The Top 40 Most Popular Jugglers of 2003... (long)
Luke Burrage
The Top 40 Most Popular Jugglers of 2003 as voted by YOU!
-music fades
Hello and welcome! My name is William Williamson and over the next 30
minutes I'll be running down the top 40 Most Popular Jugglers of 2003!
Find out how your favourite jugglers were rated by the latest online
polling. We'll be looking at them all; from the greatest names from
history, through the manic, siteswap obsessed numbers freaks of today, to
the shining young stars of tomorrow.
During the rundown we'll also be casting an eye on some of the interesting
personalities found outside of our top 40. In the "Jugglers Dropped"
sections we'll get to see some big names that were nominated but didn't
manage to get the votes needed to score in the final rankings.
Kicking off tonight's proceedings, skimming into Number...
-visual sting and V.O. "40"
Bruce Tiemann, most affectionately known as Boppo by the juggling
community. He was the second person to ever flash 11 ball and was once
listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for juggling 7 clubs. He is
also credited as being one of the inventors of the now popular
mathematical juggling notation called siteswap.
-cut to interview with title "Colin Wright - the other inventor of the now
popular mathematical juggling notation called siteswap."
"Yes, you should meet Boppo! There is a reason why he is such a good
juggler, it's his arms! Talk about being blessed with most helpful of an
orangutang's features. I once asked him to pass me the salt at the local
fish and chip shop, he didn't get up, he just reached the entire length of
the restaurant and grabbed it from where he sat. Move over, Inspector
Gadget!"
-visual sting and V.O. "39"
CJ Smith Junior burst into the limelight in the summer of 2003 placing
second in International Jugglers' Association's Junior Championships. He
beat off stiff competition from the likes of Leo James and Olga Galcheko
but failed in his quest for gold.
-cut to interview with title "Donald Grant - legendary diabolo performer
and author."
"Aye, aa've never heard of him! The young scallywag was probably just
after the prize money anyhoo. How come noboy voted for me in this here
poll? Can aa get a prize or summin?"
-visual sting and V.O. "38"
Citing bendy-armed-juggling-scoucer Dave Kelly as his main inspiration,
Barak's mind boggling 3 ball tricks land him a spot in the top 40. Having
mastered such feats as mills mess blind behind the back, his latest goals
consist less of juggling tricks and delve into the realms of other more
important life skills. He was last seen trying to tie up both of his
shoelaces at the same time, one knot in each hand.
With his arms crossed.
Behind his back.
And without looking.
-visual sting and V.O. "37"
Another IJA medalist, this time from the seniors camp. Matt Hall
breakdanced, juggled balls and whipped diabolos to earn a silver medal,
international fame, respect and, most importantly, a cheque for $500. As
one of the few senior medalists from the IJA stage competitions who isn't
a professional juggler, it was the biggest gig of Matt's life. Taking a
break from teaching Japan to young Californian students he trained
extensively with Team Rootberry to achieve his long term goal.
-cut to interview with title "Eric Urhain - inventor of twisty armed trick
Erics Extension."
"I told Matt that while he was training with Bill and Jonathan to
'accidentally' break Bill's arm. But, no, he wouldn't listen. And look
where it got him! If he took my advice he would have clinched that gold
medal, instead he had to endure his best friend taking it from him..."
-VT insert "Jugglers Dropped part 1"
Closely missing out on a placing in the top 40 this year was a large
number of well known jugglers. Sorry, Little Paul, you didn't make the
grade this time. A new website and prolific posting to rec.juggling only
gets you so far. A release of a DVD of hat juggling tricks, on the hand,
would do you wonders next year.
-visual sting with V.O. "36"
If you have an oversized dorito Chip and you want to know just what to do
with it, Pat McGuire is your man! Dressed in a funny blue outfit he
performed with the international sensation that is Cirque du Soliel,
rolling balls in hypnotic patterns all over a curved piece of metal which
looked strangely like... well, a dorito chip. Following his days in the
Cirque he has pursued a solo performing career, winning awards at
international circus competitions including the Festival Mondial du Cirque
de Demain.
-visual sting with V.O. "35"
Following right on the heals of his one time dorito chip juggling partner
comes another ex-Cirque juggler, this time in the form of Steve Ragatz.
Though Steve is very well known for his juggling skills, he wound his way
into the hearts of our juggling poll-takers by his constant barrages of
good advice made freely and readily available online for all to read.
There is nothing this man can't help you with, from 5 club backcrosses to
getting comfy with the ladies by juggling a 3 ball cascade!
-cut to interview with caption "Luke Burrage - editor of the IJDb Help
Database."
"For a long time I wanted to make a huge online resource where jugglers
could read advice on just about everything to do with juggling. My only
problem was that I didn't have much helpful to say at the time, what with
the chronic drink problems and all that. Instead I stole all of Steve
Ragatz's posts to rec.juggling and used them... he's not going to see
this, is he?"
-visual sting with V.O. "34"
In at number 34 is one of those jugglers who can inspire you without ever
having seen them. Peter Bone has never performed his juggling, he is best
known for discarding all goals in life in pursuit of a single achievement.
After a discussion on whether or not anyone would ever "qualify" 11 balls
he set his sights on doing just that. His current personal 11 ball record
has passed the official world record and stands at 18 catches! When not
trying to set new world records he does anyway, seemingly by mistake he
managed to flash 12 balls, becoming the forth person in the world ever to
do so.
-visual sting with V.O. "33"
Jugglers of a feather seem to flock together, at 33 is another numbers
juggling legend. Bruce Sarafian was the first juggler to ever flash 11 and
12 balls. With little else to do in Florida except watch rocket launches,
he decided to confound NASA scientists and meteorite early warning systems
by perfecting such juggling feats as the 8 ball shower. He was last
spotted on the 10 o'clock news in Moscow, single handedly delivering food
parcels to the International Space Station without his feet ever leaving
solid ground.
