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Some jugglers feel this way. .

To the editor

Last night I saw the Blue unit of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The program had only one picture of jugglers and it showed jugglers at the Clown College, not jugglers in the circus show.

The Program of Displays, or list of acts, never mentioned jugglers. However, the clown alley was featured five times, and many of their walk-arounds included juggling.

At the beginning of the show, a clown walked around juggling three torches. Later, two clowns walked together juggling three clubs between them. One ring featured three clowns in a club passing routine. Later, two clowns did a bit with doughnut-shaped rings, the size of auto tires, passing them back and forth. It was a good show, even though the lack of featured jugglers was disappointing.

To which the folks at Ringling's respond.. .

What?! No featured jugglers in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus this year?!

Look again, said Sydney Rawitscher, a spokesperson for the circus at its winter quarters in Florida. "Margarite Michel has a dynamic act during which she hangs by her hair and is lifted into the air juggling fire clubs," Rawitscher pointed out.

If Michel wasn't in the Ringling show you saw this year, you'll see her next year, because Ringling fields two complete shows appearing in each city on tour in alternating years.

Still, many juggling circus fans seem to take offense to the lack of an act featuring highly technical juggling on the solid ground of the center ring. For further explanation of the situation, JUGGLERS WORLD sought out Frosty Little, director of the Ringling Brothers clowns.

Little deferred discussion of the lack of a center ring juggler to say where else inside - and outside the show jugglers do appear. "The clowns do two juggling displays in the pre-show warm-up," he said. "We teach juggling in clown school, too, though it's emphasized as a vehicle for comedy bits more than as a technical skill because that's the job of clowns in the show. "

At the time of the interview, Bucky DuSell, one of 27 clowns in the Red unit, was juggling clubs, rings and cigar boxes in various gags. He pointed out that Ringling's Blue unit has presented a multiclown comedy juggling skit in a ring.

But if juggling can successfully play a minor part throughout the spectacle, why is it not presented at a more technically skilled level by a featured solo performer? Little provided an obvious explanation. .. We don' t have seal or bear acts every year, and it's the same with jugglers, " he said. He also asked

detractors to consider the following problem. "You just can't find a good act every year. There are a lot of good jugglers, but very few can present themselves well in a big arena."

Historically, though, Ringling has presented excellent jugglers. Francis Brunn made his American debut with RBB&B, and Lottie Brunn performed with it also. El Grand Picasso astounded audiences juggling live flying discs, and five ping-pong balls with his mouth. There was Fudi, and Ugo Garrito' in 1969, and the Charles Troupe juggled while walking around the ring on free-standing ladders.

Still unconvinced? Rawitscher invites any act that thinks it can make it in the center ring to come on down for an audition!