By David Harris

 

Only infrequently does a notable juggler brave sub-zero temperatures to come to

Fairbanks, Alaska.

 

But this February's University of Alaska Fairbanks Festival of Native Arts included two performers from the Sakha Republic of Eastern Siberia. The "Ojuun" dancers, Sergey and Marfa Rastorguev, are members of a national troupe who present the Sakha culture and way of life in a circus-style performance. Their act is intriguing and utilizes many traditional props, such as woven baskets, animal skins and fur carpets.

 

Sergey and Marfa took the stage wearing brown animal skin vests with white fur trim. Sergey began the show with a polished pantomime routine. Like Marcel Marceau on the tundra of Siberia, Sergey mimed fishing and hunting, and rowed his canoe effortlessly across the stage. While Sergey struggled with a wild animal, Marfa's folk throat-song "tojuk" rang through the concert hall. Sergey eventually killed his prey and juggled three bulky animal skins, which he thrust into many large and graceful patterns.

 

Next, Sergey knelt on the ground, preparing a meal in three colorfully-woven baskets that he used as a very artistic juggling medium. Manipulating them like rings, Sergey gripped the rims and juggled them in various patterns. Kicking a basket from his foot, Sergey caught it on his head and did other body stalls and balances. Placing the three baskets together, Sergey used them like cigar boxes, using the round surfaces to roll them over each other. To finish this routine, Sergey balanced baskets on his head, knee and foot while holding two others in his hands. With an energetic flourish, he threw them up into a beautiful five basket cascade. His final trick consisted of balancing a 15-foot pole on his forehead, then tossing a ball up and catching it in a cup atop the pole.

 

Although Sergey's routine was not so technically demanding, it was beautiful to watch. Through mime, juggling and dance, Sergey told a poetic, spiritual story and painted a descriptive picture of the Sakha way of life. His routine was clearly tied to a circus background, but Sergeys circus didn't take place in a tent, it occurred in the natural environment of Siberia. Marfas voice and song, originating somewhere deep within her body, adding to the overall mystical sense of the performance.

After the performance I gave Sergey's interpreter a flyer for The Alaska Gravity Works, a small group of jugglers from the university. I wasn't sure the invitation would make it through translation, but the dark-haired Siberian and his wife showed up for our meeting the next Friday evening.

 

Sergey greeted us diplomatically and asked many questions. He soon discovered that we were a group of hobbyists, but this didn't mute his enthusiasm. Marfa videotaped as we passed clubs, juggled balls, and demonstrated the diabolo and devil sticks. We showed him our hardest tricks, and soon learned that these were just play to a juggler of Sergey's skill.

 

The troupe "Ojuun" has about 20 members in the Sakha Republic who perform a circus­style show. They have visited more than 20 countries, including France, Burma, Laos, Finland and Canada. Despite their travels, they have little access to the juggling information and props.

 

Sergey was very interested in the International Jugglers Association. I provided all the information I could, and Sergey seemed very excited about the idea of attending a jugglers festival, although he questioned whether he could afford the trip.

 

Sergey proved to be a humble man, interested in promoting and teaching rather than showing off. Although we did not speak the same language, we communicated with the silent language of jugglers, which Sergey spoke fluently.

 

He took center stage at .our meeting in hopes of inspiring us to learn some new tricks and styles. Through his interpreter, he told us he started his career as a "dancing juggler," accenting each trick with an artistic body move. Each throw was very precise. He described the symmetry of patterns he was executing and how each arc must perfectly match the others.