IJA 2010 HLGCBS
Kevin Axtell
year,
I'll start the thread.
Highs
Emceeing for the Juniors competition. Knife and apple shenanigans and
improv sharing of my scissor wisdom with the audience. “tony pizzor” lol
Friday Nights “Vaudeville Show” World freakin class Variety Arts – An epic
show I will always remember.
Yu Kando's Devil stick routine.
Watching a new school of young volunteers take on running the Renegade,
Games, and Indy Prop successfully while adding their own little twists to
the mix – Steven, Annie, Michael, Kudos.
Getting the YEP program off to a good start with a lot of interest, great
discussions and even a generous donation!
Lows
A few performers having tough times at COS -
The 2 small lighting miscues Thurs in the champs.
Not going to a SINGLE workshop this year that I didn't teach or present
at.
Sensei had such a sweet lineup and I missed em all – le sigh.
Goals
Help in every way I can to create a fantastic Juggling festival while
still having a fun and fulfilling experience for Brandi and myself. – Check
MC the Juniors Championships with confidence and comedy – Check (I wore a
tie)
Lead 3 quality Club Motion Workshops with Jessie Johnston – Check
Place in 3 Indy Prop competition categories - Nope - when the comp came
I only entered one category. Though I am pleased with a 2nd in Clubs.
Crush.
The Festival Team and our tireless leaders. I am inspired and awed at the
quality of people who dedicate and donate so much of their time and
energy. I am humbled by their service.
ALL of the Vulcans, Their skills, friendship and their gym living room.
Chris Garcia for being endlessly and amazingly innovative – way ahead of
the times man.
Playing By Air and their show. Fun and Funny.
Banes
Paying for a week of Wifi then being too busy to use it after Wed.
Nnt filming as much as I wanted (Big thanks to Brandi who did get some
sweet footage)
Surprise
My Knife sticking perfectly into the stage off a triple flip while hosting
Juniors.
Getting to see an Andy Goldsworthy creation in person on the way home.
The Stunning Quality of the Friday night Show
--
----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----
thegoheads
- Meeting Richard Clay and having a claymotion juggling jam session with
him!
- Cigar box workshop! I learned sooo much!
- Doing a random drunken last-minute renegade act with Joelle!
- A late night in-depth poi swinging lesson by Kevin and Jesse!
- ALL of the shows! ALL OF THEM! So many great acts and competition
routines.
- Honorable mention in the 3ball Xjuggling!
- Crazy drunk local girl on Saturday night buying everybody drinks!
LOWS:
None! Everything was perfect!
GOALS:
- Go to a lot of workshops! FAIL - only went to two of them :(
- Film a lot! CHECK - although I wish I had filmed more...
- Pick up a new prop! CHECK - I bought an acrylic ball. I've been
wanting one of those for a long time.
- Have way too much fun! CHECK CHECK CHECK!!!
CRUSH:
Joelle!
BANE:
The festival ended and I had to go home.
SURPRISE:
- Yu Kondo's devil sticks routine!
- Jan Damm's rola bola act! I was unaware that a rola bola act could be
that cool!
---
Extra special thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this festival
possible! I had a blast!
-Steve
Dave Cheetham
>
> Goals
>
> MC the Juniors Championships with confidence and comedy – Check (I wore a
> tie)
Was the tie for the confidence or the comedy?
Dave
DSallee
>
> Kevin Axtell wrote:
> >
> > Goals
> >
> > MC the Juniors Championships with confidence and comedy – Check (I wore a
> > tie)
>
> Was the tie for the confidence or the comedy?
>
> Dave
>
The beauty of it is if you can't pick between the two, you can always call
it a tie ;-)
David Sallee (confident that everyone was thinking of that comedy response
:-)
Dracodragon
Highs
-Teaching 4 workshops and having my attendees say each one really helped
with
their diaboloing.
-Teaching a ringabolo workshop for the second time and having it last for
the
full hour
-Doing the joggling competitions and winning 2nd in the 5K with only 2
drops
and a time of 23:56
-Meeting new people, seeing familiar faces, being inspired by really good
diabolo jugglers like Ofek, Arata, Huang, Ted.
-Placing in the individual prop comp with diabolo, and also performing in
the
miscellaneous division with ringabolo with a new routine.
-Performing as Chris Pham with David Garcia in the renegade show thursday?
night
-Late night ringabolo jams with Kevin Axtell, at the time the jams should
go
down. Finding out that we are still barely on the tip of the iceberg of
that
art. Also seeing visions of my possible IJA 2011 individuals routine and
my
future diabolo style.
-Watching Hall Sensei, Kevin, and Erin be elected to the IJA board. Cant
wait
to see what you bring to IJA!
-Getting 3 new sundia shining diabolos for only $60, as well as finally
getting
an LED charger for my finesse light up kits
Lows
-Not having enough money to buy all the things I wanted
-Having my hotel 5 miles away from the fest, and not being able to do an
all
nighter juggle jam.
-Probably not eating as healthy as I should have.
-Not having my fire diabolos to jam out with the local fire spinners that
one
night
-NOT BEING 21 to gamble and drink :( Next year though!
-Final renegade show diabolo comedy routine... and remembering that I suck
at
comedy... meh if all else fails take your clothes off :P
-Not having a solid 4 diabolo pattern by the time of the fest
Goals
-Teaching multiple workshops, especially ones on Ringabolo and Meteor
Diabolo,
check!
-Place in the joggling competition and beat 25 minutes for the 5k, check!
-Place in the individual prop comp, check!
-Meet tons of new people and learn new diabolo tricks, check!
-Ringabolo jam at 2am, checkkkk :D
-Be a part of the renegade show, check
Crush
-Festival organizers for doing an AMAZING job, very inspiring for me to
work
hard for the Santa Cruz Juggling Fest.
-Kevin Axtell for his entertaining emceeing for the juniors, my favorite
emceeing of the entire week.
-Humboldt Crew and PMM, Vulcan Crew, Doug and Josh's Dream Team, Ivan
Pecel, Yu
Kando, Michael Karas, Jochen, and all of the performers I saw this past
week!
