The Big Toss-Up in a Roman arena. |
Page 8 Winter 1987-88
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Coming
of Age in Saintes Article
& photos by Bill Giduz, editor
It
was easy to imagine a Roman arena full of jugglers. But who could
have imagined the tremendous time, energy and enthusiasm of the
people of
In
effect, the four people calIing themselves L'Institut Francais de
Jonglage recruited 100 assistants who helped assure the 10th
European Juggling Convention would succeed like none before it.
Officially,
962 "friends of the juggling family" from all over the
world flew, rode trains, hitch-hiked, drove and even sailed Gust
right up the Charante River, 30 miles from the Atlantic, to Saintes.
They were greeted in the streets from the moment they arrived with 6-foot glowing orange posters welcoming them and all others for the festival ahead. The administration on site was efficient and courteous. Sign in and pay 100 francs at this table, go over to the tent for your room. Under the steaming circus tent a dozen town volunteers asked you if you wanted to stay in a hotel, a dormitory, a family's home, or perhaps you'd like to camp? The latter two options were free! More than 450 people ended up crowding the river-side campground. As you might imagine, the late-night carousing was wildest there.
Enter
the Halle Pierre Mendez
Prepare
to join the increasing throng inside, but you must show your ID badge
at the gate. You'll want to take this badge home as a momento - a
Gumby foam figurine juggling beads that was handmade by 10 members
of the Nantes Juggling Club and the Institut Francais de Jonglage.
Simply
curious visitors could watch the floor action from behind a perimeter
barrier. But you had to show Gumby to get inside it. Most jugglers
enjoyed mingling on the gym floor. Others sought out the cooler, less
crowded expanse of a park adjacent to the juggling hall. In between
the two was a swimming pool that proved to be a major afternoon
distraction during the hot afternoons of the Charante-Maritime
late-summer dog-days.
The
town of 30,000 provided a picturesque setting for a convention of
colorful people. Old stone buildings dating to the Middle Ages flanked
the Charante River. Outdoor cafes gave an ideal viewpoint for watching
the world roll by. Main street was draped by the foliage of platane
trees, a cool covering over the quarter-mile parade of jugglers who
marched from the juggling hall to the Roman arena for games Saturday
afternoon. |
|
The Big Toss-Up in a Roman arena. |
Kevin Brooking (above) and James Angelo lead a workshop in "accidents". |