-visual sting with V.O. "32"
In at 32 is the self confessed, ultimate juggling geek that is Scott
Seltzer. For years this man was the only member of the IJA outside of
North America, hailing, as he does, from Israel. When he isn't cataloguing
his juggling video collection and throwing about his youngest family
members he finds time to practice some wild tricks including 7 club
juggling and 9 ball flashes. After realising numbers juggling was far too
difficult to beat everyone else at, he opted instead for a completely
different challenge and easily won the 3 ball juggling competition at the
Israeli Juggling Convention.
-cut to interview with title "Ewan Crichton - ex-non-ex-juggler."
"I met Scott a few times, but I remember him most for causing me to crash
my car while taking him to the airport. One minute we were talking about
siteswaps and the next BWHAM! we crashed into parked car. It was his
fault, you see, not my driving. If I wasn't driving him to the airport I
would not ever have not seen that not unstationary vehicle."
-visual sting and V.O. "31"
Chris Chiappini is a young juggler from New Jersey, USA. He started
juggling at the age of 10 and won the IJA junior championships at the
Montreal festival in 2000. Not only is he an outstanding juggler, he is
also a famous bassoon player and is in demand the world over for his
soothing renditions of classic love songs.
-cut to interview with title "Mike Armstrong - current second greatest hat
and cane manipulator in the UK"
"I challenge anyone to listen to Chiappini's version of Unchained Melody
without at least getting a lump in their throat. And when he plays Uptown
Girl... *sniff* I just... look, can you stop the camera rolling?
*sniff*
Please?"
-VT insert "Jugglers Dropped part 2"
Another juggler not to make it into the top 40 this year was none other
than Charlie Dancey. The street performer and author has been a strong
favourite in the past but due to not releasing any new books in the last
few years he has slipped a long way. Come on Charlie, how about an update
combined edition of the Encyclopaedia and Compendium?
-visual sting and V.0. "30"
Here we are, entering the top 30 for the first time, and the first juggler
we meet is Ivan Pecel. Ivan is one of the most popular comedy jugglers
currently performing in California but telling jokes and throwing rubber
chickens isn't where all his talents lay. He is also a very accomplished
technical juggler and can most recently been seen in an appropriately
named video "Things You Can't Do" doing things you can't do.
-visual sting and V.0. "29"
Sean Gandini, the founding member of the Gandini Juggling Project, a name
that brings many differing images to many different people. To some it
conjures up memories of grand pieces of performance art, a stage full of
strangely uniformed jugglers mixing dance and music with traditional
circus skills to form a unique style that astounds and delights... to
others it brings forth the thought "What the f*** is that guy on?"
Ever enthusiastic about juggling and life in general, Sean is a veteran
performer and visionary who has worked with some of the finest
international juggling talent creating ground breaking routines that are
so complicated it takes a degree in maths and a PhD in particle flow
dynamics to understand what is going on. Stranger still, Sean and his
troop regularly perform these numbers to members of the general public who
actually enjoy them.
Sean's life long ambition is to support ageing rocker Meatloaf on a world
arena tour.
-visual sting and V.0. "28"
Long before there was a Sean Gandini there was a Bobby May, a great
juggling innovator and one of the first ever jugglers to be filmed by
cinecamera. Footage exists of Bobby May performing a 4 club routine which
would be technically advanced even today... and he does the whole thing
with a club balanced upside down on his head. In a continuing upside down
theme, Bobby's trademark trick was to stand on his head and bounce juggle
5 balls off a drum, an unbelievable feat never performed by anyone before
or since.
-cut to interview with title "Karl-Heinz Zeithen - juggling historian,
speaking through a translator"
"Karl says 'I once met Bobby May and shook his hand. I was amazed at just
how short he was but then realised he was kneeling on the floor. When I
asked him why he showed me that he didn't actually have any legs from the
knee down. Instead he had fashioned two wooden peg legs which I instantly
recognised as being in the shape of juggling clubs. He informed me that
the juggling clubs he used, and because he was one of the first ever club
jugglers, popularised among other professional performers, were in fact
false legs. Apparently wood turned false legs were the perfect shape and
weight to juggle, resulting in the sleek yet bulbous shape of juggling
clubs today. You can't improve on Nature, Bobby said, and so we all
naturally juggle objects styled upon our own shin bones and calf muscles.
Or at least I think that is what Karl is saying..."
-visual sting and V.0. "27"
From the shape of things in the past to the shape of things to come, not
many jugglers have influenced the more than Ville Valo. With video
releases from Peapot Juggling showing extreme creativity with 3 balls,
clubs, rings and bounce juggling, Ville has done more than his fair share
of inspirational juggling. When he isn't trying to work out how to get the
cigars out of cigar boxes he spends his time contemplating Zen Buddhism,
the Kabala and all things Karmic. His philosophy in life, and in juggling,
is to be gentle at all times, never applying too much force in any one
direction without almost equal force in the opposite.
-cut to interview with title "Maksim Komaro - fellow Peapot juggler and
creativity guru"
"... except for clowns. When Ville sees a clown all that good vibey karma
s*** goes out the round window, I sometimes can't hold him back! Actually,
sometimes I don't even try to hold him back, as all of us dislike clowns
to a certain degree. But for Ville there is a kind of mad awakening in his
soul and demons have to be exorcised. When he sees a clown, that is. Or a
postman. For some reason he has the same reaction to postmen. Maybe it is
the way they walk and whistle that does it."
-visual sting and V.0. "26"
In at 26 is Ben Jennings, the long haired 3 ball wizard of mystery. It is
true that Ben is the only British juggler to ever win an IJA Gold Medal
but what people don't know is that Ben is in fact the only British juggler
to ever enter an IJA competition. In the future we look forward to other
British jugglers upholding this 100% success record.
-VT insert "Jugglers Dropped part 3"
Luke Wilson, one half of Luka Luka and headline performer at the EJC this
year didn't quite make the final cut. Even so he remains a major influence
in European club juggling.
-visual sting and V.0. "25"
And finally, after the testosterone charged first 15 in our chart, we
encounter our first female juggler! Cindy Marvel is without a doubt the
first lady of juggling in the United States. Not only an expert club
juggler, Cindy also combines ball and drum juggling in an originally
titled routine called Drumball.
Her popularity was boosted this year by writing the EJC review for both
the JUGGLE and KASKADE magazines.
