I remember taking another walk along other popular pedestrian streets in Barcelona- the Portal de l’Angel and La Rambla. There were a number of street performers and musicians along the stretch of these streets. In one alley, there was an opera singer taking advantage of the good acoustics of that specific spot. Further down, there was a guy playing the Spanish Guitar. A flamenco dancer. A clown. Bubblemakers.
But I was told that these performers had to audition to get a permit to show their art on the streets of Barcelona. The idea is, if you have no talent, or if your act is not original or interesting at best, you get no permit.
It was obvious that this was not the case in Nanjing Road. I got the feeling that anyone who wanted an audience can set up in one corner and do whatever they want, regardless of talent or lack thereof.
I started my walk in Nanjing Road East and just a few meters down, I saw a crowd and I checked out what caught their attention. It turned out there was a pair demonstrating some ballroom dance but the moves were almost unrecognizable. A little bit of Swing, a little bit of Cha-Cha, and a little bit of Boogie. But they had avid fans, gathered around in a small circle like it was the cast of So You Think You Can Dance.
On the other side of the road, you see China’s version of the Line Dance. And there was another group a block farther down. I saw a lady in corporate attire briskly walking who surprisingly veered from her direction and joined the group like it was an afterthought. It very well could be that all participants intended to be there at precisely 7 in the evening so they can dance. But it equally seemed so random too- people who are just walking by and compelled to join in a little bit of community activity, maybe, to make them less alienated from the rest of the world. And what better way to do this than join a group of strangers and dance.
But my favorite was the group of older folks, singing traditional Chinese song and revolutionary songs. There is one guy who sets up a flipchart showing handwritten lyrics of the songs, a speaker and a microphone. To me, this was throwback karaoke. And any one feeling a little bit nostalgic can join in the group singing. There is even a guy with a saxophone and a conductor-wanna-be. Oh, how fervent their singing was. That’s the best I can say.
And it was like this, different performances all the way down Nanjing Road. Performers would bring their portable audio sets, their thermoses with hot tea, their disposable cups and then they would set up along the street and perform all night long. I took a walk on one cold night in March 2013 but the minute I set foot on that road, I was thrown back to another era, another time, and I don’t even know what era it was.
