Page 4 September 1982
U.S.
Nationals Grace,
youth and the pursuit of
eleventh place. . .
The
hat draw for starting positions in the U.S. Nationals led to Jon
Beckner finding himself in the middle of a championship sandwich.
Leading
up to his routine were competitors who ended up winning fourth, third
and first places. And after him came the second place winner,
nine-year old Anthony Gatto of Ellicott City, MD.
It
was a tough spot to be in, but Beckner filled it with some odd and
delicate three ball moves, along with his trademark back-of-the-neckacross-the-top-of-the-head-to-the-
forehead one ball roll tricks. He finished the routine with a neck
catch from a seven ball cascade, which alone would have won him
competitions in most gymnasiums across the country.
But
this was the IJA U.S. Nationals, and tremendous talent shared the
stage. Peter Davison, the grand prize winner, preceded Beckner on
stage and performed head rolls of equal difficulty, but faster and
more precisely.
Davison
juggled a finely choreographed act using up to five balls and five
clubs. Dressed to communicate the air of casual confidence and
frivolity he exudes, Davison's routine matched the music beat for
beat; the grace of his dance enhanced by the visual harmony and
counter play which he directed of his props.
One
of his tricks was bouncing five balls off the floor continually under
each leg. They were carried into the air non-stop to a cascade,
changed to a shower, and tossed continually with his right hand under
his right shoulder. He did four clubs with continuous shoulder throws,
then five clubs finishing with back crosses.
The
night before the U.S. Nationals, conventioneers watched a 30-minute,
16-mm movie of Bobby May brought from Cleveland by Alan Howard. During
competitions the next day, many were likening Davison's style to that
of May, the Gentleman Juggler. Davison admitted the similarity, and
said he first began practicing head rolls after Edward Jackman
described the move from a film of May.
That
was in 1976, when the two met at Davison's first-ever street show, at
the Los Angeles County Art Museum. A native of Santa Monica, CA, he
learned to juggle eight years ago in seventh grade after searching out
an instructional book on the subject in the library.
He
got tremendous help with the world beyond the three ball cascade from
Boy Foy, an ageing entertainer who taught juggling classes that
Davison took in 1975. "That's where I learned clubs, rings, the
unicycle and a lot of balance tricks," he said. "Boy Foy
also had a tremendous portfolio of pictures and articles of famous
jugglers that was very inspiring."
Davison
began performing magic and juggling with a school troupe, and then hit
the streets in Los Angeles. "I got another tremendous jolt of
inspiration meeting Ed Jackman, and learned about the IJA and monthly
Los Angeles juggling get-togethers from him," Davison said.
The
next jolt of inspiration carne in 1978, when he attended his first IJA
convention in Eugene, OR. He has since been to the Amherst, Fargo and
Santa Barbara gatherings, missing only Cleveland in 1981.
"I
did three competitions this year, and that was a bit much," he
explained. "It was really exhausting, and didn't allow me to
relax and see friends as much as I wanted because I was rehearsing and
thinking about my act. "
Davison's
retirement may be all that this year's second place finisher, Anthony
Gatto, needs to win first place next year. Everyone who witnessed
Gatto's performance in Cleveland last year or Santa Barbara this year
agrees that the IJA has never enrolled such a member. Instead of
entering the Juniors competition year, which he won last year, Gatto
took on the pros at this convention and beat all but Davison.
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![]() John Becker of Colorado Springs, CO caught in the middle of champions' sandwich. |
![]() Peter Davison (Photos R. Dollarhide) |