Juggler's World: Vol. 42, No. 4

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 discoteques 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 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.
  • 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 ten-club 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
  • 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, titled 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, "Ropelines." $30 buys a new membership. For membership or more information, contact The Wild West Arts Club; 23 Townsend Square; Oyster Bay, NY 11771, or call 516/624-9000.

• 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.

• Jugglers looking for some help putting together an act might contact Benny Reehl. Reehl, a director/performer for more than 20 years, invites jugglers to take advantage of his new "critique via video." For a $50 minimum he will review and respond to a 25 minute video. He also offers an annual summer production workshop and private directorial services at his studio in Maine. Contact him at 53 Dresden Ave.; Gardiner ME 04345; 207/582-3730.

• 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 Jonathan 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.

• Larry Jordan and Rob Elliott performed in an "uncensored vaudeville show the got pretty wild" in Cocoa Beach, Fla., then were off to the Bahamas to play on a bill with the rock group, New Kids on the Block. They planned to perform a new routine, "Juggler Blues," at the Groundhog Day Festival in Atlanta in February.

• Jugglers interested in performing at Walt Disney theme parks are invited to send bio material and videotapes to: Ron Severini; Walt Disney World Co.; P.O. Box 10000; Buena Vista, FL 32830.

• Serge Percelly has been stopping the show at Circus Knie in Switzerland with his all tennis racket routine. Dressed all in white, he begins by devil sticking one racket, then juggles three, four and five of them. The young Swiss juggler presents a very athletic routine, dancing all over the stage. One recent circus fan said Percelly has the audience wildly stomping their feet and asking for more as he makes his exit. Percelly will be visiting the West Coast of America in January.

• Also juggling with Circus Knie has been the Troupe Mongolia, a group that performs acrobatics, springboard, clowning, tumbling and juggling on camel-back.

• Rick Davis is marketing his diverse talents under the moniker of President of the Institute of Totally Useless Skills. He teaches subjects such as spoon hanging, hand gymnastics, pen bouncing, paper balancing, odd finger snapping, match tricks and disappearing body parts. All are invited to attend his performance for the MENSA group of New Hampshire Feb. 16 at the Center of New Hampshire Holiday in in Manchester.

• Following their winning performance in the Teams Championships this year, Darn, Good and Funny received a five month contract to perform at the Yasuda Ocean Hotel in Japan. They return to Oklahoma at the end of February.

• This note from the "Independent" newspaper in London, Sept. 5, 1990. "Jason Cooper, 23, a chainsaw juggler from London with the French Archaos Circus, suffered severe leg injuries when he dropped one of three saws during rehearsals in Stockholm."

• The Stanford Court Jugglers of Palo Alto, Calif., are pleased to have their meeting place immortalized on a post card. The Memorial Court in The Quadrangle where they gather daily appears as the multicolored illustration on a pre-printed 15-cent post card issued by the USPS on September 30. The card celebrates the centennial of Stanford University.

• John Tudor of Columbia, S.C., did a juggling spot in an educational video for schools produced by the North Carolina Farm Bureau. Tudor delivered lines about the produce grown in North Carolina while juggling the items mentioned - apples, eggs, a milk carton, flowers, potted plants and a stuffed pig!

• The Ringling Circus is opening three retail stores this year. The first is at Fair Oaks Shopping Center in Fairfax, Va., with others planned in Connecticut and New Jersey. Employees will be trained by clowns and will offer help to customers in things like juggling and balloon tying.

• In Brooklyn, The Amazon Goddess Ambrosia is juggling and belly dancing. The former court reporter gave up the courtroom for an entertainment career seven years ago, playing such diverse roles at private parties as hula dancer, Santa Claus, Hell's Angel and juggler. The "Amazon" tag on her name presumably comes from her height - six-foot three inches.

• Roger Reed, formerly of New England, greets patrons of Circus Knie in Switzerland this season wearing his jester costume and doing juggling and mime in front of the marquee.

• Notes on jugglers from "The Circus Report," "Cirque" and "King Pole" include:
  • Justino Zoppe, the 10-year-old juggling genius, performed with Tarzan Zerbini Circus, and got the audience roaring with a Michael Jackson dance routine.
  • Mr. Antony juggling on horseback and the Virjoaga troupe with Circus Hellas in Germany.
  • Meric and Yolanata with King Royale Circus.
  • Scott Erdle presents a comedy juggling act with The Vidbel Circus.
  • Jurges Timmerman and Mayricio Droguett with the Moolah Shrine Circus in Fort Worth.
  • Darren Peterson juggles and rides unicycle with the Royal Lichtenstein Circus.
  • The Aarons Duo with Allen Brothers Circus.
  • Jose Torres juggling at Summerfest.
  • Johnny Monti juggling on the ground and on slack wire with Circus Monti in Switzerland.
  • Curtis Cainon juggling with Franzen Brothers Circus.
  • Carter Brown and Mark Faje with John Strong's Clown Capades of Magic show, with a seven club back-to-back finale. Brown also does a solo hoop routine.
  • Tuba the Clown juggling with clubs and balls in the Old Time American Circus at the Los Angeles County Fair.
  • Andrei Nicolaiev Jr. juggled with the Moscow Circus in Hong Kong.
  • Alexandre Pismenny with the Moscow Circus on Ice in Paris.
  • Andreas Martinez juggled with Circus Fliegenpilz in Germany.
  • The Gizmo Guys did their comedy juggling at the State Fair of Virginia.
  • Jack Bremlov was with Cirkus Arnardo in Norway.
  • The Rodriguez Family with Circus Emilien Bouglione in France.
  • The Silvas Family with Circus Circus in England.
  • Didier Geraldo at the Heart Of Texas Fair.
  • Oresto with Make-A-Circus in southern California.
  • Frank Endrix with Gerry Cottle's Circus in England.
  • Duo Douglas juggling on rola bolas with Sir Robert Fossett's Circus.
  • Sean Cook juggling on the slack wire with Mary Chipperfield's Circus.
  • Tony Lester and partner juggling atop an unsupported ladder with Circus Circus in England.
  • Sergei Ignatov juggled for two months at the end of the year with Circus Franz Althoff in Germany.
  • Bob Mendelsohn appears as Bobcat Goldthwait's juggling double in Goldthwait's new feature film, "Shakes the Clown."

• Those interested in rope tricks may be interested in next year's Will Rogers Trick & Fancy Roping Convention. For more information, write Brenda Graham; 8250 Lankershim Blvd.; Park Road Space 4; N. Hollywood, CA 91605.

• The Pickle Family Circus has decided to move indoors after 15 years of performing under the open sky. They are retooling the show for indoor arenas and plan to purchase their own tent.

• Marguerite Michelle Ayala and her two daughters, Michelle (20) and Andrea Martha (17), juggle torches while hanging by their hair in the Ringling Barnum blue unit show. Asked if it hurts, Michelle said, "It always hurts. The best you can do is try to concentrate on the juggling. When I think about that I forget the pain."

• The acrobatic juggling group Las Piranhas sends in a report of performances and get-togethers in Europe. They appeared at the Glastonbury Festival in England along with Paul Morroco, then met Waldo and The Butterfly Man at a festival in Wales. In October they performed with Dieter Tasso at the Varieté Theatre in Stuttgart.

• Bounce & Ooo La La took on some temporary partners in their show last summer, adding at one time and another unicyclist and sword swallower Joey Colon, Scotty Houghton, and Sandy Brown. However, December 31, 1990 they took on a permanent partner, as Ooo La La gave birth to a baby boy named Daniel. Congratulations all!