LAS VEGAS W AS GREAT! I SPENT three nights there and met all the jugglers in the five shows I saw. I don't think I missed any juggling acts in town, though Fly By Night closed at the Tropicana before I arrived.

 

ALBERT LUCAS IS ONE OF THE stars of the Fire and Ice show at the Hacienda. After his introduction as the world's greatest ice skating juggler, Lucas skates on stage in front of the curtain and juggles seven rings. He keeps them going for close to 30 seconds (I saw his act twice one night - he does about 120 total throws) and then pulls them down over his head.

 

At this time the announcer introduces him by name, the curtain is raised and Lucas goes into a routine with four tennis rackets, doing pirouettes, shoulder throws, and a shower. Then he cascades five rackets, throwing one under his leg before finishing.

 

Something new in Lucas' act since I saw him a year ago is comedy. He now has a few humorous bits sprinkled throughout his eight-minute act, and occasionally talks to the audience. Brief routines with four scarves, and up to three ping-pong balls from his mouth are given a more humorous build-up than before.

 

Next, a three club routine is presented while skating around the small ice rink on stage. He says he is just now getting used to the size of the ice, which is quite a change from the huge arenas he worked for Ice Capades.

 

The club routine includes such tricks as three with one hand as he skates in a circle, and a pirouette with all three in the air, then a second pirouette (after catching two clubs) before the final catch.

 

He puts on a belt with three net pockets and juggles seven balls, catching one in a net, and continues with a five ball shower before catching another in a pocket. He then does a number of pocket catches with three balls, including pirouettes and three balls in one hand.

 

A combination trick follows. He spins beach balls on a mouthstick and his right hand while spinning rings on his right arm and leg and juggling three rings with the left hand. Skating all the while, of course! 

 

The finishing routine is three torches, culminating with continuous throws of the torches through his legs from front to back.

 

I mentioned to him that these between­the-leg tosses have become known to many jugglers as "Albert throws" and asked him what he called them. He was flattered (noting he certainly wasn't the first person to perform the trick), and said he had no name for the move although he used to call them "a pain in the  neck!"

 

LOS ARMANDOS ARE APPEARING at the Holiday Casino through at least March. This Brazilian husband and wife team juggles for just over seven minutes.

 

The act begins with the man juggling three rings in one hand while supporting his wife above his head with his other hand as she spins a ring on her arm. Next, they each juggle three clubs and quickly pass the six between them.

 

His three club routine is very fast and flashy, with a variety of tricks in rather quick succession. The trick I remember best is a half-pirouette, throwing the clubs with backcrosses immediately before the turn. He also did chops, Albert throws, and a kick-up of two clubs at once.

 

The pair did some fast take-aways with a hat steal. He then presented a routine with four clubs, including shoulder throws, back crosses, pirouettes, and a shower while running backward in a tight circle.

 

He did a five club cascade next, then his wife came forward with a sixth club.  I thought they would do some more passing, but was pleasantly surprised when he juggled the six all by himself! He kept them going for eight throws before catching them... not a long time, but I was certainly impressed.

 

Following this, he briefly juggled seven rings, then returned to the clubs, doing three of them as she stood on his head and also juggled three.

 

Throughout the act she performed various tumbling feats between the juggling routine. The final routine was performed with straw hats. He began by spinning them upside down on his finger, then sailed them out over the audience. When they returned, boomerang-like, he caught them under his legs forward or backward, or by jumping over his wife. He kept three and four hats going in boomerang fashion, and also did the three low and fast, putting them on his head as he caught them only to remove them quickly and toss them again.

 

REJEAN ST. JULES PERFORMS twice daily at Circus Circus. The time of his and all acts there changes daily, coming twenty minutes apart from 11 a.m. to midnight. It is best to ask someone when the act you want to see will be performing that day.

 

Rejean is married to Terry, star of the Flying Cavarettas, who is possibly the only woman in the world performing the triple somersault on the flying trapeze. St. Jules said he and she will be at Circus Circus until some time in July.

 

His act begins with a three ball routine reminiscent of Kris Kremo. He follows with five balls, both in the air and off the floor in a fast reverse bounce. Five rings are performed next, finishing with a pirouette while all five are in the air (catching them to much applause).

 

Five clubs had been placed on the stage before the act began, and at this point St. Jules kicks up four of them and performs a routine which includes shoulder throws and a shower. He follows this by juggling five clubs with triple spins.

 

A routine with three rings comes next. He catches each one over his head con­tinuously, but quickly removes it so the next can be thrown on. He juggles six rings, does a three club routine, and concludes with three torches. The act runs slightly more than nine minutes.

 

Also appearing at the Circus Circus is Yvonne Savage, who juggles on a six-foot unicycle. Her finale trick is to kick up from her foot to her head five cups and saucers in sequence while spinning a hula hoop around her waist. The stack is completed with the kickup of a spoon and sugar cube into the top cup.

 

HAVING LONG BEEN A PART OF the City Lights show at the Flamingo Hilton, Nino Frediani was scheduled to move to the Moulin Rouge show at the Las Vegas Hilton on March 14.  His act, which lasts about 12 minutes, is the longest of any of the jugglers currently in Las Vegas. He says he does only "about five minutes of juggling," though I believe it's actually more than that.

 

Frediani is billed as "the world's fastest juggler." He begins with three small balls, with tricks coming faster than I could legibly write them down. His routine with three large balls includes a lot of juggling, bouncing, and spinning.

 

While spinning a ball in each hand, he kicks a third up to sit spinning on top of one of the others, or will kick the third up to a continuous bounce on his head.