The clubs gravitated towards the floor where they were methodically rolled around their contemplative hosts.

 

Yla-Hokkola, the true sorceress of the piece, then entered dancing with a ribbon to the winding tune of Shepard's clarinet. When Gandini joined her with three balls, his body meandered around the objects, emulating the ribbon's mazy motion. Soon a lyrical six-ball duet developed as the balls were passed, placed and rolled between them so smoothly that they might be twin parts of a single organism. Meanwhile, the soundtrack text was repeated in other languages, giving the impression of an international train station in need of some crowd control. Still, the sound served a sort of linguistic music so that one could appreciate the aesthetic properties of the words themselves. Of course, one could just ignore it all and read a book, as Ben Richter decided to do in the middle of the stage while Yla-Hokkola completed her rhythmic club-swinging variation.

 

In one of the livelier segments, balls were juggled along a diagonal to the percussive clapping of the musicians, creating a Brazilian effect and complementing the capeolera-like choreography. Just when the chaotic formations appeared to cross the line into random improvisation, order popped up as hands appeared at exactly the right moments for unassuming catches. Gandini confirmed the difficulty of maintaining such precise interactions. "In practice, if one person is one count off, it throws the counting off and there's no chance of ending it together," he said.

 

After this festive interlude, the piece took a scientific turn as Yla-Hokkola manipulated a water-filled club and Day passed an increasing array of props around his head and shoulders in one of those titillating moments which eludes description. Day brings an interest in mathematics to the work and the troupe is clearly as concerned with the scientific aspects of juggling as the artistic.

 

Gandini brought the piece to a smashing conclusion by juggling five clay balls and allowing them to shatter into smithereens on the floor. In the full show, this action is accompanied by a reading of Beckett text, and the props which initiated the action bring about their own downfall as they "drop into the darkness."

 

By this time the jugglers have melded with the props to such an extent that this forceful separation seems the only way to end the manipulation. The Gandini's make few unintentional drops (although when they do it contributes to the sense of randomness and chance) because they inhabit the piece so securely, living in it rather than just performing it. After such a sustained suspension of matter and energy, dropping becomes a necessary release and provides a fitting framework for the show's themes.

 

After the demonstration at Leeds, Gandini and Yla­Hokkola gave workshops, and jugglers had a chance to verify that it is indeed as difficult as it looks to learn these techniques. Their work provided a refreshingly serious diversion at a gathering which tends to gravitate toward hilarity, as was exemplified at the midnight cabaret in a good-natured parody entitled "Yawn Gandini Project."                                     .

 

This indicated that, while the Gandinis' exploration of dance technique has served them well in the physical sense, some of the elements which make modern dance seem remote and inaccessible to many occur in the Gandini presentation, though enlivened by the presence of juggling.

 

While some come away having experienced illusion rather than magic, it must be kept in mind that whenever someone tries to make advances in the field their work is criticized more harshly than even the most generic routine. Once ideals are brought into the act, controversy arises - much easier to leave them in the trunk and perform a flashy presentation along with the rest.

 

In challenging the usual concept of "stage presence," the Gandinis are present in a different, perhaps deeper, way. The essence of personality reveals itself through action rather than acting. Even those left unmoved by the performance were inspired by the commitment and dedication such an endeavor requires, and the art of juggling will undoubtedly benefit as the Gandini Project continues to tour Europe and to move into unexplored spaces.

 

Cindy Marvell is a New York-based performer and former IJA Seniors Champion now performing with Darn, Good and Funny in Oklahoma.