Good Advice for Passing it on to the Next Generation

by Jeff Miller

 

So, you think you're a juggler. You can keep five balls up as long as you want, your clubs do anything you ask them to, and the fear of the diabolo and devil stick is a thing of the past. Where you used to stammer performing front of your mother, now you take on entire fifth grades without a drop of sweat.

 

You're ready. Go forth, and support yourself by your art!

 

(At this point, 98 percent of the jugglers in the world are laughing hysterically. The other two percent - the ones who already support themselves - are shaking their heads sadly with a small smile on their lips.)

 

It's hard out there, compadre!

 

And what gives you the right to take money from those less fortunate than you, those who have never zenned out in a three­ball pattern or read their partner's mind and caught that weird throw way outside their zoc (zone of control)? Who do you think you are, anyway? Such hubris!!

 

However, there is a way to both spread the joy of juggling and actually earn some "dinero" for your dexterity - workshops, mini-courses, enrichment seminars! No matter what you call them, many jugglers (including myself) have found the rewards can be far beyond simple remuneration.

 

Everybody Deserves an Even Break

Juggling is an art form that transcends race, creed, age and gender (or at least it's heading that way). The kinds of people who have learned to juggle is incredibly diverse. It follows that the kinds of people who can learn to juggle are just as varied. The way to find them is through public announcements, school calendars, social organizations, phone book listings, newspapers and any place that groups get together.

 

Sometimes, as a matter of fact, they find you. Melonhead, a Madison Area Juggler from Wisconsin, was just minding his own business when a friend decided to stop teaching the juggling club at a local high school. Upon her recommendation, the school asked Melonhead to take over. The hiring process was grueling: "The administrators wanted to make sure I could teach and asked if they could sit in on a class," Melonhead recalled.

 

They stayed about 10 minutes. Once they saw there was no problem, he was on his own. Melonhead also teaches mini-courses at the Student Union of the University of Wisconsin, and regularly runs juggling workshops at Madfest every January.

 

Schools are only one venue, however. Workshops can be taught to any organization from Emergency Medical Services (as "teamwork enhancement") to Rotary Clubs (the name says it all, doesn't it?). The point is, use your imagination. If a group of people is gathering in a social atmosphere, it is worth an inquiry to find out if they might like to learn to juggle. After all, the worst they can say is no.

 

Customizing Is the Key

Workshops vary according to the organization and according to who sets them up. If you are only teaching eight high school students, it is fairly easy to come up with enough beanbags for everyone. But a 25­student class ranging in age from 10 to 45 requires a different approach.

 

Truly Remarkable Loon is another juggler who teaches workshops throughout the Midwest. He has accumulated several hundred scarves, loads of beanbags, more than 20 diabolos, and a plethora of other equipment. The first part of his workshop consists of letting the students check it all out.

 

"If I'm asked to do a workshop, first I try to sell them a show," he said. "That let's the kids see different things, and motivates them. A lot of kids don't know what they're getting into when they sign up for a workshop."

 

If you aren't the one in control of the time and place of the lessons, you must be prepared for some problems. For example, one student government convention hired Loon to do a show, which went fine, and then expected him to teach three 30 minute workshops. That would have been fine, too, except that they started at 8 p.m. on Sunday night. Forty students showed up to the first workshop, 15 at the second, and none at the third. "When there are 40 kids and only one of me, we're lucky if we can even get past scarves!" he said.

 

Just as it is important to tailor performances to audiences, the organization and type of student should affect the nature of the workshop. Younger students will pick up skills almost faster than you can teach them. For that reason it's important to have enough material and flexibility to keep their attention.

 

When Afterschool Inc. asked me to do a workshop at a local elementary school, I knew that not all the kids would have the fine motor skills to master a three ball cascade. This presented a problem. I was hired to teach them to juggle, but if I try to teach three balls to eight-year-olds I am only setting them up for frustration and failure.

 

Luckily, jugglers do not live by the cascade alone. I brought along every juggling prop I could think of, from scarves to clubs, and Afterschool Inc. purchased more. (They kept the materials in a special "juggling kit" that is now shared among schools). I spent about a half-hour at the beginning of the first session teaching the cascade, and then went directly into balancing. Over the course of the next eight weeks students were introduced to the diabolo, devil sticks, contact juggling and the basics of showmanship (making the easy seem difficult and vice versa). At the end of the program, only about half of them had bothered to master the cascade, but they all put on a show for their classmates. Each of them had a skill or a trick that they were immensely proud of and eager to share.