-visual sting and V.0. "24"
In at 24 is club juggler extrordinairre, Evgeni Biljauer. Evgeni
discovered juggling independently when he dropped half a dozen eggs onto
the floor when he was just a young farm hand. Before the eggs hit the hard
gravel of the yard he had caught the first egg, then the second in his
left hand, then as the following eggs descended he threw the first ones up
again... of course, all 6 eggs finally broke but the idea of juggling was
sparked in his mind.
At the height of his career, Evgeni was performing effortless looking
routines with 5 clubs including such tricks as 5 up pirouettes, 3 up
forward rolls and backcrosses flowing seamlessly into 4 clubs and a head
balance. 20 years before Anthony Gatto was juggling with 4 clubs and a
ball, Evgeni was performing those same tricks twice daily, including a
pirouette under 2 clubs and a bouncing ball. Living in a small farming
community means Biljauer had to run home from the circus just minutes
after each show to feed his father's pigs.
-visual sting and V.0. "23"
If there is one stage that produces more favourite jugglers than any other
it is the IJA junior championships. In at 23 is the latest gold medalist,
Jon Brady. After competing a few years ago he caught the eye of juggling
coach Benji Hill. After training together extensively for two years, Jon
performed an almost perfect routine in Reno, 2003. He dropped on stage
just once, a sure sign of a juggler working well within their skills...
and if he was performing 7 balls and 5 club pirouettes, you've got to ask
where the limits of his skills reaches!
-cut to interview with title "Matt Hall - IJA championship loser, 2003"
"I'm glad he wasn't performing in the seniors category, I'd have been
completely screwed. On the other hand, I'd like to see him try to perform
a two diabolo hyperloop suicide whipcatch..."
-visual sting and V.0. "22"
Paul Ponce is in at 22. A technical juggler of the highest standard he,
stuns audiences across America with his mastery of tricks such as 5 club
backcrosses.
This year he performed in the Cascade of Stars show at the IJA festival.
He closed his act by a high energy hat juggling routine, showering up to 6
over the audience.
-visual sting and V.0. "21"
Scotty Cavanaugh is a comedy juggler who does a mad trick with a chair, a
bucket and tub of maggots. He tips the maggots down his shirt, then gets a
member of the audience to smack him across the head with a chair until he
is rendered unconscious. Laying in a pool of blood, the maggots eat the
substance of his shirt as the audience sit an uncomfortable silence. Then
Scotty blinks or twitches a finger, showing he is conscious once more. The
audience goes wild!
A bizarre act idea but one that sells quite well on the other side of
town.
-VT insert "Jugglers Dropped part 4"
Ryo Yabe, diabolo and devil stick master from Japan. Sorry.
-visual sting and V.0. "20"
Into the top 20 we go, with "Benjibot" Adam Kariotis. At the IJA
championships, the year when a junior took the senior gold, Adam performed
a routine which won him the junior gold, but would have beaten the best of
the seniors too.
He is currently working on cruise ships, performing hack acts to audiences
who are so close to death they... um... something that they don't mind him
using stolen material, or something like that.
-visual sting and V.0. "19"
Finally we return from the USA to Europe for our 19th most popular
juggler. Austrian Thomas Dietz has been juggling since he was an infant
and if his current skill level is anything to go by he has hardly put down
his props since he started. Not only can this juggling wonder run patterns
like 8 ball half showers and 7 ball cascades with ease he also enjoys
performing seemingly impossible tricks for audiences across the continent.
On the Renegade stage at the European Juggling Convention, Thomas
performed a short routine with 5 glowballs. The compare that night,
knowing Thomas could do much better, asked him how long his 5 ball record
was. The challenge was set at 30 minutes so Thomas took up position on the
edge of the stage and juggled a 5 ball cascade while the rest of the show
continued about him. When half an hour passed there were calls of "One
hour!" from the audience so Thomas obliged. At 1 hour and 35 seconds,
Thomas performed a 5 up pirouette and collapsed on stage from exhaustion.
Of the two people to ever juggle 5 balls for over an hour, one of them
does it on stage. Arise Sir Thomas "One Hour" Dietz.
-cut to interview with title "Mini Mansell - Renegade stage veteran"
"I think that if we get one of those drinks containers that strap to your
back with a pipe to your mouth, and rigged it up on Thomas he could sip
energy drinks all the way through and next year maybe... just maybe... we
can get him to go for 2 hours! That is, if we can find him when he is
sober..."
-visual sting and V.0. "18"
Smooth juggling Kris Kremo comes in at number 18. Being born into a family
of juggling performers gave Kris the head start he needed to become one of
the most sought after juggling acts today. A legend in his own lifetime,
Kris doesn't use flashy club tricks or numbers juggling to win
appreciation from audiences round the world, instead he uses 3 balls, 3
hats, 3 cigar boxes and a shed-load of easy-going attitude.
-cut to interview with title "Little Paul - manic millenary manipulator"
"Kris Kremo... just a bit good!"
-visual sting and V.0. "17"
At 17 we find French juggler Denis Paumier. Denis is considered by many to
be the finest in the new breed of innovative and experimental performers.
Other people say he just wants to be Michael Moschen so much it hurts. No
matter whose opinion you listen to there is no denying Denis' manipulation
and performance skills. Whether you like grown men playing with twisty
bits of plastic on stage or solid runs of 6 club juggling, Denis has it
all.
Denis Paumier has also spent years developing a new juggling routine
notation system that has so many different levels and functions only two
other people in the world admit they understand it. And the rest of us
think they are lying.
-visual sting and V.0. "16"
Beating his fellow Peapot juggler by over 10 places, Maksim Komaro enters
our chart at 16. Nobody in recent years has come up with more unique ways
of juggling balls and clubs than Maksim and he shows little sign of
slowing down. Sharing his best creations with the world through a popular
video series made him the most incorrectly pronounced juggler to date.
Maksim doesn't just make up original tricks, he performs them in original
ways too. Mixing his own juggling, a partner's dancing and, quite
improbably, a collection of plastic buckets he creates routines of the
likes the juggling world has never seen before.
