hobbies?
When I was a kid I didn’t really do anything too crazy. I started juggling when I was 18 and that was also the year I learned how to eat and breathe fire, so that was the first really dangerous thing that I did. I don’t think my mom was too super happy about it at the time, but I guess I was old enough at that point that it wasn’t completely reckless.
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5 minutes with: Aidan Orange
Contributed
Look for Aidan Orange and his levitating lawnmower at the Scotiabank BuskerFest, running Aug. 26–29 around St. Lawrence Market. For schedules and more, go to www.torontobuskerfest.com
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