-Matt Hall, Kevin Axtell, Erin Stephens for becoming IJA Board
-David Pham for not dropping his ring at the end of his individual prop
routine
(for placing in the box comp against all those insane box jugglers)
-Everyone at the festival who made it so fun to be at, and being a family
to
each other.
-NOAH MALONE for winning individuals, you freaking ROCK man!
-Ted Joblin, Arata, Huang, and Ofek for some amazing diabolo skills and
for
showing me what I need to work on with traditional diabolo style (diabolo,
handsticks, string)
Banes
-not being 21...
-not taking as much pictures as I should have
-not bringing my camcorder
Surprises
-getting 3rd place for joggling in the 3b 100m dash and 3rd in the 3b 800m
race
-Kevin's knife triples sticking into the stage floor
-The amount of people that showed up for the ringabolo workshop
-Extreme juggling originally not having a diabolo competition, but then
asking
Jack Kalvan and then having a division for it at the end. Thanks Jack :D
I probably left lots of things out, a lot happened. Until next year
everyone!
Richard!
HIGHS:
-Massive juggler cross-pollination; seeing friends from all over the coast
-Jamming out with another hardcore busker
-Armies of kids running five clubs
LOWS:
-the busted lady!
-the downer announcement about how we'd all die if we hopped the cordon
-forgetting my spare clothes (gross)
GOALS:
-Better behind-the-head rolls (yup)
-Better halo rolls (ayup)
-Lots of quality five-ball time (ahuh)
-Continuous hands-free contact juggling sequence (nope)
CRUSHES:
-Poetic Motion Machine?
BANES:
-only getting to hang out for two days. :(
-Top 40 all day.
SURPRISES:
-Dance Dance Revolution machine right next to the gym
-Massive score of ultra-rare NES games during thrift store visit for spare
t-shirt
w00p.
ErinStephens
Highs
Buying my first new prop in years - Cigar Boxes
Watching Mark Stampfle (my juggling partner) get third place in Individual
Props - Alternative Props category.
Staying in a room with Kevin and Brandi.
Having my Dad there when I got elected to the Board of Directors.
Meeting the founders of The Jugheads.
Completing our first ever IJA Youth Education Program (YEP)training - and
receiving a load of positive response to the program. Congrats to the
first 11 YEP Reps!
Finding out the night before the first YEP training that YEP has received
an anonymous donation of $5,000...every year....for the next 20 years.
Thank you, thank you, thank you....whoever you are.
The first meeting with the new Board - so much good stuff came of it - I
can't wait for the two years ahead!
The standing ovation to Kim's announcement at the Vaudeville show.
The Vaudeville Show!
Joelle!
Lows
Not having nail clippers.
Breaking shoes.
Competitors having a hard time because of low ceiling height of the stage.
Speeding ticket on the way home.
Goals
To learn loads of new things, despite having to focus on the "business"
side of the IJA - CHECK (thanks Alejandro and Homero)
To feel prepared going into YEP trainings - CHECK - though I also learned
how much more there is to accomplish in the next six months.
To meet Joelle - whom I had worked to recruit for the WJF 4 years ago, but
had never met in person - CHECK!
To get bounce balls and cigar boxes - Cigar boxes - Yep - Bounce Balls -
Next time.
Crush
Homero Mena - "International" - here we come.
Taylor Glenn - Not a cooler chick in the world that I'd rather be an
inspiration to.
Christopher - Taylor's 9 year old prodigy!
Joelle - Such an inspiring act.
All girls that competed in 5 ball endurance!
The new Board - Matt, Kevin, Kevin, Thom, Kim, and Richard (and Brandi -
the minutes taker!) - here's to the future.
Bane
Being told "My condolences on getting elected to the board", "Oh...so
you're the new IJA scapegoat", and "Don't do it!" in regards to running
for the Board. As far as I can tell, this experience has potential to be
great!
Surprise
Kevin being such an amazing MC - I'm so proud!
Finding out that Bill Barr had met my mother's best friend from
kindergarten - in Washington.
Being invited to perform for the Benefit Show at The Boys and Girls Club -
and being honored to be part of such an exceptional line-up.
The Vaudeville Show - It came out of left field and blew the socks off of
everybody!
Sean Haddow
Late-night cigar box session with Ryuhan and Yu Kondo in the gym
Popularity of the 2nd annual North American Kendama Open
Quality and variety of the shows. (Keith did a great job producing them)
Very entertaining competition routines, even if I didn't always agree with
the judges
Learning a couple of new cigar box games being played at juggling
festivals in Japan
Saturday's dinner at the Steakhouse Grill in the hotel
Lows:
Renegade shows and location (not enough seating with a view of the stage)
Goals:
Teach a couple of workshops - check
Learn some new stuff - check; tricks with 4 boxes and a couple of cigar
box games
Crush:
Ryuhan for his mad cigar box skills
Matt Hall for his hard work and organizing skills
Viveca for her patience in teaching me to pass in 3 count and being fun to
hang out with
Bane:
None
Surprise:
The number of people who showed up for my cigar box and kendama workshops.
Both were well attended and seemed to be enjoyed by those who attended,
based on the feedback I received
Being on the Renegade stage playing cigar box combat
Overall, another enjoyable IJA festival. Thanks for all the hard work of
the organizers and volunteers. Looking forward to next year in Rochester
Bob Neuman
- Ryuhan - cigar boxes
- Yu Kando - devilsticks
- Vaudville Show Fri. nite
- "Ultimate" Games Championship
- YEP program (even at 9AM)
Lows:
- never enough time for everything
- the fest always ends too soon
Goals:
- see old friends - check
- make new friends - check
- attend new workshops - check (great job Sensei)
- pass a lot - nope - back was acting up...
- learn new things - check (lets see: BLAR, chooch (sp?), etc.)
- understand siteswap - check - thanks Chase & Jordan!
Crushes:
- Poetic Motion, Erin, Annie....
