Page 26 Fall 1988
Majka:
Do you think its possible to juggle more than 11 objects?
Ignatov:
I don't know. I've done only 11, but I suppose that it is
possible. It would be necessary to be able to juggle 10 very well.
Majka:
I'm very interested in knowing how jugglers meet with one another in
the
Ignatov:
In the
Right
now in the
There
are quite a number of younger jugglers who are doing interesting
things, but to this point none of them are doing more than eight
objects. "Actual" juggling begins from nine objects. That is
really "super." Eight is a ceiling which is very hard to
break through. That extra ring is somehow an indication of the fixed
limits of human possibility. It is still possible to do 10 in a
continuous and stable fashion. But 11 is a record on a par with any
Olympic world record. It is not possible for everyone to achieve this.
You can prepare all your life and still not be able to attain this
goal.
Majka:
How does a young juggler in the
Ignatov:
Most young jugglers attend circus school. Popovitch and Biljaur are
both from circus families. I, however, am not from a circus family at
all. My grandfather was an equestrian, but he wasn't a performer or
anything of that kind. There are two excellent teachers in the circus
schools - Violeta Kiss and Firs
Petrovitch Zemtsov, who was Biljaur's teacher. These are the two
teachers who really know. what juggling is all about and who know how
to teach.
At
the beginning of training the emphasis is primarily on numbers.
Several years ago there were jugglers like Petrovski. Now I represent
what might be called the middle generation of jugglers.
Majka:
What new directions are you working on in your act? What are your
interests?
Ignatov:
I very much regret that here in Unfortunately,
on this tour we were unable to work out
the musical accompaniment. I've been working on this for the last six
or seven years. I've developed a routine where the mood of the music
parallels that of the juggling routine and the tricks. There is a
contrast, in that some of the very fast routines are done to quite
slow-paced music so that each trick takes place on a new phrase of the
music.
Majka:
Have you had an opportunity to see a number of western jugglers?
Ignatov:
I have seen the routines of very many jugglers. I've seen Francis
Brunn, Rudi Schweitzer, Kris Kremo, and I've seen
a great deal that has interested me.
In
particular, I must say, Michael Moschen. He works with one transparent
ball and what he does is astonishing. I've also seen the films of
Francis Brunn in his youth and he was also amazing. Your jugglers here
in the West often work in cabarets rather than circuses. As a result
they often cannot work with large numbers of objects, but do some
technically amazing things with a comparatively small number of
objects.
This
also gives them more opportunities to express their acting skills and
abilities. If you are juggling nine objects little room remains for
character or acting. You have to, as they say in hockey, "chase
the puck." Western jugglers such as Brunn, Sweitzer and Kremo are
actors. They work at developing their rapport with the audience. In
the
There
is no one in the
For
me it is necessary to spend approximately an hour preparing myself
physically and psychologically for a performance. One
advantage of working in the
(Christopher
Majka, writer, biologist and juggler, throws objects in the air -
and sometimes catches them - in Halifax
,
|
Ignatov in Hartford, Conn., in 1977 (Photo copyright Roger Dollarhide) |