by Robert Peck, workshops coordinator

 

Among all the other gold at the IJA's big "50" was a record 135 workshops. Although much of the groundwork was laid months in advance, none of the planned or spontaneous offerings would have been nearly as well attended without the continued thoughtfulness (and thoroughness) of Holly Martinez. As she has for each of the past three festivals, Holly single-handedly devised, designed and painstakingly developed all of the large white scrolls allowing participants to see at a glance a daily, detailed overview of all of that day's tides, time slots, teachers etc. Considering how many offerings there were to begin with, how often these needed to be adapted and how difficult it was to decipher the program book schedule, Holly's ingenious system was truly invaluable.

 

My heartfelt thanks as well to several other "samaritans" (particularly Jaki Reis, Chris Reese, Ed Carstens and Rick Robinson) who saw how overwhelmed and understaffed I was the first day, and graciously came to my rescue. They set up the workshop table, made sure first-time instructors showed up, posted signs and in countless other ways... saved my sanity! Likewise I'm grateful for the kind assistance and time spent staffing the workshop table volunteered by the venerable Forrest Hobbes, Myron Wilcox, Walt Szeezil, Bill Giduz and a host of more "junior" helpers, including Rich Munoz, "Cowboy" Chuck Sekera, Jan Brotman, John O'Brien and Don Ganz. (Don's above-and-beyond­the-call-of-duty effort to bring some order to my chaos gave the whole table a much needed face lift.) My embarrassed apologies to those whose names I have omitted. Be assured that your willingness to lend a hand was sincerely appreciated.

 

Alas, with such a large cast of workshop leaders it's an equally daunting task to give credit where credit is due to everyone by name, especially those who pinch hit for instructors who were A.W.O.L. or late. I am again indebted to the ubiquitous Jaki Reis who, in addition to helping at the table and teaching her own workshops, also covered two others. Other outstanding "understudies" included Iman, Barry Friedman, Larry Kluger, Han Toan Lim, David Deeble, Fran Favorini and Fred Stremple. A printed salute as well to "special guest announcers" Dave Walbridge and Peter Davison.

 

Among those whose names I actually do remember, I continue to be grateful for the following 'Ol' Faithfuls': Laura Green and Robert Nelson (who in addition to being so dedicated are also so dependable that, even after late-night Renegade carousing, showed up to teach their two-hour, top o' the morning club swinging workout).

 

Similar ol' reliables included Kit Summers, Dave Finnigan, Mike Vondruska, Martin Frost, Todd Strong, Terry Kimpling, Ken Sprano, Myron Wilcox, Don Olney, Dale Oliver, Dan Holzman, Mike John and Bill Giduz. Most of them taught several different offerings, as well as "encores." (Todd alone gave repeat performances on three separate occasions, plus pioneered a promising new offering on European Circus Schools.) And all of whom have freely shared their insights and expertise year after year for as far back as I can remember. What a "faculty!" Special thanks to my peerless predecessors, Dave Finnigan and Mike Vondruska, for their inspiration, continuing contributions and personal support.

 

One reason '97 was a record year for workshops was the infusion of new instructors (often from outside the U.S.) and/or fresh topics. Typifying both of these were: Freestyle Frisbee (Gary Auerbach of Canada), Multiplex "V-Z" (Matt Roberts), Five Ball Patterns (Sven Jorgenson), Team Juggling Acts (Jon Wee), Inter-Adv. Top Spinning, Inter-Adv. Double Diabolo (Ken Chen of Taiwan), Ultraviolet Prop Making & Performance Techniques (Louis Kruk), Yoga (Anna Jillings of the U.K. ), Juggling For Women & Girls (Miz Tilly), Inter/Adv. Devil Stick (Han Toan Urn of the Netherlands), Unicycling, How To Learn Any Trick In The World (Larry Vee), Inter-Adv. Three and Four Ring Tricks, Numbers Rings (Scott Sorensen, who taught each twice) Intro plus Inter-Adv. Kendama (Masahiro Mizuno, Kosen Kagami and Kenzaburo Ishikawa of Japan, who also gave repeat sessions for both offerings). A resounding "Bienvenue!" and "Multi grazzi!" to all.