-cut to interview with title "Andy "poi-boy" Bachelor - juggling
enthusiast and Peapot fanatic."
"I went to a 5 day workshop with Maksim and in the first morning we
juggled for 3 hours with just 3 balls, filled with hundreds of tricks not
one of us had ever seen before. I know I'm a crap juggler but all of the
other students were dead good, and even they were astounded by Maksim."
-VT insert "Jugglers Dropped part 5"
Ofek Shilton, 8 year old juggler from Israel and International Juggling
Orchestra conductor. Keep working on those 3 diabolo tricks and 5 clubs
juggling, grow a few more inches and you'll cruise into the top spots next
year, no problem.
-visual sting and V.0. "15"
One third of the mass of Team Rootberry, Jonathan Root is the diminutive
partner of Bill Berry. As a team they return to the IJA championships and
pick up their yearly medals and prize money.
While taking breaks from juggling at theme parks and casinos, Jonathan
Root likes to breed floppy eared rabbits and runs half marathons for his
favourite charity, the "Ex-Miss Rodeo America Rehabilitation Fund", which
he runs from his mother's basement.
-visual sting and V.0. "14"
At 14 we find the second female juggler in our chart. Francois Rochoise is
a past IJA championship gold medalist, best known for shunning clubs in
favour of batons, with which she performs long runs of 6 on stage. That
and stripping off half her clothes during her routine.
-cut to interview with title "Jake and Marty LaSalle - two people, not
just one with a mirror."
"She is the only reason why we attend the IJA convention, and has been for
the last 6 years."
-visual sting and V.0. "13"
Lucky 13 is Toby Walker. Toby was a completely unknown juggler from Wales
until he appeared in the British Juggling Convention public show in 1999.
He astounded the audience with amazing club juggling tricks with 3 and 4
clubs before picking up 5 with which he became a legend overnight. Tricks
as long runs of backcrosses, quad spins to flats and mills mess, which
most jugglers find impossible with 3 clubs, Toby performed with 5!
After appearing with the Gandini Juggling Project in the Millennium Dome
for a year, Toby retired from performing and spends all his spare time
pushing the boundaries of club juggling beyond what is normally considered
the upper limit of human abilities.
-cut to interview with title "Sean Gandini - frizzy haired, ice-cream
loving juggler."
"Toby is probably the second greatest technical club juggler in the world
but the way he uses his skills to come up with tricks and combinations is
unequalled. I'm currently producing a new dvd called 'Toby The Best' where
you can see some of his greatest tricks for the first time and a 7 club
run of over 75 catches. Not bad for a fork lift truck driver in a Tictac
and Vimto factory!"
-visual sting and V.0. "12"
There is an elite group of just four men who are considered by the
majority of jugglers as the all time greats. In at number 12 is the first
of this celebrated quad, Sergi Ignatov.
Sergi is a veteran circus perform who is still performing now at the age
of ninety seven. In his prime Sergi would perform 11 rings on stage, long
runs of 7 huge stage balls and effortless 5 club routines. Now he has
toned down his act to ease his ageing arms but still puts most young
jugglers to shame with runs of 9 rings.
-cut to interview with title "Adrian Hopper - member of the general
public."
"I was watching 'You've Been Framed', that show with 'hilarious' home
video clips, and saw this juggler do about 20 rings. As he stepped forward
to catch them all... he fell off the stage! What a clown!"
-visual sting and V.0. "11"
In at number 11 is another of the four best jugglers ever. Using flamenco
influences, acrobatics and a hugely charismatic stage presence, Francis
Brunn is one of the most exciting jugglers to ever perform. At the end of
the vaudeville era of jugglers he took ball bouncing, spinning and
juggling to a level previously unseen. Now, years after he stopped
performing, some of Francis' individual tricks have been equalled or
surpassed but nobody has come close to his precision, flamboyance and
grace.
'Brunn's Impossible Trick' and 'Brunn's Combination Trick' will remain for
all times as feats very few other jugglers will ever have the skill to
even practice, let alone perform, establishing a long reign for Francis as
one of the greatest of all time. Brunn now works as a circus show
producer, still combining traditional flamenco and juggling into vibrant
new performances.
-cut to interview with title "Sam "I Am" Veal - ball spinning and juggling
master."
"I met Francis Brunn in his New York apartment, way after I thought he was
dead. He is in fact alive and well, and he showed me the most amazing
trick. Francis put an empty beer bottle over his index finger, flicked it
off and caught it on his middle middle by inserting it through the hole
while it spun. He continued in the same fashion all the way down his
fingers and back, first time, without a drop! Forget catching heel-kicked
balls on other spinning balls, that should be his Impossible Trick!"
-VT insert "Jugglers Dropped part 6"
Michael Moschen, inventor of dynamic manipulation and the real star of the
film Labyrinth. So close, yet so far.
-visual sting and V.0. "10"
Now, time to take the chart into the top 10 most popular jugglers. Taking
a break from the traditional legends of juggling and looking for a future
big name we meet Michael Karas. Michael first caught the eye of the
juggling world by publishing online a huge series of original 3 ball
tricks called JuggINgSANITY. Could he keep up his good form and continue
to bemuse us all with his flexing creativity muscle? The answer is yes!
Where most young jugglers are happy to try and mimic technical wizards
like Anthony Gatto, and fail, Michael Karas instead looks to innovative
jugglers like Maksim Komaro, and succeeds in making such original styles
his own. Michael Karas has already proved himself as a master of juggling
creativity and is now working on his first live performances.
-cut to interview with title "Warren and Dave - pirouetting juggling
rivals."
"At last, a breath of fresh air in the otherwise stagnant young juggling
scene. Karas really stands out as a future big name! Greater than Warren's
and almost as large as mine."
-visual sting and V.0. "9"
Surrounded by myth and legend, Enrico Rastelli! Dead long before any
modern jugglers were even born, Enrico's skills have echoed down the years
to place him among the four greatest of all time and ensure his number 9
position in our chart today.
A typical Rastelli act would consist of tricks like bouncing 2 footballs
on his head at once and mad combination tricks. One classic is juggling 5
plates while bouncing a ball on his head and spinning a ring on his leg...
while skipping over a rope swung by two assistants.
