Page 2 Winter 1988 - 89
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LETTERS Disturbing
Trend It
wasn't so long ago when someone discovered I was a juggler, the
reaction was one of surprise and delight. Now, however, the trend is
turning (as evidenced most lately by the "Reflections on Peace"
letter in the last issue). Instead of delight and surprise, I receive
a mix of caution and suspicion. I hear the same thing over and over.
Their last experience with a juggler left a bad taste in the mouth.
They all had some political or religious belief thrown at them in the
midst of what they thought was going to be a fun time.
Though
I would never even consider insulting my audience's integrity by
proselytizing any credo, I now bear the brunt of overcoming a general
negativity to juggling. Thanks a lot, folks.
Over
the years it is clear that most jugglers understand their relationship
with the audience. And keeping one's beliefs to oneself is at the
heart of this relationship.
Dennis Williamson - White
River Junction,
Performers'
Aches and Pains I
am a physical therapist working in the area of performance art medicine.
I was delighted to attend the IJA convention in Denver, where I
interviewed a number of you
about your performance injuries. Common problems seemed to be numbness
and tingling in the palm from catching clubs, tight shoulder and neck
muscles, knee injuries from pirouettes, low back pain from cigar boxes
and bruised tailbones from falling off unicycles.
Performers
should know the dangers and find the safest biomechanical advantage to
minimize their risk. I'm hoping to get feedback from more of you. We
can increase the safety of performance art! Carla
Madison, Jamaica Plain, MA
The
Inspiring Popovich Thanks
to a notice in Juggler's World about the Moscow Circus Tour '88,
I was fortunate enough to see Gregor Popovich's smooth-as-silk
performance. Seeing him in person has confirmed for me that he more than
deserves the praise heaped on him by Ignatov and the jugglers of
I
expected his magnificent and famous free-standing ladder routine to take
my breath away, but was surprised by his unique ball manipulations on
the floor. Popovich was hypnotically relaxed as he did sequential ball
kickups from three into seven, a five-up pirouette and a fluid six ball
shower. Coupled with a mind-blowing three-hour circus, soaring music and
lots of detente, this Soviet juggler was my inspiration for the year.
Thanks Gregor!
John Nations - |