Next, he balanced two intertwined hoops on his forehead, spun two others on one leg, and spun three on each arm - to much applause. Then he spun one hoop on each leg, balanced one on his forehead and juggled four. Can you imagine?!

 

He introduced a fifth hoop and spun them all on stage like tops, running to each to keep it spinning. Then he rolled the five on the ground at a slight angle so that they rolled in a circle around him. He did this in both a shower pattern and also in a cascade, rolling hoops behind him with each hand. He finished this routine by rolling the hoops, with an angled back­spin, to go around his prop stand and end up going inside it.

 

Carter then performed technical routines with three, four and five clubs. He did six club passing with a partner, and then they did synchronized routines using three clubs each. They passed seven clubs and concluded with an au­dience favorite, passing two chain saws and four clubs.

 

I asked Carter why he doesn't attend IJA festivals. He said, "If I went, all the jugglers would end up doing hoop rolling."  If you ever have a chance, though, go see Carter Brown perform. He does some uncommon and unusual tricks.

 

The second annual IJA Winterfest at The Showboat Hotel &Casino in Las Vegas was a terrific hit! More than 150 jugglers were already on hand when I arrived on January 4. There seemed to be something for everyone - tours, shopping, food, shows, nice weather, gambling - and even juggling! The Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, The Valley of Fire and Red Rock Canyon proved to be popular nearby attractions. Bowling happened at 2 a.m., the food is the cheapest on the planet, show prices are low, and rooms were only $22 a night for a room with two large beds - for one to one-hundred jugglers in a room!

 

Las Vegas has undergone quite a transformation in the last few years. Three new hotel/casinos - the $375 million Luxor, the $475 million Treasure Island, and the $1 billion MGM Grand - all opened last fall, fueling tremendous growth. There is a greater emphasis on family entertainment, which helped to attract 22 million visitors last year!

 

Some of the talented jugglers I saw at the Las Vegas festival were: Fritz Grobe, Corey Hoelker, Jeff Daymont, Jess Monroe, Jay Gilligan, Owen Morris, Jon Wee, Steve Hess,Jack Kalvan, Rick Rubinstein, Robert Nelson (old butterfly head), Laura Green, Henry Camus and Gaby Schmutz from Switzerland, Tim Furst, Charlie Brown, Peter McLaughlin (going by his new name "Peter Panic"), and Sean McKinney.

 

There was only one "scheduled" event all week - a beer party on the third night. The atmosphere was like European festivals, relaxed and unstructured. Of course, a juggling convention wouldn't be the same without a Renegade Midnight Show, and the Renegade performers in Las Vegas were very talented.

 

Every night jugglers got together to attend one of the many shows in town. The Qian Brothers were at Circus Circus; Nino Frediani was in "City Lights" at The Flamingo Hilton; Michael Goudeau was in his second year in "The Lance Burton Magic Show" at the Hacienda; Pat McGuire, Jean Besnard and Steve Ragatz were with "Cirque du Soleil" at Treasure Island Casino; Wally Eastwood was in "Splash" at the Riviera; and Kip Reynolds was also juggling at The Riviera.

 

It was good to see Michael Goudeau, whom I had not seen in a long time. In his show at the Hacienda he has a great, playful, funny character. He came on stage doing "musical candles," putting his hand above each of five candles and yelling a different pitch for each candle to create a tune. It was quite funny. Next, he talks about juggling balls and brings out three huge bean bag chairs which he juggles

 

He did some comedy with three machetes, including tricks like half pirouettes, backcrosses and chops. He ended by throwing the machetes off stage, but a stagehand entered with three machetes stuck through him ­ more comedy! Next Michael does comedy while eating the apple to the "Jaws" soundtrack, and he ended his show with a great comedy torch, bowling ball and chain saw routine.

 

Dick Franco, wife Carlene and daughter Noel came to the convention daily. Dick was putting together a food-oriented show at the Rio Casino that was scheduled to open February 11. Read about it elsewhere in this issue of Juggler's World! It's the first time in Vegas a juggling act has been so thoroughly intertwined throughout a show.

 

I also held one of my two-day "Juggling with Finesse Workshops" for 11 participants during the Las Vegas festival, helping them learn and advance in their juggling. Keeping the whole festival organized was the lovely and talented Ginny Rose.

 

From Las Vegas, I jumped on a plane (well, I walked on) and headed to San Diego, my old hometown, for a nice visit. I stopped by Balboa Park, where I have done hundreds of street shows - a good place for performing. I also stopped by the Federal Building Gym, where I put thousands of hours practicing. Boy, did that bring back memories (all good ones)!

 

David Kamatoy was in the park doing street shows while I was there. With his background in theater, David has developed a wonderful theatrical voice for his show. I saw him juggling three balls in a routine that included pirouettes with three thrown high, and a one-high double pirouette. He did three clubs and then went on to ball spinning, which included spinning a ball on a volunteer's finger, and a "triple" back roll with one ball spinning. He did a great devil-stick routine and ended the show by juggling a plunger, bowling ball, and a golf ball ­ while standing on a volunteer's shoulders! The show had some great comedy throughout.

 

From San Diego with 80 degree temperatures, it was back to my new home in Lennox Park, Penn., with 10 degree temperatures! I'm already looking forward to the 1994 juggling festival in Burlington, Vermont, where I'll present another two­day "Juggling with Finesse Workshop." It will help you develop many ideas for both your juggling and performing, so I hope to see you there!