Many other difficult juggling tricks, world firsts and records are
attributed to Rastelli which will never be confirmed. Even so, while only
about 10 seconds of cinematic footage of him exists today, what survives
shows enough skill to add credibility to most of these claims.
Enrico died at the age of 17 when he slipped on a smashed egg, dropped in
the circus ring by a clown performing before him. Though unconfirmed, this
was the spark that ignited the current rift between jugglers and clowns
that exists today.
-cut to interview with title "Haggis Mcleod - street performing urchin
from the turn of the 20th century."
"Once, when I was training as a clown in a circus in Italy I met Enrico
Rastelli. I shook his hand just before he entered the ring for that
fateful last performance. Seeing the greatest juggler in the world brought
low by clowns made me hang up my blue wig and throw out my red nose for
ever."
-visual sting and V.0. "8"
In at number 8 is pierced and tattooed Bill Berry, the larger half of Team
Rootberry. Not content with just one IJA gold medal at the Reno festival
for his team performance, he also went on to win the gold for the senior's
individuals and the 3 ball competition.
Bill has been well known for his 3 ball juggling prowess but won over the
judges this year by swallowing a sword and juggling 5 clubs at the same
time. What does the future hold for this juggler from California? What
challenges can he conquer next?
-cut to interview with title "Dorothy Finnigan - world traveller and
performer."
"I once heard two guys chatting. One said 'When I first saw Anthony Gatto
I was really surprised at how small he is. He is tiny. I was expecting a
huge, long armed juggling monster.' 'No, said the other, 'the huge, long
armed juggling monster is Bill Berry.' How I laughed!"
-visual sting and V.0. "7"
Number 7 on our chart is Ben Beever, or Siteswap Ben, as he is commonly
known. While many siteswap and numbers jugglers hide their skills from the
world, practising only in their bedrooms, Ben has performed extensively in
the UK and Europe, obtaining a cult following. By showing off huge
siteswap, multiplex and numbers juggling tricks on stage, Ben has
single-handedly promoted the sale of more Aerotech glowballs and Barnesy
Bags than all other jugglers combined.
Ben has many world records, being the second person to ever flash 12 balls
and one of the first to ever pass 17 and 18 balls. He has written
extensively on siteswap notation and the mathematics of juggling and
published his own book on the subject. He is now training to be a maths
teacher yet continues to be an inspiration to fellow jugglers.
-cut to interview with title "Peter Bone - another numbers and siteswap
juggling expert."
"Ben is the kind of juggler we all love, he doesn't do it for money or
anything, he is so good at it because he had nothing better to do while at
university. How cool is that? Without Ben, I'm sure there would be no
other high level numbers jugglers in the UK, we just wouldn't have known
that kind of thing was possible."
-visual sting and V.0. "6"
Falling just outside of the top 5 is Viktor Kee. This juggler from eastern
Europe has polished his performances with a long-term residency at Cirque
du Soliel. Victor doesn't juggle his way through his routine, he dances,
tumbles, slides and slithers, the balls flowing over his hands and body as
he does so.
The guys love him for his juggling skills, the girls love him for
appearing on stage almost naked, with just a single sequin strategically
placed to cover his privates. The only reason he can get away with it is
that he is a really good juggler, usually closing out his routines with
long runs of 7 balls. But who wants to see boring old numbers juggling
when you can see a human snake contact juggling 5 balls?
-cut to interview with title "Viveca Gardiner - Yankee juggling enthusiast"
"Hmna, hmmna... *SIGH*..."
-VT insert "Jugglers Dropped part 7"
Albert Lucas, who tries so hard, bless him, fails to make it into the top
40 this year. What more can he do? Break another world record, invent a
new sport or just pull his white socks further up his legs and hope for
the best next year?
-visual sting and V.0. "5"
Into the top 5 most popular jugglers of 2003! Luke Burrage was first
noticed by the juggling world not because of his juggling skills but
because of his website. Then he got into numbers juggling and became known
for such tricks as 10 and 11 ball flashes.
Over the years he started performing, mixing up skills on stage at various
juggling conventions. In 2003 he managed to perform at all but one
juggling convention he attended, which was quite a number, including
hosting the Renegade stage at the EJC.
Never quite sure what Luke is going to do next, on or off stage, he keeps
everyone on their toes while pursuing a vigorous course in self promotion.
He has recently taken up acrobatics but continues to juggle, creating new
tricks and routines. He is also the fifth person to ever flash 12 balls.
-cut to interview with title "Peachy and Cindy - dreadlocked jugglers from
Nottingham."
"Luke Burrage? Better than Haggis!"
-visual sting and V.0. "4"
At number 4 is Jay Gilligan. Jay was introduced to the juggling world
through his early interest in unicycling. He soon swapped his wheels for
balls, clubs and rings.
Fast-forward to 2003 and we find a seasoned performer who tours the world
entertaining and bemusing jugglers and public audiences. Nobody has ever
worked out if Jay really takes himself as seriously as he'd like us to
believe and his unique mix of stylised and improvised antics on stage keep
everyone guessing just what this man is on. The legendary performance in
Edinburgh where he walked in circles stabbing a loaf of bread with a fork
has elevated him above all other jugglers in the "WTF?" rankings.
With such a distinct character and performance techniques it is almost too
easy to overlook the fact that Jay Gilligan is a hugely talented technical
juggler. Not many can juggle 7 rings or 6 clubs as easily as Jay, and not
many other jugglers could perform an entire routine with 6 balls.
-cut to interview with title "Mini Mansell - European Juggling Association
Secretary and UK representative."
"I once offered Jay a drink and he said 'No, I don't drink.' I said what
about a soft drink and he said 'No, I don't drink.' Not at all, I asked?
'No, not at all. I get all the moisture I need from the food I eat...' A
complete nutter, it must be said. A good juggler though, so we'll let him
off. Have you seen the Peapot videos?"
