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.. The American Dream, Scott Meltzer and John Park, are playing the "corndog circuit" - county and state fairs throughout the southwest. While admitting the trick is hacknied, Park says the highlight of the act is still when Meltzer rides a unicycle, eats an apple, then catches the core on a knife blade. Park himself is struggling with a new trick, the kickup of cups and saucers to his head. After a year's practice, he's now building a three-story stack. Meltzer is also serving as entertainment director at San Francisco's Pier 39.

.. Ex-Marine Eddie Dominguez dragged a big prop trunk onto the convention floor and began juggling bright orange traffic cones. He said the trunk was only one of six which are each associated with different clown characters he performs. The most juggling-active one, Obonito, is an auguste clown who does hula hoops, balls, clubs and teaches stage combat with rubber swords. Dominguez said juggling and gaming helped him keep his mind off of cancer that afflicted him several years ago. In remission now for three years, he performs full-time in the Los Angeles area, mostly for children.

.. Neil Stammer, a.k.a. Andrew Allen, is still based in Berlin, but says he's changing his act and will be juggling to the blues. He was one of the acts on the bill when the new Quartier variety club opened in Berlin recently, and appeared there through the end of October. He then had an engagement in Dusseldorf. Besides performing, Allen spends a lot of time writing and adding new languages to his broad international vocabulary.

.. Nina Cheney and Jacob Mills, a husband and wife comedy team from Wisconsin, have been selected for the second straight year by Arts Midwest for inclusion in the Performing Arts Touring Program. Cheny & Mills have performed together since 1981 in a show called "Human Cartoons and Juggling Theatricks" that includes one-line zingers, tricky club passing routines, flaming torches and hat manipulation.

... Joe Buhler stars along with Paul Magid and Howard Patterson of the Flying Karamazov Brothers in a Public Broadcasting System "Newton's Apple" show this fall about juggling. Buhler, a math professor at Reed College in Portland, Ore., said the show is "fun with science and juggling - but it's more juggling than science."

.. Tony Duncan and his partner,Jaki Reis, are doing corporate and night club shows of up to an hour in length in New York City. The couple has performed together for a year, following Duncan's tour last year with Sugar Babies. He says the routine includes a lot of verbal and situational comedy, along with audience participation. The show includes plenty of juggling, ping pong ball spitting, a ball routine choreographed to music, and Duncan's sword swallowing.

.. Volleybird was one of the sports included in this year's Bud Light Summer Ocean Fest, a sports festival held at ten sites in California. Promoter Scot Morris has devised rules for the traditional Brazilian hand-and-birdie game to suit American audiences. His rules include two players on each side defending a narrow court and separated from their opponents by two four foot nets set several feet apart. He says the new setup permits more volleys and court action.

.. Seniors Championship competitor Barry John performed a neat balance of three water glasses on a tray on a pole on his chin. Still balancing the ensemble, he did a floor rolls, rode a unicycle and did back crosses with three clubs. John, originally from Nashville, Tenn., has been performing comedy juggling full-time for four years, mostly on Royal Viking cruise ships. He left the L.A. convention for a cruise job around Europe and the Soviet Union. But he says he'd like to supplement that regular work with some street performing, "because that's the best way to develop new material. You don't get better on ships doing three shows in two weeks!"

.. The Jugglers For Peace were telling people at the festival about their trip last August to Cuba, where they were the first non-Communist group invited to perform in the International Cuban Circus Festival. They have been invited to return in 1991, and are also trying to organize a trip to the Soviet Union. Those interested should contact Jeff Streiffer; San Francisco CA. He will also be glad to send you a 30minute video of the group's 1988 Nicaragua tour for a small rental fee.