A Star from the East

Popovitch brings Soviet discipline to European audience

 

Standing on top of a three-meter free standing ladder high above the crowd gathered around him, Gregor Popovitch was the star of the European convention.

 

The 22-year old performer with the Moscow Circus revealed to conventioneers both a level of expertise seldom seen in the West and a wealth of information about juggling in Russia today. Those who talked to him through an interpreter provided by convention hosts also found that he shares many of the same concerns of artists worldwide about his career and his act as entertainment.

 

As the fourth generation of a Russian circus family, Popovitch juggles better than any of his forbearers. The basics of juggling on the ladder were taught him by his father and coach, Alex, but Gregor has achieved a much higher level of technical expertise than his father. The younger Popovitch's 14 years of training have led to his performance of five clubs and eight rings while standing on his perch.

 

Yet he aspires to more. "I want to express myself more in my act," he said. "I want to have more contact with the audience so that even people who are seated in the audience to see only my back recognize my character. That's the heart of artistry. I am an artist first, then a juggler. "

He also wants to do nine rings on the ladder, and sees that as a five or six year project.

 

At the European convention in Louvain­la-Neuve he did a nine ring flash and pulldown over his head in practice, though he does not attempt nine in performance. Other tricks he showed on the ladder were: five club back cross flash and continuous front-to-back and back-to-front throws with three clubs. His five club juggling included a beautiful immediate switch from triple to single spins.

 

The most demanding trick on the ladder was when he placed four full wine glasses on a tray, balanced the tray on a six foot pole on his head and climbed the ladder. Once in position on top, his father tossed him seven rings which Popovitch juggled for about a dozen tosses while maintain­ing the balance. To finish in flashy fashion, he knocked away the supporting pole and caught the tray as it fell without spilling a drop. He slid back down the ladder to tremendous applause.

 

His work on the ground included a devil stick routine, a five ball shower that included multiplex tosses, and routine juggling up to seven balls that he picked up off the floor with his foot to add sequentially to the pattern. He also flashed nine balls and caught the final one on his neck.

 

"It is a great treat to see other jugglers from around the world and see that my work is appreciated here," Popov itch said in an interview accomplished with the help of translator Francoise Fraiture. "There are no special juggling conventions in Russia, though we have circus conventions once every two years."

 

Popovitch was somewhat surprised to find himself at the European convention. He was under the impression the event would be an international juggling competition like a Moscow juggling festival he won in 1982, a Havana circus competition he won in 1983 and the Cirque de Demain he won in Paris in 1984. His appearance at the European convention was initiated by convention organizers, L'Ecole Sans Filet, who made successful inquiry at the Russian embassy in Brussels.

 

Popovitch said there is no public juggling in Russia like in Western countries. Aside from about 100 professionals who perform in the country's 60 permanent circuses, there are a few amateurs who practice in gymnasia but who are never seen in public parks or on the street. Since equipment is not commercially available, they all fabricate their own props.

 

He never attended the Moscow Circus School but learned his art instead from his parents and first appeared in a circus on his own at age 14. He didn't think much of the jugglers he saw as a child and therefore didn't copy anyone's style. "I always thought I could do better," he confided.