Mafalda Thomas-Bouzy, a former Coatesville resident who is a cultural dancer and storyteller better known as “Sistah Mafalda,” has been stilt walking and dancing throughout the region for over two decades, writes Stephanie Farr for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Thomas-Bouzy was in Tobago on a cultural exchange studying folk dance when she met a stilt walker. He demonstrated his craft and prompted her to try it herself. 

“My heart and soul was just willing and excited,” she said. “I walked like I do with my own two legs on my first try.” 

She immediately fell in love with stilt walking. 

“It was like being on the top of a mountain,” she said. 

She brought a pair of stilts with her when she returned to Philadelphia 22 years ago. The 59-year-old has since performed on streets and runways, as well as weddings. She also teaches children to stilt walk so they can become moko jumbies, as stilt walkers are known in the West Indies. 

“In concrete jungles, kids need a way to look down the road and see a brighter future, and stilts can do that,” she said. 

Read more about Sistah Mafalda in The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

_____