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| Bidou can be seen here preparing for his great experiment. |
My favorite part of traveling is spending time with new and different people. There isn't a performer in the world that doesn't have an unusual story. In Belgium, I ran into a French balloon twister that seems to have taken his balloon art to new depths. One of his latest stunts brought his craft to an all-time low.
Bertrand Charlot, known as Bidou in the entertainment world, is a magician turned balloon artist that is constantly looking for new things to do with latex. He's succeded, big time. These pictures provide a view of Bidou's off the wall imagination.
Twleve meters below the surface of the China Sea, our adventurer can be seen testing the properties of balloons. "Inflating balloons under water is hard," Bidou declares. "Breathing has to be timed carefully, removing the regulator and placing a balloon in my mouth was a trick. "Staying on the sea floor was just as hard. The air in the balloon kept rising and I had to fight to stay down while twisting."
Despite these difficulties, Bidou wouldn't give up. He found himself not only twisting figures, but posing for the great photo oportunity of a lifetime. The truly amazing thing is the power of balloons. Even under water they have a way of drawing an audience. (Note the fish in the background.)
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| Even inflating the balloon proved to be a challenge. Not only did he have to work to stay on the bottom of the sea, but the balloon can be seen rising, as if trying to get away on its own. |
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| The first stages of a balloon dog can be seen. There seems to be such intense concentration going on here. |
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| You can see how proudly Bidou shows off his finished creation for the camera |
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| This last shot demonstrates once and for all why he chose to do this underwater. It was just for the halibut. (Or whatever it is watching him.) |