Vegas Street Performer On Failing Act: “You’re The Problem”

Las Vegas street performer and Dance Dance Revolution legend Bryce Clutterbuck says calls for his removal from Las Vegas Boulevard a witch hunt, “I’m horrified and humiliated. It’s disappointing that so many people lack a taste for the fine arts. I thought this was a progressive city.” Clutterbuck says that his style of dance is therapeutic for fans, but if “losers” don’t get it he could care less. “I was born to do this.”

Officials with the City of Las Vegas issued Clutterbuck and his dance partner Billy Tickle a notice to “tone it down” on Friday, something he says impacts his ability to tell his story and build a loyal fanbase on the Vegas strip.

“Look, he’s jumping around, making kung fu noises, pretending to grind pedestrians walking by, there’s really no order to it,” deputy sheriff Tommy Grossweiner says. “Everyone here, they’ve got a thing. Play a tune, do a ditty, charge for photos, and everyone moves on. This is different.”

The Vegas street performer code for buskers

Vegas performers, also known as buskers, enter the City’s daily lottery for a chance to secure a “performance zone,” a six-foot-diameter space painted to look like an oversized poker chip. Vegas officials say they have worked hard to develop a family-friendly vacation experience that Clutterbuck and Tickle have shown zero regard for.

“It’s just too much,” City spokesperson Cindy Ballbuster says, “we’ve tried to create a fair system that respects the rights of performers and maintains the safe and kid-friendly space that Vegas is known for.”

At the same time, Vegas performers have no idea who they’ll be next to day-to-day, which has put Clutterbuck up against buskers who say they’ve had enough.

“Look, I’m scattin’ and this cat is practicing karate to the Star Wars soundtrack, everyone’s trying to get away from him, I got a mortgage to pay,” says veteran busker Miles “JiveKat” Jones.

Clutterbuck says the “performance zones” are too restrictive for his self-expressive form of contemporary ballet.

“The City of Las Vegas doesn’t understand me, I’m telling my story. It’s beautiful, it’s endearing…it’s just me. It’s my odyssey. People want to know, ‘who is Bryce?’ I’m trying to give them perspective,” Clutterbuck says.

However, local police say his act is over-the-top and disturbing.

“The problem is,” deputy Grossweiner says, “he won’t stay in his performance area. If someone doesn’t tip him, he just follows them around, jumping around like a ballerina and punching the air. Folks don’t feel safe.”

Omar Shaartz, a Vermont rancher and balletomane says he stopped because he thought the movement was interesting but regretted it immediately. “I was curious, but the moment we made eye contact I knew I had a problem. Next thing you know he’s following me on the street, trying to make eye contact, circling me, twerking and kicking in my direction. I threw my wallet at him to make him go away but he gave it back to me and kept following.”

Clutterbuck says he doesn’t have to stay in his performance area unless he’s working and he doesn’t accept compensation from that point forward.

“The minute I leave that circle I stop accepting tips. At that point, it’s freedom of speech. I’m not working. And I don’t do it for the money. My fans and I form a bond. If I feel like their spirit is receptive to my energy, our journeys become one; it’s important they know me, I owe them that much,” Bryce says.

Clutterbuck had a limited run in Hollywood as a stunt double for Pedro Pascal’s Red Viper in Game of Thrones before meeting his mentor in Juarez.

“Hombre de Juarez changed my life. Here’s a guy who doesn’t care if he owes child support, what the world wants from him, he just refuses to conform. So I made a promise to be true to myself. And if other buskers and morons in the audience don’t get it, hey, ‘you’re the problem, this is my destiny.'”

Update: After the original run of this story, Clutterbuck was banned from the lottery system but maintains he will carry on for his fans. If you’d like to experience Bryce’s life through interpretive dance and karate, you can find him roving restrooms at Carmines and Hell’s Kitchen.