Banes:
- My back getting really sore too soon
Surprises:
- Kevin Axtell has short hair
- the Nugget was a good fest site
- good food within walking distance (and at the Nugget)
- unexpectedly having lunch with Viveca & Allan Howard in Beatty, NV on the
way to Sparks (middle of the desert)
- Renegade was great the 2 nites I went (Th & Fr)
- the IJA Board has great energy & plans! Congrats and thanks
Bob Neuman
juglntchr
>
> Bane
>
> Being told "My condolences on getting elected to the board", "Oh...so
> you're the new IJA scapegoat", and "Don't do it!" in regards to running
> for the Board. As far as I can tell, this experience has potential to be
> great!
Erin,
We're still breaking old stereotypes about the board and what it means to
be on the board. The turn-
around just started 2 or 3 years ago so we have a lot of work to do yet.
It has started! This board will
move things even further forward!! Here's to a great year!!
Kim
dave
Put on a "Happy Face" will be the motto of this board!!
sandyb
think this will be a terrific year for the IJA--lots of new energy. You
mentioned $5,000 every year for 20 years for the donation. Is that the
correct amount? I heard it was actually more.
Sandy
dave
>
> Erin, welcome to the IJA Board. I love that you have so much enthusiasm. I
> think this will be a terrific year for the IJA--lots of new energy. You
> mentioned $5,000 every year for 20 years for the donation. Is that the
> correct amount? I heard it was actually more.
>
> Sandy
>
Nope, I think Erin got it right. But the YEP part was just a small part
of the full donation. I'll post what I've heard in a new thread.
Mike Moore
Dave, I'm a little confused about this post. First, I'd like to explain
my interpretation of it; please correct me if does not follow your intent,
and ignore the message following it if that's the case.
Interpretation: "Happy Face" being the user who you believe to be the
alias of Kim (this is NOT the place for the validity of such to be argued,
I've read the relevant thread), I read your comment as saying something
like, "This [the new board] will be deceitful and put up a falsely
positive face for the IJA members.
I understand that you have a beef with the previous execs (or, "bosses",
and again this is not the place to discuss why/if your beef is valid) but
I don't understand why you'd accuse this new board of something like that.
sandyb
indeed, 50K per year for 20 years. Congratulations, IJA!
Sandy
Viveca
> The Vaudeville Show - It came out of left field and blew the socks off of
> everybody!
Agreed that it blew the socks off everybody, but came from left field?
Keith's been producing great shows
for over 15 years for Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and great Renegades when
called on by the IJA.
Viveca, nit-pickingly defensive but overall agreeing with great fest review
ErinStephens
past (or at least not being aware of it). After this show, however, I
will seek out the shows that he produces. Great stuff.
Cheers,
Erin
JesseCjr
-A great pic of Tuan ( my wife' favorite) Christina and Jochen and Me.
-Erin Stephens properly teaching me to overhead juggle (I've always'ed
missed your overhead
workshop. Not this time).
-Talking tennis balls and can and about how you can't get them no more.
-Watching the Dream Team passing above cans and balls.
-catching a free Tony Clifton show with AJ randomly on a Tuesday.
-The New Board and Kim. We're in such good hands.
-The Noodle Hut
Lows:
The lack of fiber when on vacation.
Goals
Learn more four club tricks. Thanks Matt. Check!
Not sleeping through a day of workshops. Thanks Matt.
Learn more cigar box tricks. Word up David, Matt, Dan and. St. Ignatius.
Cleveland in the house!
Hangin with the great folks from Sparks. Check
Winning enough money to pay for the trip. FAIL
Crush
Tuan, Ms Alverez, Joelle, Bronkar's upper body strength, Ben from Serious
Juggling and Ashley
Ellis.
Vaudeville Show Emcee. Makes me want to buy a bullwhip and move to New
York.
Bekkah Rose!!!
Banes:
Paying $2 for water
Surprises:
That many of the Mom and Pop casinos went out of business :( (Nevadians
are hurtin)
That Sparks would be such a great fit!
I had a great time! Thanks Portland Dan and Kim for being roomies.
Have never been to MN but am looking so forward to it.
Jesse
Austin TX
JesseCjr
Lows:
Bekkah Rose!!!
Jesse
Austin TX
Thom!
- $4.95 steak and egg dinner at the Nugget? YES PLEASE.
- The Taste of Vaudeville show and the Cascade of Stars show... easily the
most jaw-droppingly awesome shows I've seen in a long time.
- WAY more folks showed up to my 3b blind throws and catches workshop than
I'd expected... at least 30. AND it was before noon!
- One guy at said workshop commented "Are you, like, a real teacher or
something?" -- What a compliment! :)
- Having SO MANY WJF kids tell me how much better their IJA experience was
compared to their WJF one. Friendly competition, Jason! You'd better
step up your game :)
- Helichopter!!
- Anonymous donor - THANK YOU!
- Playing around on Saturday night with Erin, Homar, & Alejandro... Came
up with some interesting 3b compositional ideas.
- Passing with Bekka and Peter and Galen and Ella and Stefan and all of
the other passers with whom I passed. Passing! Woo!
LOW::
- Dropping my 5b XJuggling trick on stage having hit it three times in a
row right before I went on... Lame!
- Missing Taylor and Megan's Friday night Renegade routine.
- Qualifying 15 clubs in team numbers prelims but failing to do it in
competition. Ah well... there's always next year!
- Not having the chance to spend time with some of my favorite people...
- Only going to one workshop... the one that I led. Hmph!
Goal::
- Teach an effective workshop (check? I saw some progress in the gym!)
- Meet some awesome new people (check!)
- Have someone convince me to apply to school in Quebec City (check!)
- Don't mess up too badly in the Individual Prop Competition (check!)
- Get some stuff done with the new BoD (check!)
- Compete in teams with Alan Thompson (no check. yet.)
BANE::
- "Hey, Thom! Want to pass?" "...I have to go to a meeting..."
- No free internet in the hotel. This forced me to go outside every once
in a while, though, so I guess it's not so bad :P
CRUSH::
- Bekka Rose. D'aww...