-visual sting and V.0. "3"
The brother-sister team of Vova and Olga Galchenko have secured a joint
place as number 3 in the most popular jugglers of 2003. After training
extensively in their home country of Russia, Vova and Olga gained their
first international fans at the British Juggling Convention in Whitstable
in 2002. With their combined age younger than most jugglers in the
audience they astounded everyone with solo and passing skills seemingly
way beyond their years.
They continued to perform at various conventions in Europe while training
at home even harder, videoing their progression all the time. Making these
videos available online ensured they stayed in everyone's minds even when
a long way from the stage.
Their club passing skills seemed to have no limit as Vova and Olga broke
the world records in 9, 10 and 11 club passing. Aged just 15 and 12 years
old at the time, people predicted only great things for these two, the
youngest jugglers in the chart so far.
This year they journeyed to the USA for the IJA competitions and won two
medals between them, bronze and silver. Then they took their skills to
Europe and performed in the EJC public show. Now living and training in
America, Olga is honing her 3 club combat skills while at the other end of
puberty, Vova is discovering the darker side of 24 hour juggling
convention halls and will surface in mid 2004, bleary eyed but ready for
action.
-cut to interview with title "Thomas "One Hour" Dietz - speaking through
an interpreter."
"Thomas says, 'Olga is good at combat but she won't be the greatest until
she stops her habit of doing one up pirouettes to turn around, as that is
her main weakness. Also she needs to work on walking in sideways circles
during the early parts of the melee, this is what I do and I have yet to
lose a game of combat ever.' He adds, 'Vova is beyond hope. He is now far
too old to become a great combat player.'
He also said a word I don't feel comfortable translating."
-visual sting and V.0. "2"
Muscle bound Jason Garfield comes in at number two. An IJA competition
favourite, this year he took a break from competing to perform his own
feature length show. In it he combined technically perfect juggling,
comedy and insults thrown at just about every juggler and audience member
except himself.
Off stage he inspires the same jugglers who he insults and has spawned a
whole generation of kids who think the ass catch is the greatest trick in
the world when in fact Jason only does it to show off his toned rear end.
Many rated Jason has so highly this year for one main reason: not
releasing another Kung Fu film. While his Juggling Master series was met
with universal appreciation, asking his fans to sit through his dire
feature film actually made a large dent in his votes, causing him to miss
the top spot in the chart.
When not ranting against his arch nemesis, Benji Hill, Jason performs on
cruise ships and releases videos of himself juggling harder tricks than
anyone else in the world. Or almost everyone else...
-cut to interview with title "Anthony Gatto - a better technical juggler
than Jason Garfield."
"Hi...um, oh yeah... Jason, you suck, I rule! Bring it, baby! Is that what
you wanted me to say? Hey how come I've not appeared on this chart yet?"
-visual sting and V.0. "1"
Finally, here we are at the top spot and it's no surprise that we find
Anthony Gatto the favourite in 2003. What can we say about Anthony that
hasn't been said before? This year he has continued to improve and
improve, refining his stage show and taking his practice sessions to yet
another level.
This year he performed at the IJA festival and made a large number of
videos available on his website. Also on his website he created a stir by
labelling tricks so hard that only jugglers like Vova Galchenko can
attempt as "easy" and re-writing the FAQ to include such answers as
"Probably because I really am the best. My dad told me so."
Gatto remains untouched as the greatest technical ever and he knows it. We
don't hold it against him so we give Anthony Gatto the award of "Most
Popular Juggler of 2003"
-cut to interview with title "Jason Garfield - almost the most popular
juggler of 2003."
"I respect Anthony's juggling skills, but not his methods. Anyone who has
to sacrifice a hen each night and a cockerel every Sunday to Satan, just
to keep himself at the top of their field, shouldn't be allowed to profit
from their enterprises. What kind of an influence on young jugglers is
Gatto if he uses the dark arts to sustain his very essence..."
-closing montage and bubble music under V.O.
And so we end our journey through the most celebrated juggling
personalities of 2003. What will the results be next year? Will we have a
whole new list of young jugglers attacking the placing? Will Gatto's spark
burn out early? Will Luke Burrage's ego spontaneously combust? Will Olga
and Vova split and go their separate ways, retreating into apparent
obscurity?
Who knows, but come back next year, vote, and tune in to find out who is
who in the Top 40 Most Popular Jugglers of 2004.
I hope you've enjoyed the show, my name is William Williamson, goodnight!
-mix through to end credits.
----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----
Brian Gadomski
The Void
>
> The Top 40 Most Popular Jugglers of 2003 as voted by YOU!
>
> -music fades
>
<snip>
> I hope you've enjoyed the show, my name is William Williamson, goodnight!
>
> -mix through to end credits.
Excuse me, is this the right room for an arguement? etc......
Nye swun Luke. I personally was disappointed not to see Steve 'Your
breasts were all out of whack'
Martin on the list, but i suppose i'll just have to phone the hotline a
few extra times next time (By the
way, 50p a minute was a bit steep if you ask me....). And were was Max
Oddball?!! Ah fame is but
fortune's strumpet, or somesuch.....
Damn, must raise my profile (.....Mr DeMille.) by next year.
Anyway, what is this, a popularity contest or somethi...... Ah, right.
The Void
Jared
placing it with my juggling references. Yet again you establish
yourself as the most entertaining poster in rec.juggling.
Jared Davis
Silver Spring, MD
NielsDuinker
Valentino
Claudius Specht
Vladik?
Nice list!
Luke Burrage
> Where are
>
> Valentino
> Claudius Specht
> Vladik?
>
> Nice list!
>
They would have been there if you voted for them. I didn't make this list
up, neither the names or order. If you remember a few months back
Icecold's huge "PLEASE fill out my juggling survey" thread, one of the
questions was Name your top 10 jugglers in order... I used those for the
list. I took the top 40 ranked jugglers. Actually I took the top 41 names,
because Vova and Olga Galchenko were at numbers 3 and 4 so I combined them
into a single entry.
Vladik only got one vote, not enough to get into the top 40, but then of
the 112 jugglers mentioned in the survey, over half only got one vote. The
full list is a good one though.
I'm glad you liked the post.
