42-4,p6

NOTES

Thanks to Dave Jones and Markus Markoni

... Airjazz did some globetrotting this past year. In July they performed at the Hong Kong International Arts Carnival, and included two shows in the sweltering heat of Vietnamese refugee camps. Before attending the Oldenburg European convention, they also performed in Poland at discotheques in three different towns. They took a three month hiatus at the end of the year, though, for each of the trio to do something on their own. Kezia Tenenbaum planned to study hambone technique, Peter Davison was performing the Nutcracker Suite with the Boulder Ballet Company, and Jon Held was looking forward to flying hang gliders.

... Roni Lynn of Hollywood, Fla., got some good publicity recently for teaching juggling to a group of senior citizens. Her South Florida Juggling Academy specializes in teaching juggling juggling as therapy for people in long-term rehabilitation situations, brain injuries and learning disabilities. She is a certified occupational therapist at Humana Hospital South Broward.

... We get word from Jugglin' Jeff Plake to keep an eye on 12-year-old Jessica Adams. Plake juggled this past summer with Jessica's parents at Conneaut Lake Park in Pennsylvania, and watched the youngster make great progress. By the end of the run, Jessica was in the act, juggling four balls and passing six and seven with Jeff. Plake was off after that for a 10-week school tour in North Dakota, while the Adams family and their canine stars were to join the Ringling Circus.

... The 1991 edition of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus will feature its first-ever Soviet act - juggler Gregory Popovich. Popovich, who can do eight rings and five club back crosses standing atop an eight -foot unsupported ladder, will be assisted in the ring by his new wife, Izolda. The tentative schedule of his appearances (he is with the red unit) is: March 5-10 in East Rutherford, N.J.; March 12-19 in Uniondale, N.Y.; March 21-April 21 in New York City; April 30-May 5 in Providence, R.I.; May 7-12 in New Haven, Ct.; May 14-19 in Hartford, Ct.; and May 28-June 9 in Hershey, Pa. Popovich was with a circus in Mexico last year and won the "Best Male Performer" award from Mexico's Circus Union.

... Meanwhile, Soviet jugglers Victor Pilipovich and Anatoly Myagkostupovy are continuing to tour America with the Moscow Circus. Their tenclub passing finale can be seen the following places and dates: February 27-March 3 in Las Vegas; March 6-10 in Los Angeles; March 13-17 in San Diego; and March 20-24 in Toronto.

... Dave Finnigan, author of The Complete Juggler, was greeted as a celebrity by many Europeans at the convention in Oldenburg. That could be because more copies of his book have been sold in its German translation, titIed Alles Uber Die Kunst Des Jonglieren, than the English version!

... Comedy juggler Jack Swersie made a nine-stop tour with the Perry Como Holiday Show.

... Jonathan Seglins and partner Scott Nelson performed in a variety show in Osaka, following in the footsteps of Antonio Bucci and Alexander Feldman, who earlier played the same stage. While Nelson did mostly magic, Seglins entertained with comic devil stick, diabolo, unicycle and bowling balls. Following Osaka, he had a cross-country Canadian "snow theatre" tour lined up for the new year.

... Aficionados of "contract arts" such as trick roping, whip cracking, trick shooting, knife throwing, gun spinning and trick riding should know about the new Wild West Arts Club. The group was founded based on the success of the first Wild West Arts Convention last March. The 1991 convention will be at the Will Rogers Ranch in California March 8-10, and the group prints a quarterly newsletter, "Rope lines." $30 buys a new membership. For membership or more information, contact The Wild West Arts Club; Oyster Bay, NY .

... Anthony Gatto finished his run at the Union Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas December 1, and is now working at the Sands Hotel with Melinda, "The First Lady of Magic." He appeared on nationwide television at the end of the month in the Lou Rawls benefit show for the United Negro College Fund. Anthony is attending classes at community college and practicing with his father, Nick, at a local gym for an hour or two a day. They have welcomed a steady parade of fellow jugglers passing through town, and are planning to attend the St. Louis IJA festival next summer to show off some of Anthony's hard work with numbers juggling. Nick says Anthony is flashing 11 rings, and working on doing 9 balls and 10 rings while bouncing a ball on his head. His 8 rings is solid and 9 is coming along nicely. He's doing a kickup start to seven clubs, and bouncing a ball on his head with seven clubs.

... The Raspyni Brothers have been showing up on television regularly recently. They appeared on Circus of the Stars in a routine with Bill Kirchenbauer, host of a hidden video show, and ended up passing machetes around him. They appeared on the Fox network's Comic Strip Live in November, and were in a Showtime variety special with host Johnathan Winters. They did a spot on the Arts & Entertainment network's Evening At The Improv, and are scheduled to appear in a January segment of that network's Comedy On The Road show. Dan Holzman, half of the Raspynis, is also privately coaching several other jugglers in the Los Angeles area.