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photo by Robert Leith |
Page 4 January - February 1979
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ALBERT
LUCAS I
wish my father had been a juggler. If he had been, I wouldn't be an
English teacher with one year's experience. I would have been juggling
for
Let
me give you an example of what I mean. Let's turn to the case study
labeled "Albert Lucas". At the age of three, Albert's father
was training him to throw and catch one ball. At the age of three, I was
just learning to tie my shoelaces. Albert progressed rapidly, and was
doing five balls at five years of age. My greatest accomplishment at age
five was passing the "address and phone number" test in
kindergarten. (If the truth be known, I failed it the first
go-round.) By the ripe old age often, Albert was appearing at the
Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. I was just granted permission to walk the
dog without an escort.
On
a chilly Friday afternoon, I played hooky from work to learn these and
other fascinating (albeit discouraging and enviable) facts from Albert
himself, in an interview on the ice at Madison Square Garden, where the
Ice Capades show was Dennis
Soldati, Rob Leith and Rob Wennersten of Gemini Jugglers, and Albert's
delightful younger brother David. Albert
recounts the beginning of his juggling career: "At three - one
ball. When I was five, I was actually doing
five balls. I remember that, because there was a ball for every year.
When you see pictures of me you can see I'm really struggling to keep
them up
"Up
until Albert was nine," Mr. Moreira explained, "I never let
him see any other jugglers. I didn't want him, in the back of his mind,
to copy anybody's style. So the convention was the first time Albert saw
other jugglers." That was the '69 convention in Los Angeles, at
which Albert was awarded a prize for doing seven rings.
Mr.
Moreira told us the story behind Albert's career with the Ice Capades.
When Albert was appearing at the Tropicana, at age ten, the president of
the Ice Capades came backstage and invited Albert to audition for the
show. Mr. Moreira assured him that Albert was an excellent skater, and
that they would contact him as soon as they returned from a
well-deserved vacation. "Albert had never been on skates!" his
father laughed. But he learned quickly.
He
was offered the Ice Capades contract four weeks later.
"When
Albert was in the Tropicana in Las Vegas when he was ten years old, we
used to come in nights and I wouldn't let him touch a prop. I'd say
'Albert, no touching any props.' I'd set up the props, and they'd
announce his name and he'd run on and start his juggling act - and never
miss. You see, that proves that a lot of it is in the head. Sometimes
you have to warm up your hands; I can understand that. But to go through
every trick and everything like some jugglers do, it's because there's
an insecure
When
asked if he did any exercises to keep Albert
tapes his hands before working. out, to prevent bruises from the
constant friction of the props. He covers each finger with white
adhesive tape, from the tip to the second joint. As he was wrapping the
tape, we discussed his props. He uses Stu Raynolds fiberglass clubs. All
the balls, tennis rackets, beach balls, and other equipment he uses in
his act is purchased from the local department or sporting goods store.
The reason? Theft. Too many people want a souvenir to remember the Ice
Capades by, so it is necessary that Albert's props be easily
replaceable. Mr. Moreira makes all of Albert's rings from plywood. He
remarked that Albert "had been |
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photo by Robert Leith |