Luke Burrage
Jay Linn
news:3fd703a0$0$52888$bed6...@news.gradwell.net...
<snippage>
> Vladik only got one vote, not enough to get into the top 40, but then of
> the 112 jugglers mentioned in the survey, over half only got one vote. The
> full list is a good one though.
So any chance of seeing the whole list, with polling figures as well
as rankings?
> I'm glad you liked the post.
I did as well. Thank you.
--
Jay Linn
This .sig is funnier than the last one.
The Void
> They would have been there if you voted for them. I didn't make this list
> up, neither the names or order.
You mean this is for real?! Now i'm disappointed. Where do i get my refund?
The Void
Nathan Peterson
> because Vova and Olga Galchenko were at numbers 3 and 4 so I combined them
> into a single entry.
I'm curious. Which one was #3 and which one was #4?
-Nathan
Little Paul
> Luke Burrage wrote:
>
>>They would have been there if you voted for them. I didn't make this list
>>up, neither the names or order.
>
> You mean this is for real?! Now i'm disappointed. Where do i get my refund?
I'll handle the refund for you, simply send me a cheque to
cover the £50 refund handling fee and I'll sort it out for you.
-Paul
Luke Burrage
> > Vladik only got one vote, not enough to get into the top 40, but then of
> > the 112 jugglers mentioned in the survey, over half only got one vote. The
> > full list is a good one though.
>
> So any chance of seeing the whole list, with polling figures as well
> as rankings?
Converting the polling figures into rankings was quite complicated and
done on paper, not in some easy to read computer format. I could type it
all up but the whole thing is scribbled across 4 bits of paper and I can't
be bothered.
But I do have the whole list. The first 40 names are in ranking order,
then alphabetically:
Anthony Gatto
Jason Garfield
Vova Galchenk
Olga Galchenko
Jay Gilligan
Luke Burrage
Viktor Kee
Ben Beever
Bill Berry
Enrico Rastelli
Michael Karas
Francis Brunn
Sergi Ignatov
Toby Walker
Francois Rochoise
Jonathan Root
Maksim Komaro
Denis Paumier
Kris Kremo
Thomas Dietz
Adam Kariotis
Scotty Cavanaugh
Paul Ponce
Jon Brady
Evgeni Biljauer
Cindy Marvel
Ben Jennings
Ville Valo
Bobby May
Sean Gandini
Ivan Pecell
Chris Chiappini
Scott Seltzer
Bruce Sarafian
Peter Bone
Steve Ragatz
Pat McGuire
Matt Hall
Barak
CJ Smith Jr.
Bruce Tiemann
Octavio Alegria
Mike Armstrong
Markku Aulanko
Jon Belle
Stephen Bent
Kevin Bylund
Rafael de Carlos
Holden Caulfield
Robin Chesnut
Jeff Clark
Charlie Dancey
Jarad Davies
Emma
Colin Ernst
Ewano
Sean Faggioli
Brad Farmer
Dorothy Finnigan
Matt Freid
Ben Fry
Jamie Fletcher
Warren Hammond
Joel Henderson
Matt Henry
Billy Houer
Icecold
Min Tam Kaplan
Olga Karvaeva
Dave Kelly
Bryson Lang
Jake Laselle
Marty Laselle
Manu Laude
Lorri
Albert Lucas
Jeff Lutkus
Patrick Maguire
Manolo
Darin Marriot
Jerry Martin
Haggis Macleod
Sean McKinney
Dan Menendez
Ernest Montego
Gene Monterastelli
Owen Morse
Michael Moschen
Dave Nager
Mark Nizer
Little Paul
Tall Paul
Penti
Anthony Peterson
Ron
Mads Rosebeck
Martin Schweitztke
Ofek Shilton
Lardy Shorts
Slammin'
Sweavo
Jouni Temonen
Dana Tison
Tony from France
Kristian Vanvik
Sam Vines
Vladik
Luke Wilson
Ryo Yabe
Icecold
I loved the show mr William Williamson (luke), i cant wait til next year,
and thanks :)
> One classic is juggling 5 plates while bouncing a ball on his head and
> spinning a ring on his leg... while skipping over a rope swung by two
> assistants.
It was 6 plates if i remember, but all your other facts are SPOT on i think
> Enrico died at the age of 17 when he slipped on a smashed egg, dropped in
> the circus ring by a clown performing before him. Though unconfirmed, this
> was the spark that ignited the current rift between jugglers and clowns
> that exists today.
I find this above material offensive, clowns and rastelli should not be
mixed within the same paragraph and this material is unsuitable for anyone
my age and below to hear this shocking affects that clowning can have upon
the lives and how it is more dangerous than gun crime
No it twas when he was 31, if i could get that good within 17 years of
solid practice i would be a miracle worker
> I hope you've enjoyed the show, my name is William Williamson, goodnight!
>
> -mix through to end credits.
Oooooh, i like those special effects, lucky i taped it, i cant wait to
watch it again (well i missed most of it while i was channel hopping)
Thanks again lukas
Icecold
J Craggs
<l...@juggler.net> wrote:
>> You mean this is for real?! Now i'm disappointed. Where do i get my refund?
>
>I'll handle the refund for you, simply send me a cheque to
>cover the £50 refund handling fee and I'll sort it out for you.
>
>-Paul
Dabbling in Palmistry...
Handling questionable refunds, "Fifty Quid for
cash, Squire..."
You'll be tarmaccing people's drives for them
next...
Leave it to the professionals ;-)
Gyppo
John Craggs - Writer - Adult Tutor - Storyteller
and All-Round Rogue
Need a laugh? Then subscribe to the free Monday Silly Digest:
mail to: gyp...@ntlworld.com With 'MSD SUB' as subject.
JJuggle
>
> The Top 40 Most Popular Jugglers of 2003 as voted by YOU!
>
> -visual sting and V.0. "25"
>
> And finally, after the testosterone charged first 15 in our chart, we
> encounter our first female juggler! Cindy Marvel is without a doubt the
> first lady of juggling in the United States. Not only an expert club
> juggler, Cindy also combines ball and drum juggling in an originally
> titled routine called Drumball.
