What’s The Ball Passing Project about?
It involves people passing balls around in a synchronized fashion. Make that a lot of people. It’s poetry in motion. Browse the site and watch the documentary and you’ll understand.
‘Ok so I’ve said before I won’t cover anything circus-related but this made me smile so I had to share.
Chances are you haven’t heard that Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus collaborated and had a Nintendo Wii game made. This angered – guess who – PETA which sent a strong word to the developers telling them about animal abuse and the like at the circus. They were ignored and now there’s a Help Stop New Ringling Bros Wii Game petition going on.
I’m frankly amused because when people play the game, won’t they have more incentive NOT to visit the circus? I’d join in the petition the moment a ‘Juggle like Bozo the Clown’ minigame starts making its rounds. That’s cruelty.
While I was reading the papers and happily chewing on a donut yesterday (hey, I’m speaking for myself), the amazing Michal Kapral was blazing through Montreal, setting a new World Record half-marathon time. 1:23:49. Some of us don’t even run half that distance in that time! Without juggling!
Congratulations Michal – you’re an inspiration to us all!
It’s always heartening to know that a giant sportswear brand like Reebok isn’t too high up in the clouds to be creative and push the boundaries with people’s perceptions of what fitness and sports is. Having previously sponsored joggler Michal Kapral, Reebok is now teaming up with Cirque du Soleil to reinvent gym.
You’d probably be hearing of Jukari soon enough if their marketing division’s doing their job. Inspired by aerial acrobatics and trapeze, the Fit to Fly program will debut at Centre Sportif MAA located downtown Montreal before spreading through the world. According to the Cirque du Soleil site,
JUKARI Fit to Fly will be available in select gyms, beginning in March 2009 in North America and rolling out gradually to gyms around the world including Hong Kong, Mexico City, Madrid, London, Krakow, Munich, Seoul, Kuala Lampur, Buenos Aires, Santiago and Los Angeles.
The program appears to target only women so you might want to invest in some good makeup and a dress if you’re planning on sneaking past. And start shaving.
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.
:: Early in the week Chilean juggler Alvaro Palominos put out a pretty comprehensive video of his skills, ranging from cool stuff to impressive numbers juggling.
:: A fine “non-juggling” video made it to the forum this week. Watch Boyanka Angelova and her one-ball rhythmic gymnastics routine. Previous rhythmic gymnastics on the web: (1) and (2).
:: Anthony Gatto makes some sort of point; also juggles.
:: Contribute to a discussion on the worst stage names.
:: Ania Belley raises a few things in forum talk. You decide.
:: Luke Burrage discusses double-ended clubs, then plays with them and with friends. Worth a glance at least, maybe at most.
:: And in a busy web juggling week, a few more worth mentioning: cool new Norbi tricks; CJ Smith 5-club Mill’s Mess; Shoebox Tour Finland trailer (jugglers not juggling), and more jugglers doing some juggling and a lot of dancing in a Turbo Fest 2009 vid.
If I were still in college I’d hop on JSTOR and answer what is in effect a Tuesday Question. But I’m not, so I’ll ask: Does music help in juggling practice or does it harm the timing of throwing and catching?
I remember the first day of the Buffalo IJA festival I ran into Thomas Dietz, Ole Soto, and Mark Douglass juggling outdoors (miraculous in itself), and before long Ole had made a strong statement against music during juggling practice. I believe his argument had something to do with the music encouraging a timing that doesn’t actually fit the flight patterns the juggler encounters.
A quick, non-JSTOR/Lexis search didn’t turn up much help, except for one decent overview article, obviously not a direct comment on juggling:
In a rather large study with over 600 boys and girls in grades 1 through 6, Beisman (1967) compared basic motor skills such as throwing, catching, climbing, balancing, dodging, bouncing, and striking learned to music and no music. In all grade levels and in both genders, students learned the motor skills better, as demonstrated by performance tests, with the rhythmic accompaniment. In the discussion the author noted that the music produced a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere for the students to learn.
Maybe a psychologist could use a juggler for a study. Then again, our variables might be hard to control, right?
Tony Gonzalez
Contributor
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.
Not gonna lie: I’ve been more choosy with the links the past two weeks. But I am staying up on what’s out, so if you like what you’re reading and seeing, let us know in the comments.
:: Best watch of the week: Cie Pied-Tête (Luis Sartori do Vale and Loïc Faure) shows some graceful choreography and a bunch of ridiculous head catches.
:: Paul Ponce put up his life story at his YouTube account. Definitely repetitive, but we’re talking Paul Ponce here, and it’s worth a browse. He has more vids at his site, and of the new YT batch, the one with the best backcrosses shot is probably here.
:: Michael Karas expands his personal interest in odd props into a short blog post worth reading.
:: Viktor Gyllenberg posts a ring routine. I am still unconvinced of attempts at graceful movement, and I’m unsure how they fit the aesthetic of his actual throwing and catching, but this routine shows some nice work with three to seven rings. (I will say his moves on the dance floor are terrific (see … “Never Give Up,” I think).
:: Josh Horton tries the same tricks with rings and clubs. Gets predictable pretty quick.
:: Evsukevich shows one trick: nine-ring pulldown w/ head bounce.
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.
:: Jay Gilligan’s new video includes more toss juggling than normal, but apparently not enough for some WJFers. Or too much screaming. Or something. You can read the back-and-forth here. In short: some say it’s typical Jay; some complain about the aesthetic; some like the energy; some want to see it live; and one calls it “slow paced” and out of sync with the music(?).
:: The Gandini juggling blog is new!
:: Juan Goma posted new videos at JTV, my favorite is this mostly-three-club video with nice manipulations and rolls.
:: Peter Davidson has various new videos on YouTube. I like this overview video, which shows his performing prowess and some musical juggling too.
:: This Patrik and Wes teaser was at Peden’s site. Now it’s making an alluring run on YouTube.
:: Ruslan Fomenko juggles double-ball-connected by ropes.
:: Matt Hall posted new photos from a variety of festivals.
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.
:: Last week we saw Danny Hodge. Now comes Chris Hodge with a mind boggler and a three-ball vid with tons of slams and shuffles.
:: Kit Summers asks if anyone can do seven ball Mills Mess, Eaker answers yes. He isn’t alone, as responses to Kit’s thread show.
:: Ben Thompson can catch really high throws. And he’s promising more. Highlights in this montage: a three-club whirlwind+, club on club balances, double pirouette under five clubs, and an eight-club flash.
:: Ori Roth’s newest video has some of the most startling and refreshing tricks of anything he’s put out, thanks in part to three-clubber Noam. Noam appropriates tricks not traditionally done with clubs into his work (head rolls, Bramson-ring-style-rolls) and, in general, orients his clubs in weird ways. He’s in control. Ori does some new bbb work and keeps on keepin’ on with body combos. Read the rest of this entry »
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.
:: The best video I’ve seen in weeks, no doubt. Unbelievably difficult, miraculous, and spirited And it comes with beautiful interior scenery too: Andrea and Jacopo and cigarette tricks ‘09.
:: Viktor Kee releases 11 videos this week. If you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all, almost literally. Except for one that’s just 34 straight five-up pirouettes. Maybe just watch his final Dralion performance.
:: Jammed with Eaker Wednesday night, then Thursday he posts new gym juggling with some big numbers: 7c, 8r, pirouettes, etc.
:: Pavel Evsukevich from the Moscow circus school “Evsukevich #1 and really big balls video. The first is sharper, but the second is surprisingly candid for circus school jugglers.
:: RIT fest is considering video streaming the gym action this year. Tell organizers if you’d watch.
:: Summaries, highs and lows of Madfest.
