They were quite professional before and during the Public Show. Viktor and Anatoly climaxed a great routine and at the end the crowd was on its feet and would not let them leave the stage. It is the only time I have ever seen a juggling act give an encore performance.

 

After the show a small group of us went back to their room to celebrate and to drink the long-promised glass of vodka. Apparently it is a custom in Russia for friends and relatives to give gifts of food to people who will be traveling. I sat in amazement in this small dormitory room as a feast was spread before us. We started out with caviar on bread. Fruits, vegetables, butter... they had everything needed to make up for my lack of dinner. Also exceptional was the Russian coffee which pours thick out of a can. It reminds me of evaporated milk and tastes great.

 

We got to the vodka, and of course they gave me an extra large helping. With many toasts of international good will, and congratulating ourselves on a great show, it was down the glass in one swallow. Fortunately, I found out that one only has to do this with the first glass. You are allowed to sip the following glasses.

 

Sunday night the gym was closed but there was quite a party in the lobby. There in the middle were Viktor and Anatoly, passing clubs with anyone who could keep up. On Monday, Lee Hays, the organizer of the festival, drove us from Maastricht to Chalons-sur-Marne. As hunger rose we engaged in a different type of club passing. Some chocolate clubs had been made as prizes for the public games on Saturday and the leftovers became our rations for the trip.

 

On Tuesday afternoon the salle polyvalante at the circus school was hopping as Victor and Anatoly started practicing with the students. I had a chance to step back and notice all the talent in the room. IJA champion Jeff Mason was in one corner giving some tips and three ball variations to some of the students while Fred Garbo, temporarily deflated but still lively , was refining some diabolo techniques in another. In the center were Viktor and Anatoly working on five, six and seven club patterns. Certainly an inspiring way to start a year of study at a circus school.

 

Tuesday night Didier and Fabian, our own advanced passing team, performed their act for an appreciative Anatoly and Viktor, who then gave some pointers on how to juggle five clubs. As teachers they were extremely interested in the balance of the pattern. Standing directly in front of their students they would make sure that the clubs were crossing right in front of the nose. If something was out of balance they would instruct the juggler to slowly rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise for correction. Then standing directly to the side to see if all the clubs were in the same plane, they would make suggestions of either raising or lowering one hand.