- Shawn Lesniak & Raggidy Annie - We did an awesome (awful?) erotic
blockhead routine at the first night's renegade.
- Jan Damm. Legit dude & fantastic juggler.
- Yu Kondo. (You were ROBBED at Seniors! I'm glad you got the People's
Choice Award, though...)
- Craig and Christopher - A father and his young prodigy-juggler son... he
told him that they were going camping and surprised him by ending up at
the IJA. Best dad ever.
- The Vulcan Crew (See you in a few weeks, dudes!)
- Kim Laird, Kevin McBeth, Mike Sullivan, and all the other members of the
festival team. Went off without a hitch thanks to your efforts.
- Keith Nelson - Phenomenal job running the Vaudeville & CoS shows. Really
awesome stuff. Wowza.
- Tony Steinbach (the guy who won the IJA Youtube Tutorial Contest) & Joli
- Quite possibly two of the friendliest people in the whole world. And
it's a big world out there.
- Andrew Ruiz, you're too cool for words.
- Everyone else I forgot to mention!
SURPRISE::
- People actually go to casinos for fun? Really?
- Winning the four ball category of XJuggling. Wahoo! The 'ol fountain to
75face to 3b round the back shower to 4b round the back hilo shower did
the trick!
- Winning the three ball Individual Prop competition (FWIW -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcVkli9bacs )
See you at next year's fest in Rochester, MN! It'll be OFF THE HOOK.
--Thom
Raggedy Annie
-Arriving refreshed and ready for the IJA after dancing my face off to my
favorite band at an astounding music festival in Oregon with my wonderful
friends the Poetic Motion Machine!
-Meeting so many wonderful new people!!! I think I talked with jugglers
more than juggled with them this time! Had some hilarious moments and
great conversations! ( I juggled a bit too :) )
-THE GAMES!!! I had such an unbelievably awesome and fulfilling time
planning and running the games this year at IJA!!! I got so much great
feedback and help from everybody and everything went so smoothly, much to
my satisfaction… and exhaustion. Running games is one of the funnest
things ever! Watch out IJA, it’s only getting better and more surprising
next year!!!
-The Shows and competitions!!! Every one was soooo inspiring and
impressive!
-----LOWS:
-Mornings. I stayed up late every night decompressing from Renegade, so I
don’t think I got to the gym before 11 am any day, but I rocked the night
so hard I figured the morning would forgive me.
-Other than that I guess I was pretty darn tired on Saturday night and
wasn’t up to staying up late in the gym with everyone, so I missed some
goodbyes, but let me tell you I had a great time chilling in my room, and
a wonderful sleep!
-----GOALS:
-Be a focused, fierce, fresh and fun Games Director: CHECK!
-Perform in at least one renegade show: check!
-Learn some stuff: check! ( I even learned some poi! )
-----CRUSHES:
-First of all, Poetic Motion Machine! (You all are some of my best friends
ever! It is always such fun, and things just keep getting better! Congrats
on Silver!)
(This is actually the hard part because everyone is so gosh darn amazing!
But I suppose I’ll throw out a few shout outs…. )
-As always: Matt Hall, Kevin and Brandi Axtell, The Vulcan Crew (all of
you! I love you!) Michael Karas and Playing by Air, Bronkar Lee, Ivan
Pecel, Megan Nousis and Taylor Glenn (I loved your rap ladies!!!)
-And some new wonderful friends were met as well!: Shawn Lesniak and Thom
Wall ( Nose buddies for life!) Bekka Rose, Dan Holzman ( you dirty old man
you! Loved joking around with you!) Chase Martin, Jan Damm… and yeah… you
are all amazing, I enjoyed the heck out of everyone of you!!!
-----BANE:
-Uuuuuummmmmmm…… nope. Check!
-----SURPRISES:
-I performed in all 3 Club Renegade Shows!!!
-Within hours of being at IJA I had learned the blockhead trick and was
able to stick my hairstick halfway up my nose, and performed a renegade
blockhead act the next day!
-Wrestling Danny the Don’t Drop the Soap juggling champ in Irish Spring
soap at the end of the 2nd renegade show… and winning the match of course!
SO FUN! Booya!
-Solenne was there and we did our original Hats Off routine at the last
renegade show! Which I daresay everyone loved… even though I felt like my
juggling wasn’t as clean as the night before ;)
-I was surprised to be asked by Mike Sullivan to be games director again
next year as I first walked into the festival, before I had even run the
games this year, and I hope it will be no surprise that I and going to
rock those games harder than ever next year!!!
-It is always surprising how awesome the juggling community is! I am blown
away to know all of you and be a part of all of this!
Juggle Love!
-Raggedy Annie
chaosdragon
- Cigar Box Jam Sessions throughout the week.
- Placing 3rd in the 3 cigar box Individual Prop Competition despite it
being the toughest competition (everyone was capable of placing 1st)
- $1 Coors and $1 Margaritas during Happy Hour every day
- Late night $4.95 Steak and Eggs (need I say more?)
- Making new friends as well as seeing familar faces
- Attending workshops
Lows:
- Not staying at the Nugget, thus making it a hassle to leave the
convention as a group.
Goals:
- Attend next year's IJA
- Teach at least one workshop next year
- Film more and take more photos
- Rock next year's 3 Cigar Box individual prop competition
Crush:
- Poetic Motion Machine with a well deserved Silver Medal in Teams (love
you guys)
- Vulcan Crew not only for having a cool living room, but for being great
friends as well.
- Noah Malone, you are awesome my friend!
- The Japanese Jugglers
Banes:
- Not juggling as much during the last few days of the event
Surprises:
- Dropping early during Sensei says cause I decided to look to my right
- Receiving a Domino key chain from Mr. Domino himself
- Yu Kondo, he made devil sticks cool
- Landing a 1 diabolo 3 cigar box balance trick during my Renegade Act
Thursday night on the first try
dave
Mike,
You pretty much have it right. I agree with you that this isn't the right
place/thread for this discussion. I think it was very inappropriate for
Kim to have used this thread in her propaganda battle against me. I take
offense to her saying the IJA board took a positive turnaround once I left
it. I also think it is blatantly false. The IJA has gotten MUCH worse
the last few years. Kim is using the tactic of the Big Lie. Tell people
how much better things are enough times, and they just might believe it.
