NEWS FROM EUROPE BY KARL-HEINZ ZIETHEN

 

THE FANTAST! CALBERT PETROVSKI - FIRST TIME IN GERMANY

 

For three weeks (October-November 1973) the Moscow State Circus Is guest performing In East Berlin. Four of the sixteen acts include juggling. There is one girl foot-Juggler named Svetlana Tarasevishe from Odessa; the comic juggler Vladimir Svlrldenkov, who juggles with one hat, stick and cigar, and Rudolf Isatulln, juggling on the rope and together with one girl with clubs and hoops. Albert Petrovski was the star of juggling In this program.

So I had the chance to meet with Albert Petrovski. He is 31 years old now and he started Juggling 10 years ago In the Leningrad Artist School. From 1963-66 he put the eleven-ring trick in his act, but after 3 years he had to take it out of his show, because he had problems with the sinews of his left arm. In this time he also Juggled with 6 sticks and 5 sticks with ball bouncing.

Albert Petrovski wanted me to see his eleven-ring trick. So we had a meeting on the 24th of October In the morning at the circus where he was practicing and (after seven years) he showed me the eleven-ring trick. So I took pictures of this and his other unbelievable tricks.

Albert began his practicing with four clubs while bouncing a ball on his head at the same time, then he let the ball fall Into his hand and continued Juggling with the four clubs and the ball. Then he Juggled with five clubs: under his leg and then he started throwing them behind his back continuously, and caught them from both sides. Petrovski told me that another Russian juggler, Eugene Belauer, finishes this trick by bringing the five clubs from behind his back to in front over his shoulders and continues juggling In the same tempo.

Then he did his 8-ring routine. He started with normal tempo, then he made pirouettes about 3-4 times and back to the beginning tempo. After this Albert juggled with 8, 9 and 10 rings while bouncing a ball on his head!  And he juggled 10 rings and balanced a short pole that holds a ball on the end.

At the end of his practicing he showed me his unbelievable 11­ring trick, from what he made two tours. His technique is different from Sergi Ignatov in this trick. Albert Petrovski juggles with 10 rings and takes the 11th out of his mouth. Sergi Ignatov Juggles with 8 rings and then takes three more from his hips and makes the 11-ring juggle. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Roger Dollarhide, who saw and photographed Sergi Ignatov's 11-ring juggle in New Haven on February 5, 1973 told this editor that Sergi Ignatov juggles with 9 rings and then takes 2 more from his hips to accomplish the 11-ring juggle---even so, their technique is different.]

In his performance Albert Petrovski Juggles with 3, 4 & 5 clubs. Then he does 7 rings, 8 with a ball bouncing on his head and after that he starts his plate spinning. When all the plates are turning he juggles with 10 rings and that is the finale of his act.