Street Performers

In parks and subways and on corners all around the city, street performers try to move their moving audience to dip into its pocket and show its appreciation. From fire eaters to break dancers to "living statues", they practice their craft for tourist and native alike, and manage to earn enough to pay the highest rents in America.

Some performers attract a considerable audience, if their outdoor arena can accommodate the crowd and their material is up to snuff. Others struggle on in lonely outposts, performing their hearts out as New Yorkers bustle by.

Wherever they set up their stage, these are the sturdiest troupers in New York, who manage to earn their living doing what they love.