Mike, I don't know how much a computer guy you are, but IMO Kim is lying
about the whole Happy Face thing. She lied (or misinformed us) about the
YEP teaching hours. She lied (or misinformed us) about the membership
numbers. That is just in the last month. In fairness, I know little
about the new board other than that they chose to make Happy Faced Kim
their leader. She is once again Board Chairman. Why would a board make a
(IMO) known blatant liar your public leader and spokesman?
In fairness to the new board, they may have had little choice. No one
else may have wanted the job. Or been willing to fight Kim to take it.
But that doesn't speak well for them either. Additionally, as promised I
applied for membership. The non-responses I've gotten so far have been
very discouraging, but I will leave that for another thread.
In truth, the new board can and should be a great improvement for the IJA.
Really, other than Kim, most of the "IJA Bosses" appear to be going or
gone. This board has the potential to really turn the IJA around. Matt
is a dynamic leader that can greatly improve the IJA's image. Erin seems
to be a smart gal who understands how to move the IJA forward. Kevin M.
is a good finance guy that can mange the funds. Thom is another dynamic
guy that people will want to follow. Kevin A. has energy and enthusiasm.
Yet with all that talent, Happy Faced Kim may be who continues to define
the IJA. I hope the board won't let that happen, but judging by who is
chairman, it seems all too possible.
Erin,
Being on the board can be a fun and rewarding experience. But remember
that your job is to make the tough decisions. You may have to let go some
IJA employees. You will probably have to tell some friends "no". BUT the
IJA could be on the verge of great things. The million dollars should
help. You've got some good fellow board members and the membership in
general is a fantastic resource. You can build something you will be
proud of the rest of your life.
So, Congratulations on getting elected. And also my condolences.
Everything has costs, but I hope this will be a positive experience for
you.
Kevin Axtell
>
> > The Vaudeville Show - It came out of left field and blew the socks off of
> > everybody!
>
> Agreed that it blew the socks off everybody, but came from left field?
> Keith's been producing great shows
> for over 15 years for Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and great Renegades when
> called on by the IJA.
>
> Viveca, nit-pickingly defensive but overall agreeing with great fest review
>
I was also surprised by the outstanding quality of the show, not because
of the shows director but instead the name, location, and placement of the
show itself. A "Taste" of Vaudeville conjured images of quick and playful
acts with some great and perhaps some not as much, almost like it would be
just a sampling. Add an impermanent stage and being adjacent to The
Cascade of Stars ... you get the idea. We were just caught of guard by the
World Class Cirque that threw down that night as I know were many others
in the best of ways.
Keith is an IJA hero to be certain.
Kevin Axtell
H
All of the Awesome Volunteers, from newsletter to security, registration
and workshops, tickets and judges, so many to thank.
Being at an IJA with Erin Stephens (she taught me to juggle) 7 years after
our 1st IJA(just so happens that was @ Reno)and being elected on the board
with her after not hanging out much in YEARS!
The Kolas Family
Justin, Aubrey, Wendy and Jon. They did shows, competitions, joggling and
more, all while juggling more than most of us in the gym, and they were
only there for 4 days.
Aubrey was the Ballarina in the youth showcase and Justin the Soccer
player in the Juniors competition.
The Craaazzzyy good lineup for the Benefit Show at the boys and Girls club.
Let's see ... Doug Sayers, Playing by air, Brandi and I did a slice of
our kids show, Erin Stephens and Mark Stampfl, Po Mo machine, Arete and
more! Kudos to Bill Barr re-instituting the IJA benifit Show consecutively
now for 4 years.
WOW, generous and anonymous donation to the IJA. TAGBE.
Being around awesome friends like Katherine Carr, David Pham, Alejandro
and Homero, Andrew Ruiz, Thom Wall, Kevin Mcbeth, Matt Hall, Dan Holzman,
Ivan Pecel, oh there's no way to remember all the names in one go.
Basically, I get to be cool if only by my association to these highly
skilled and neato people.
Having a hotel in the Nugget about as close as you can get to the Gym.
Playing with a handful of the Flowtoys new Glow Flow clubs –
ooooooooooooooooooooo.
Getting the sense that next year will be one of our best festivals EVER.
ErinStephens
> Being at an IJA with Erin Stephens (she taught me to juggle) 7 years after
> our 1st IJA(just so happens that was @ Reno)and being elected on the board
> with her after not hanging out much in YEARS!
>
I love how amazed people are by this! Whenever I tell people that I taught
you to juggle I get, "Really?! You taught Kevin Axtell how to juggle?
Really?!?"
Pretty cool to have this IJA to reflect on how far we've both come since
our senior year of high school. :)
Little Paul
>
> Having my Dad there when I got elected to the Board of Directors.
Nice one Erin. From what I've seen of you on r.j the Board have done
well to get you! Well done. I hope it's a positive experience for
both you and the IJA in general!
> Being told "My condolences on getting elected to the board", "Oh...so
> you're the new IJA scapegoat", and "Don't do it!" in regards to running
> for the Board.
You expected something different?
> As far as I can tell, this experience has potential to be great!
It does! It also has the potential to be a tough, difficult experience
which may not always make you popular with everyone. But if you want
it to be a great experience, I'm sure you can rise above all that and
do great things.
If anyone can cope with Dave accusing them of being a lizzard disguised
as one of the Illuminati Juggling Association(tm) Bosses - it's got to be
you.
-Paul
--
http://paulseward.com
Matt Hall
about...let's do this. As always, it's going to be a long one. You
know me...
High(s):
Getting to stay with the Pecels in Vegas for a few days before the
festival. BBQ's, laying out at the pool, going to Peppermill with the
Lumley's, walking the Forum and eating at Spago's with Lisa, watching
Inception, getting to see Bryson and his new lady, and of course,
practicing THE ROUTINE.
