Child Performers

There are a couple of kids who perform at the markets and a part of me admires their talent, and another part of me gets angry at their parents standing by watching their kid make an extra buck or two for them. Motives aside, they are fun to watch. My favorite is this boy who plays a large canvas covered drum in an ensemble of other percussionists and by the initial look of it, it really seems like he does not want to be there. He looks bored and irritated like he's saying in his mind, "but daaaaad, I want to go home and watch pokemon!" The bizarre thing is, he looks so nonchalant about what he's doing, but he's got an amazing talent with the drums. He swings around these drumsticks with his gangly limbs without a care in the world, like he could accidentally lose his grip and send one flying into the crowd, but he never ever loses his rhythm. Some parts he looks like he could have fallen over tripping on his own feet, but he didn't miss a beat. They were complicated rhythms too! It was a sight to see. It made me giggle uncontrollably.

The other girl is gorgeous and she does traditional dance. She is surrounded by flower petals on the ground as people pass by. Her makeup and hair is done like a little pageant girl, and her mom has got her finger on the CD player behind her. She's really talented and holds a smile and dances with the maturity of a person five times her age. I did see a little diva in her when I walked by and she shot her mom a piercing look and said something in Thai and her mom quickly obeyed and turned the music up. She turned back to the crowd with a lovely smile. Cute as a button, demanding as a child star.