Page 27 Fall 1995
Among
the tricks Rastelli was performing included juggling nine rings with
another spinning
around his leg. He also bounced a ball on his head while balancing a
ball on a ball on a mouths tick while he jumped rope
Danville
said the two became pretty good friends in that time, and spent time
socializing at cafes and Tivoli Gardens. "He was a very
personable, friendly man," Danville said. The respect was
apparently mutual. When word made it through the European circus
grapevine that Danville was performing a running flip-flop
somersault to the top of a three-high shoulder stand, Rastelli made
a special trip from his engagement elsewhere in Germany
As
always, unscheduled and unannounced demonstrations of skill by some
of the top jugglers broke out in the hall occasionally and attracted
huge crowds. Jian Hua Qian showed astounding balance tricks with a
wine bottle on a mouthstick. Gregory Popovich started with four
balls in each hand and one ball between his legs, flashed nine and
finished with a neck catch. Anthony Gatto showed he can still flash
11. Vladik and his father Anatoli Miagkostoupov did takeaways
with five clubs, and Anatoli showed off a six club multiplex.
Many
jugglers trekked off to other hotels to see jugglers perform in
their shows. Steve Ragatz, Pat McGuire and Jean Besnard were
performing their Michael Moschen-choreographed "ball and dorito"
manipulation piece with Cirque du Soleil.
Gregory
Popovich and Dick Franco were among the acts at Circus-Circus,
Anthony Gatto performed his act nightly at the Lady
Various
juggling interest
The
festival culminated with the Thursday evening "Cascade of
Stars" public show at the beautiful Artemus Ham Concert Hall
Sean
McKinney, the 1992 Juniors champion, brought up the energy level
with his frenzied hard-rock ball juggling. Former national twirling
champion Jill Westover threw several batons impossibly high, and Jon
Held directed a dozen of his friends in a beautifully choreographed
ensemble piece that represented the universal struggle of juggling.
Tyler Linkin did |
Champion Francoise Rochais shows flexibility in winning the Individuals (Csiszar "The Great Ballini" photo) |
|
Jon Wee and Owen Morse, "The Passing Zone" in the Cascade show with their chainsaw ballet (David Carper photo) |
|
Arnelio Diaz demonstrates five ball skill (Dave Carper photo) |
John Foss also juggled on artistic bicycle in the Cascade show (David Carper photo) |