Driving to Sparks with Ivan, Lisa, and Howie. Non-stop hilarity
except for stopping at the Clown Hotel and seeing the Hills Have Eyes
girl staring at us.
Talking my way out of a speed-trap ticket by mentioning I was a
teacher. Sometimes you get a little slack...
Teaching the 3-4 Ball Freezes workshop for the first time and having
the concept resonate with most of the participants. I can't wait to
see what people come up with in the future.
Teaching the b-boy workshop and having 60+ people show up ranging in
ages from 4-65. It was awesome!! I'm teaching it at every festival
from now on. Time to make a handout...
Having NAKO II run only about 50 minutes but get a larger audience
than last year (the gym stage was a great idea for this type of
activity). The Best Trick Jam was super fun!
Hitting the last three sequences of my tennis can routine for Prop
Competition
MC'ing Renegade Thursday night--just had a ball.
Doing Interpretive Russian Slap Dancing with Ivan at Renegade--he
slapped the shit out of me!
Seeing the turnout at Sean Haddow's Kendama and Box workshops
(including Jochen Schell at the kendama one)--slowly but surely the
numbers are coming up! =)
Putting on the Skipper Jenkins outfit for the first time in Ivan's
room, looking at him wearing his costume, and knowing that his comps
routine was just going to be freakin' hilarious.
Doing the routine with Ivan onstage during the comps. Fun as anything
I've ever done onstage, and I didn't have to worry about dropping.
Interpreting for the Japanese guests at Kris Kremo's Meet and Greet
session. I'm glad I got up early for it because it was fantastic.
What a charismatic performer! He was dropping bombs of wisdom, not
pearls of wisdom.
Winning the Obstacle Course that Annie set up for the last game on
Saturday. Basic Math Skills+Luck+Asking for what you want=Victory.
Probably the only way a 40 year old man could beat Lauge, Noah, and
David Ferman in anything that involves juggling of any sort. =P
Winning the diabolo prop competition for the second time--I only put
this down because I managed to earn my entry fees back. I think El
Jefe (Chris Garcia) should have won, but that's how it goes and I
definitely needed the cash.
Filming with Ivan for the festival video. At last, the four box
pirouette to cross arm foot catch is mine!!! The unicorn has been
caught! Of course, my student beat me to it by a year, but I'm happy
to finally pull it.
Learning new tricks and cigar box games from Ryu-han at the cigar box
workshop he led--super cool.
Learning new tricks while teaching workshops/helping people.
Factory's with active 2's. The take-out cross arm grab, and the under-
arm Factory. Sweetness...
Doing Sensei Says and having a good time with it and doing a few new
bits.
Watching Raggedy Annie rock those games. Loved it!!
The dinner with Ivan, Lisa, Howie, and Josh before Cascade of Stars.
Great sushi for Sparks, plus two-for-one beers, PLUS Howie treated
us. He is a god.
The Taste of Vaudeville Show on Friday night--seriously one of the
best shows I've seen in my career (EJC Open Stage, Gala Show, IJA
Cascade of Stars, etc...) Playing By Air rocks! Vanessa Alvarez
melted the guys' brains with her beauty and impressed all with her
skills. Brad Weston impressed me as well, doing both shows plus
Renegade.
The Cascade of Stars Show on Saturday night-finally getting to see
Kris Kremo live was fun for me, as was seeing Jan Damm, Coney Island
Chris, and Bronkar Lee rock the house!! Joelle Huguenin just
BLASTED. Technical skillz plus smooth, gentle artistry... Jochen
Schell performed with precision and brio in both shows as well. This
was my first time seeing his top act, and I must say that I loved it.
Now if I can just get him to teach workshops. =P
Seeing Alejandro and Homero again in several workshops--I wish all my
students were like mi hermanos--diligent, creative, passionate. I
gotta go to Mexico one of these days!!
Seeing Lisa in her new dress that I bought for her at Tommy Bahama's
in Vegas. Took my breath away.
Ordering room-service ice cream sundaes and watching Forrest Gump with
Lisa--just chilling and taking a needed break.
Exposing the Shilton men to In N Out Burger for the first time in
their lives. Delish....
Driving home with Howie, Lisa, and Ivan. More hilarity than anyone
should be allowed to have in a 7 hour drive.
Getting elected to the board and going to the first board meeting--I'm
very optimistic about the next two years. =)
Low(s):
Absolutely sucking in the Prop Competitions. I entered all six
original competitions, and with the exception of diabolo I just stank
it up. That's what you get for not juggling for two-three months
before the festival. Ugh. Definitely did not have my juggling game
face on at all, and that's always frustrating.
Showing up on Tuesday morning and having all the workshop rooms
totally jacked up by the hotel. Lame. We didn't get back on track
for a while, and I definitely felt responsible for just not having
things as tight as last year. Sigh...
Watching Yu Kondo's routine and knowing Ivan wasn't going to get
gold. I was stoked for Kondo, but sad for Ivan.
Being a bit time crunched at several instances during the festival and
not being able to spend as much time with LIsa and I had hoped and
planned I would spend with her. I gotta learn how to say 'no' and
that's my problem.
Not hitting my 6 ball factory during XJuggling--even though it still
wouldn't have won, I wanted it.
Feeling bad about pantsing Steven at Renegade. It's Renegade, and
he's a pro who handled it fine, but I still felt guilty afterwards.
Sorry again, Pepper Jacque. The Mark Faje devil on my left shoulder
told me to do it.
Goal(s):
Run a good slate of workshops--semi-check.
Teach some new workshops--check (4 club tricks, 3/4 ball freezes, and
b-boying)
Run NAKO II and have it come off well--check
Do well in Prop Comps--EPIC FAIL
Support my man Ivan--check
Learn some new tricks/get some good stuff on video--check
Get elected to the Board--check
Meet Kris Kremo, Tuan Lee, Jochen Schell, and Joelle Huguenin--check
win the obstacle course-check (hehehe)
and goals for the next year or two:
Refine workshops and come up with at least 1-2 new ones
Find someone to run workshops--I've done it two years and I want more
new blood to jump in and try it--it's not that hard.
work hard to make the 2011 IJA Festival a real barn-burner
leave the IJA a little better than how I found it
solidify 5 club singles and get 3 diabolos low once and for all
pull off a 7 ball Factory like Ben Beever
Crush(es):
Soo many folks--Pretty much every performer in the two main shows.
