NOTES

Travis Bear of the Cascade Jugglers in Seattle, went nowhere fast at the semi-annual juggling potluck held at the Cascade Youth Circus training facility - he juggled while riding his unicycle on a treadmill! Jay Gilligan originally proposed the idea, but Travis and Ben Schoenberg actually did it at a steady four-miles­per hour pace during the course of the March 17 picnic. The Cascade Youth Circus is a nonprofit training and performing school which teaches circus arts to children aged 6 through 19.

 

· The May issue of "Teaching Elementary Physical Education" magazine contains a lengthy article about the benefits of juggling to young schoolchildren. It concerns a classroom­centered, student-monitored teaching program with juggling at its core that is being implemented in Jacksonville, Fla. Jacksonville is the first district to adopt this "Juggling for Success" program, which was developed by Dave Finnigan and Sportime, on a large scale. The process of implementing the program involved 600 teachers in 20 schools, with basic juggling lessons for 15,000 students. The article claims that juggling not only increases self-discipline, eye-hand coordination and self­esteem, but that frequent juggling breaks in school help students in reading, math and handwriting. For more information on the program, call Sportime's David Montane.

 

· Last year's People's Choice and Founders Award winner, John Gilkey, got cast in the "role of his dreams" this spring when he signed with Cirque de Soleil. He appears as a ring master/emcee throughout the performance, "creating" the show as it unfolds for the audience. He performs several of his own routines, including his coat rack and balls juggling number and a dartboard-on-the-head and darts routine.

 

· Young Australian super-juggler Earl Shatford reportedly flashed 11 rings twice with witnesses in late April. The reporter to the rec.juggling newsgroup added that Shatford "had some good runs with seven clubs in the juggling shop also, and is doing about 30-40 catches regularly.

 

· Duane Starcher of British Columbia recently found himself in the unlikely position of being juggling advisor to students he never met, in a city about 200 miles away. It transpired by e-mail initiated by The Bridges Initiatives, which asked the students to connect with people who act as "experts" on particular topics. Starcher responded to dozens of their questions about street performers, juggling records and dangerous tricks, but never saw the questioners nor knew their ages. He noted it was "interesting" to attempt to explain tricks and give advice in written form, and required care in constructing explanations.

 

· The dozen Boehmer Family Jugglers are entertaining audiences this summer through August 18 at Silver Dollar City in the new Opera House Theatre in Branson , Missouri . "The Largest Family Juggling Act in the World" includes Larry and Judy Boehmer and their 10 children, who range in age from 21 years to 18 months. Everyone appears in the act, and the family has performed in the St. Louis area and Midwest for several years. Seventeen-year-old Casey Boehmer won the silver medal in Juniors at last year's IJA festival, and planned to compete this summer in Rapid City as well.

 

Michael Menes is appearing as a central character with the a futuristic European-style circus, Cirque Ingenieux. The 40-member troupe appeared at Bally's Grand Casino in Atlantic City for six weeks, and will be in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 10-25. Menes appears throughout the show, performing diabolos, ring and hoop spinning, his five-pointed stilt creature named "Spike," and the rotating "Coil" routine. He also appears as an eccentric fluorescent ringmaster performing contortions.

 

· Actor/juggler David Hart from Los Angeles is giving juggling a lot of national exposure in a new Energizer battery commercial wherein the pink bunny juggles four clubs while riding a unicycle. The 15-second spot, utilizing Hart's talents and special effects from Industrial Light and Magic, began airing in May.

 

· Self-described "struggling artist" J. Peter Loftus received a summons from a New York

City' transit policeman for "blocking passenger movement by performing a juggling act without authority or permission" at the Rockefeller Center subway station this spring. He moved to New York earlier this year to pursue an entertainment career, and has been earning a living as the only juggler among the army of subway entertainers. He said most subway officials and law enforcement officers appreciate his work, noting that "I make their job easier, especially when school lets out, for the attention of teenagers is focused on being entertained and not on misbehavior." Loftus resents the alleged transgression against his rights, and looks forward to working his way off the street altogether soon. He got a big break on June 29, when he appeared on USA Network's "Up All Night" with Gilbert Godfrey.

 

· Instructor Kit Summers plans to offer several of his "Juggling with Finesse" workshops this season. The final two are scheduled for August 14-15 near New York City and Sept. 28-29 near Philadelphia. For information, contact him at Trainer PA.

 

· Blink and Fusion collaborated for a show at the end of May in Maine which featured a six person diabolo routine directed by Fritz Grobe, a new dance piece by Blink involving no props, and a drumming routine by Fusion that used fire torches. Beside Grobe, members of Blink are Jay Gilligan and Morten Hansen, while Fusion consists of Jason Tardy, Matthew Tardy and Michael Miclon.

 

· Only in Las Vegas! IJA Honorary Life Member Ed Johnson was out walking his dog one Sunday afternoon when they happened upon Gregory Popovich and a photographer

shooting new publicity pictures for the 1993 IJA Award of Excellence winner.

 

Johnson took his dog home and returned with three of his Harry Lind clubs for a photo

session of his own. Popovich told Johnson he is developing a new routine with his house cats, which he performs when he's not juggling seven rings on a free-standing ladder.