>
> Her popularity was boosted this year by writing the EJC review for both
> the JUGGLE and KASKADE magazines.
Cindy, it turns out, has also written a combined review of both festivals
for the Fall 2003 issue (Vol 7, No 1, pg 39-41) of Spectacle: A Quarterly
Journal of the Circus Arts. ( http://www.spectaclemagazine.com )
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
- Last of the Periodico-Experi-mentalists
Viveca
>
> The Top 40 Most Popular Jugglers of 2003 as voted by YOU!
Hilarious. Well done.
>
> Paul Ponce is in at 22. A technical juggler of the highest standard he,
> stuns audiences across America with his mastery of tricks such as 5 club
> backcrosses.
>
> This year he performed in the Cascade of Stars show at the IJA festival.
> He closed his act by a high energy hat juggling routine, showering up to 6
> over the audience.
>
NOTE: Curious lack of fawning commentary.
>
> Falling just outside of the top 5 is Viktor Kee. This juggler from eastern
> Europe has polished his performances with a long-term residency at Cirque
> du Soliel. Victor doesn't juggle his way through his routine, he dances,
> tumbles, slides and slithers, the balls flowing over his hands and body as
> he does so.
>
> The guys love him for his juggling skills, the girls love him for
> appearing on stage almost naked, with just a single sequin strategically
> placed to cover his privates. The only reason he can get away with it is
> that he is a really good juggler, usually closing out his routines with
> long runs of 7 balls. But who wants to see boring old numbers juggling
> when you can see a human snake contact juggling 5 balls?
>
> -cut to interview with title "Viveca Gardiner - Yankee juggling
enthusiast"
>
> "Hmna, hmmna... *SIGH*..."
Whether or not juggling gets you girls, it sure doesn't teach you how to
read them -- apparently my imaginary commentary was attributed to the wrong
juggler. Or maybe I hmna hmna'ed Viktor Kee, but to be honest my big hubba
hubba goes to Paul Ponce. Yowza.
V
Little Paul
>>Paul Ponce is in at 22.
>
I was surprised by Lukes restraint when it comes to jokes about his
name...
-Paul
Little Paul
> Dabbling in Palmistry...
> Handling questionable refunds, "Fifty Quid for
> cash, Squire..."
> You'll be tarmaccing people's drives for them
> next...
I've got some lucky heather around here somewhere...
> Leave it to the professionals ;-)
I think I will, I don't want to start a turf war ;-)
-Paul
Alan Morgan
Luke Burrage <lu...@juggler.net.nospam> wrote:
>The Top 40 Most Popular Jugglers of 2003 as voted by YOU!
>
>-music fades
[snip]
>-cut to interview with title "Eric Urhain - inventor of twisty armed trick
>Erics Extension."
It's "Eric Uhrhane", btw.
I told him he should have named the trick Uhrhane's Undulation - that
way everyone would have learned how to spell his name.
Alan
--
Defendit numerus
Luke Burrage
> > Paul Ponce is in at 22. A technical juggler of the highest standard he,
> > stuns audiences across America with his mastery of tricks such as 5 club
> > backcrosses.
> >
> > This year he performed in the Cascade of Stars show at the IJA festival.
> > He closed his act by a high energy hat juggling routine, showering up to 6
> > over the audience.
> >
> NOTE: Curious lack of fawning commentary.
Noted. Am I not allowed to be sensible?
> >
> > Falling just outside of the top 5 is Viktor Kee. This juggler from eastern
> > Europe has polished his performances with a long-term residency at Cirque
> > du Soliel. Victor doesn't juggle his way through his routine, he dances,
> > tumbles, slides and slithers, the balls flowing over his hands and body as
> > he does so.
> >
> > The guys love him for his juggling skills, the girls love him for
> > appearing on stage almost naked, with just a single sequin strategically
> > placed to cover his privates. The only reason he can get away with it is
> > that he is a really good juggler, usually closing out his routines with
> > long runs of 7 balls. But who wants to see boring old numbers juggling
> > when you can see a human snake contact juggling 5 balls?
> >
> > -cut to interview with title "Viveca Gardiner - Yankee juggling
> enthusiast"
> >
> > "Hmna, hmmna... *SIGH*..."
>
> Whether or not juggling gets you girls, it sure doesn't teach you how to
> read them -- apparently my imaginary commentary was attributed to the wrong
> juggler. Or maybe I hmna hmna'ed Viktor Kee, but to be honest my big hubba
> hubba goes to Paul Ponce. Yowza.
>
> V
Well, someone had to say it. It was either you or LP but he had another
comment elsewhere...
pasta
with spelling mistakes, like Pat Mc Guire and Bilhauer (this one I don't
know the correct spelling).
"Luke Burrage" <lu...@juggler.net.nospam> a écrit dans le message de news:
3fd77b5d$0$52881$bed6...@news.gradwell.net...
Luke Burrage
> Your survey is very interesting but it's a shame some names appear twice and
> with spelling mistakes, like Pat Mc Guire and Bilhauer (this one I don't
> know the correct spelling).
No, no, no...
> > Pat McGuire
and
> > Patrick Maguire
are two completely different people. With different spellings.
Honest.
J Craggs
(Luke Burrage) wrote:
>pasta wrote:
>> Your survey is very interesting but it's a shame some names appear twice and
>> with spelling mistakes, like Pat Mc Guire and Bilhauer (this one I don't
>> know the correct spelling).
>
Point of (limited) interest... If you don't
know the correct spelling, how do you know this one is
wrong? Instinct?
Itsik Orr
questionnaire, but I wrote down the jugglers (IIRC) in descending order.
Since you appear to (always) have too much time on your hands, may I suggest
(only in order to prevent mischief, idle hands and all that) that you redo
the survey but give the #1's 10 points and the #2's 9 points etc., then sum
up.
Itsik Orr.
Luke Burrage
Suggest away. I'm not doing any more work on that survey though. If anyone
else wants to use the same results to generate a new order of final
rankings go ahead, it can only be more scientific than mine, which wasn't
very.
Right now I have other projects to take up my time which I'm sure you will
see the results of soon. Or not soon.
Luke Burrage