Ivan, for putting in the time and making his vision come alive onstage
Howie, for being a great guy, excellent conversationalist, and all-
around funny dude.
Lisa, of course.
The whole festival team, for working their asses off to make good
things happen and for supporting me.
The Japanese crew for gifts of a material and spiritual nature.
Bane(s):
The hotel powers-that-be. Just my opinion, but they were lame.
The ceiling height in the gym/workshop rooms. I could barely throw
a's and b's--not cool.
My own head games when I perform.
Surprise(s):
Watching Kevin Axtell mc for the first time--I think he's really
good. The scissors workshop bit was totally off the cuff, and totally
effective. I was laughing my ass off.
Pulling the 4 box trick for Ivan's camera on the 5th attempt or so.
I've only been trying it for years.
Seeing how well the juniors competitors dealt with the low ceiling in
the theater. Wow...
Watching Yu Kondo take devil stick to a WHOLE new level. Tempei and
Marcus, watch out.
Getting two Cascade of Stars shows back to back. Thank you Mr.
Nelson!
So there's a quick, off-the-top-of-my-head list. I'll probably add
more later. =P
matt
PS 2011 is ON!!
Brandi
Taste of Vaudeville...yes, it was really that phenomenal!
50K for the next 20 years!!!!! THANK YOU ANONYMOUS DONOR!!!!
Being a judge for the championships
Having the most conveniently located room EVER
Seeing all of the volunteers putting in massive amounts of time and effort
to make it all happen
Performing in the benefit show
Low
The ceiling of the theater....literally!
Goal
Get longer 5 ball runs – Check!
Volunteer more – check!
Go to several workshops besides YEP – Fail
Crush
Joelle for her technical skills combined with beautiful artistic flow
Ivan Pecel & Matt Hall for making me laugh so hard I thought I'd pee my
pants
Keith Nelson for putting together two mind blowing shows
The whole Humboldt Crew...between PoMo, Annie on games, and Steven on
Renegade, you guys added so much to the fest...you all rock!!
Kim Laird for working tirelessly all year long for the IJA
and of course Kevin Axtell for being amazing all the time, for doing a
great job emceeing, and for being a great teacher.
Oh, and the Noodle Hut for delicious noodly goodness.
Bane
The internet situation. 50 bucks for access in the room...LAME!!!!
Surprise
The massive donation
Touring an amazing artist retreat on the way home, and seeing an Andy
Goldsworthy piece there along with an 800 year old oak tree.
Matt Hall
> Ivan Pecel & Matt Hall for making me laugh so hard I thought I'd pee my
> pants
Oh, so you didn't pee your pants? Then we fail...
> Oh, and the Noodle Hut for delicious noodly goodness.
Good one! The Noodle Hut was definitely a crush! Indeed, we were
pleasantly surprised by all the food choices available near the fest
or in the hotel itself. You can't beat all you can eat tacos or In N
Out.
ChaseMartin
Siteswapping with sir Steve!
Teaching the high 5 trick to at least 15 people (and watching them teach
others!)
Performing my first real routine. I chopped the real routine in half
because it was 3 ball with 2 minute time limit (I should post the entire
routine soon if I can get it down to about 2 or 3 drops.)
Meeting Terry from Australia, and getting some advice for actually
juggling in front of people, which is something I hardly ever do.
For the first time, feeling like I have something truly unique to offer
the juggling community.
The rockin' variety of stuff in the gym and on stage. Never knew what was
coming up next!
$5 late night steak and eggs with friends
Low:
Printed about 20 restaurant coupons that were never used.
Late night gym attendance was disappointing
26 hour drive + 8 hour airport & flight time to get back :(
Goal:
Get 50 catches of 753 mills mess for extreme -- epic fail
Teach introductory siteswap to more people than last year -- check!
Do WJF & IJA on a $1000 budget for everything - check!
Crush:
Lauge and his unknown love for learning new siteswaps
Bane:
Horrible diet throughout the trip. LAME LATE NIGHT GYM ATTENDANCE!!!
Surprise:
Devil sticks and cigar boxes can actually be exciting
My 3 ball routine was well received, in spite of it not being super
technical
Working on handstand stuff is just as fun as juggling
I was too lazy to attend a single workshop :)
great week everybody, can't wait to see everyone for the next one!
Bekka Rose
-seeing familiar faces and meeting new people
-Seeing Yu Kondo’s, Joelle’s, Kris Kremo’s, Jochen Schell’s, Jan Damm’s
performances (to name a few)
-Dinners and late night/early morning breakfasts with the Stanford folks
who always make me laugh
-Passing with Thom, Peter, Stefan, Galen and Ella, and Jan
-Erin, Kevin and Matt getting elected for the board!
-late night $3.99 omlette at Rosie’s!
-Bob Nickerson’s genius pun poetry
-hanging out with Thom
-handstands and acro with Shawn, Jan, Chase,
LOWS:
-almost missing my flight to IJA and, as a result, getting my IJA Swiss
Army knife confiscated before boarding the plane
-not enough variety in juggling styles
-16 hour drive back home (though I had good company who did most of the
driving! Thanks John! And it actually wasn't so bad, anyway)
GOALS:
-stretch every day (pretty much check)
-teach a workshop (check)
-learn something new (check)
CRUSH:
-Thom Wall (as if it wasn’t obvious)
-Joelle
-Kris Kremo
-Yu Kondo (and I don't even like Devil Sticks!)
BANE:
-too many competitions and a major lack of artistic juggling/variety of
styles. Why was there no open stage? Why did almost all the events revolve
around winners and losers?
SURPRISE:
- Casinos never cease to amaze and baffle me! This was my second time at a
festival in a casino and I was as dumbstruck this time as the first! There
were even slot machines at the airport!
