Page 6 June 1984
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YOUR LETTERS
JUST
WHEN PUTTING ON AN entertaining performance (in the U.S. Nationals)
meant you might win a prize, the IJA leaders stepped in and turned the
tables. I am referring to the new judging system that weighs technical
skills more heavily than performance.
First
of all, it is no secret that technical skill in the IJA means: can you
do the hard (same) tricks with clubs, rings, and balls that we see
year after year? Since there will be no need to entertain when
technical skill is stressed, I think the new judging system should be
called "don't smile, just juggle."
My
second reason for concern is that artists (and I've always considered
my juggling an art) rely on their own imagination and taste when they
work. To set more weight on technical skill is, in my view, to rip the
human heart out of juggling as an art, and replace it with a robot
heart, programmed to beat the same way forever.
Perhaps
a new competition could be set up called "Jugglers as
Entertainers." Performance points would be stressed of
course, and perhaps even the crowd could vote on the winner (by secret
ballot).
The
IJA competitions are fast becoming numbers juggling contests, and now
even the U.S. Nationals is heading that way. I'm appalled and
disappointed.
If
you feel as I do about the new judging, let's band together in July
and relieve these
leaders of office. Dale
Jones I
THINK THAT JUGGLER'S WORLD should have a story on the increasing
popularity of Hacky Sack. I personally know of at least 25 avid
"sack kickers" in my town and the D.C. area. Every Friday
without fail there is a group of people standing around at D.C. Jugglers
kicking the sack. There is even a National Hacky Sack Association for
those so interested! EVERYONE
BASICALLY ONLY juggles with balls, clubs, and rings. Here are some
different objects that can be juggled or manipulated:
HAT,
GLOVES, CANE: Come on stage with a hat and gloves on, twirling a cane.
Do a routine using the cane, balancing it on different parts of your
body. Then take the gloves off and roll them into a ball. Juggle with
the ball of gloves, the cane, and the hat.
CLAY
BALL TRICK: Juggle a ball of clay and two lacrosse balls. As you are
juggling, bounce one lacrosse ball on the
MOON
JUGGLING: Fly to the moon and juggle. With the lower gravitational pull
you could juggle 82112 balls!
APPLE,
FORK, NAPKIN: As you are juggling a fork, napkin, and an apple, bring
the apple to your mouth with one of your hands and take a bite of it.
When you have eaten the whole apple, use the napkin to wipe your mouth
as you are juggling. To finish, throw the apple into the air, and catch
it on tile points of the fork.
ICE
CUBES: Juggle ice cubes until they melt. This is not very exciting for
the audience, however.
DRUM:
Bounce balls off a drum head, either from directly above, or at an angle
toward you.
DRUM
STICKS: Stand over a drum and juggle three drum sticks. As you juggle,
strike the drum with the sticks. You can do this solid with each hand.
To change the beat, throw doubles or triples as you hit the drum.
TRUMPET:
Juggle a trumpet and two clubs. Balance the trumpet with the mouthpiece
on your lips. As it is balanced, play a tune.
BANJOS:
Juggle banjos. To make this more difficult, pick a tune as you juggle.
Have each banjo tuned to a different note. As the correct note comes
around, pick the strings! Kit
Summers A
RECENT ARTICLE IN THE
My
apologies to both Stuart Raynolds and Allen Jacobs for any confusion
this may have caused. Todd
Smith |