~Bekka
Jacob:Sacher
>
> Teaching the high 5 trick to at least 15 people (and watching them teach
> others!)
>
Jacob:
Dave Altman
> Surprise
> Touring an amazing artist retreat on the way home, and seeing an Andy
> Goldsworthy piece there along with an 800 year old oak tree.
His work is incredible, isn't it?!! I've see a few coffee table books of
his work and it makes me want to
run out in the back and play with rocks, leaves, and stuff. I love is
philosophy and his approach to his
work. I played around with some environmental "sculpture" in the past, so
I was attracted to his stuff,
right away. Everything he does seems so natural! I've seen other artists
work with the same materials,
but their work doesn't come close to Andy Goldsworthy!
Check these out: http://www.google.com/images?
um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&tbs=isch:1&&sa=X&ei=qnNdTP3xAom-
sQOW6dGqCw&ved=0CCMQBSgA&q=andy+goldsworthy&spell=1&biw=1217&bih=668
All the colors in his pieces are naturally found. As far as the colors, he
doesn't use any paint or alter
the materials in any way.
Dave Altman
Dave Altman
> Check these out: http://www.google.com/images?
> um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&tbs=isch:1&&sa=X&ei=qnNdTP3xAom-
> sQOW6dGqCw&ved=0CCMQBSgA&q=andy+goldsworthy&spell=1&biw=1217&bih=668
There might be another way, but just copy all the mess above from http to
668 and put it in your browser
window and it will take you to the place I wanted you to see, or just
Google "Andy Goldsworthy" yourself
and look any links that come up that you like. There are videos as well as
images.
Dave "Art" Altman
thegoheads
>
> ChaseMartin wrote:
> >
> > Teaching the high 5 trick to at least 15 people (and watching them teach
> > others!)
> >
> Care to elaborate....Please
> Jacob:
>
It's a simple club steal trick, with a high-five in it.
Chase taught it to me too, and we used it for the intro to our video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvBFIjLA_4w
Jacob:Sacher
>
> Jacob:Sacher wrote:
> >
> > ChaseMartin wrote:
> > >
> > > Teaching the high 5 trick to at least 15 people (and watching them teach
> > > others!)
> > >
> > Care to elaborate....Please
> > Jacob:
> >
>
>
> It's a simple club steal trick, with a high-five in it.
>
> Chase taught it to me too, and we used it for the intro to our video!
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvBFIjLA_4w
>
>
Thanks
That is really cool.
I'll have to give it a shot in the future.
J:S
Sambone!
to
Denver! WHOO!
Highs:
Meeting a bunch of awesome new people, and becoming friends with lots of
them!
Getting to hang out with "Youtube friends".
$4.95 steak and eggs! (That night when Andrew and I ate 2 of them each was
pretty sweet!)
All of the great shows! Kris Kremo being there definitely made me happy I
went.
Getting to stay at an old friends house for the week, it was great to
catch up
on life.
Being one of the few jugglers from that area of Nevada. It's pretty cool
having
an IJA near where you grew up.
Late night poi spinning with Kevin.
Getting to hang out with CJ after almost 2 years. And we were in the paper
together!
Lows:
Not being able to qualify 8 rings in preliminaries, and then doing it
right
afterwards (19 catches...Grrrr). But there is always next year!
All of the endurance games being back to back. I have a hard time jumping
from
5 balls to 7 balls to 5 clubs to 5 rings when I'm cold, a little spacing
between would have been nice.
Not attending any workshops except my own.
The week went by too fast.
Goals:
Compete in numbers, and do well.(fail, but next year will be better)
Meet cool people. (CHECK!)
Have fun. (check)
Learn some new stuff (check)
Eat healthy and sleep. (Kinda check...)
Crush:
Yu Kondo and his freaking awesome devil stickery!
Andrew for being such a cool dude to hang out with all week, as well as a
good
juggler.
Chase, because someone has to do all that math. And we ate a lot of steak
and
eggs....
Taylor for more things than I can list.
Kris Kremo, for the fantastic show.
The smile on Peter's face as he slid down the rail on the staircase.
Matt Hall, because he is one of the coolest people I have ever met. The
nicest
guy in the world, to everyone, always. Probably why he got so many votes.
The whole entire BOD, for throwing an awesome fest!
Bane:
Very little sleep. But it's not unexpected.
The ceiling (maybe this should be in lows....See what I did there?)
So much to do, so little time.
Surprises:
Lauge hitting a 3 up 1080 on stage.
Feeling pretty good on Sunday after staying up all night Saturday.
The sun, after being inside all week.
This was an awesome fest, I can't wait until next year.
Madelyn
Highs:
The Friday night show, especially Vanessa Alvarez, who was astonishing;
Jan Damm's rola bola act; Jochen Schell's ring routine; and Brad Weston's
act.
Jochen Schell's top act in the Saturday show.
Seeing all the talented young female jugglers and talented young jugglers
in general.
Yu Kondo's competition routine.
The field trip to the National Automobile Museum in Reno with Bruce, Jan
and Larry.
Lows:
Having it end.
Having my plane leave Reno about four hours late, so I missed my
connection in Salt Lake City and had to spend the night there (though it
was a lovely place to stay).
Goals:
Pass lots. I passed some, but I don't know that it was enough to mark it
a check.
Have fun. Check! Check! Check!
Get a new regulation kendama. Fail. No one was selling them.
Have my how-to-juggle-three clubs workshop go well. Check!
Crushes:
Vanessa Alvarez
Jan Damm
Jochen Schell
Ashley Ellis
Skyler Navrotsky
Christopher Guest
Yu Kondo
Steven Dimon
Melonhead
Banes:
Spending way too much time in meetings on my vacation.
Being tired.
Messed-up ankles.
Surprises:
The amazing farmers market set up right outside the hotel Thursday.
Blackberries, yum! Kettle corn, yum!
What a great facility the juggling hall was and the Nugget in general was.
How cool the end-of-games obstacle course was.
Keep juggling!
Madelyn Dinnerstein
Pittsburgh, PA, USA