IJA 2009 HLGCB
Reeses2150
IJA, so that means it's time to recap for everyone just what happened!
Highs:
------
* Me somehow getting up the nerve to perform my full Muffin Clutches act
at the last renegade show. That and it basically being the act of the
night in most peoples opinion 0_0
* Getting to hang out with a lot of the guys I like, Kevin Axtell, Matt
Hall, Warren Hammond, Paris, The New Steve (I followed him around perhaps
too much XD ), Mark The Knife, Mark Hayward, Ross B, and plenty of others.
* Finding the local walgreens and getting to eat food on the cheap because
the orphanage had a fridge and microwave!
* FREE INTERNET! Both at the hotel, Orphanage, and at the convention
center!
* Doug Sayers winning the individuals championship with a damned amazing
routine, and then winning people's choice.
* The oldschool acts from the Cascade of Stars, especially the
mime/walking down stairs act!
* Hosting a workshop about videography, and having people compliment me
about it!
Lows:
------
* The indiiduals championships being filled with tons of diaboloists and
only about 2 jugglers...
* Renegade Drunk Lab at the last renegade show.
* falling asleep during two of the stage shows (though one was during a
long drawn out boring section of RDL) and needing to leave Renegade shows
early because I needed sleep.
Goals:
------
* Perform the fully developed Muffin Clutches act without dropping - DONE
* Get enough footage for a podcast - Done, I think....
* not spend too much money - DONE!
* Put on a good videoworkshop -DONE!
Crush:
------
* Cheryl Sayers :D
Bane:
-----
* The damned carpet pattern, AND the ceiling of the gym. You couldn't see
your props in the air, or find them once they dropped...
* Too many workshops too early in the day, I ended up missing at least 5
that I wanted to go to...
--
----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----
Reeses2150
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm6BqEEdcx4
GLF00
Highs:
Getting together with Lloyd Ramsey and talking ball spinning.
Had fun teaching a ball spinning workshop, and people seemed to enjoy it.
Meeting Michael Chirrick!
Meeting Amanda Richter! I absolutely loved Genetic Fallout's 2007
routine, so meeting her in person was really cool.
Only an hour drive from home to fest!
Competing in x-juggling, and seeing cool tricks from the other competitors
(especially the 3 club helicopter shower and the 1 high spinning kick from
that girl, I think her name was Ashley). And managing to land all my
tricks in x-juggling! And getting an honorable mention in 3b category was
cool.
The show! Totally awesome opening! And there wasn't a single act that I
really disliked (though of course there were some I liked better than
others). Michael Menes was totally amazing, and I now hold the opinion
that mime can be very cool. :)
Lows:
Only being able to come for one day.
Missing Matt Hall's mills mess workshop. :(
The carpet color. Beanbags got lost unless they were all white. :p
Didn't get to play combat. :( :(
Getting lost on the drive back, and getting home between 1 and 2 am.
Goals:
Um, none really, except to have fun and maybe compete in x-juggling. So
check!
Oh yeah, and give back a video I had borrowed, also check.
Bane:
My mum's ankle getting twisted really bad on the way to the fest.
Surprise:
A couple guys saying that my x-juggling tricks were McKinney-like! That
was the best compliment anyone could give me (in regards to juggling,
anyways), and made me happier than winning a medal would have. :)
Jack Denger
winning 2 x-juggling medals!
just hanging out ans stuff like that..
Low: Can't really think of any at all!
Goal:Perform a good routine-Check!!
Crush: Doug!
Bane: Having to walk farther to get to the convention center
vandrizzle
>
> winning 2 x-juggling medals!
You competed in X-Juggling? No WJF next year?
Daniel S.
Getting in for free.
Talking siteswap with Chase.
Getting a tour of a kitchen in Peru.
Muffin manipulation.
Performing for a very select audience.
I learned that in spanish they say 'cry like a muffin'
Low:
The camera was pointed mostly toward the ceiling.
I would have liked for somebody to take us international guests for a ride
and and maybe introduce us
to people or at least show us around.
Goal:
To do a table juggling workshop from across the Atlantic:
not a total check, but we got to see somebody from england doing 531.
Crush:
it's a toss up (sorry) between the one who talks about the numbers and the
numbers.
Bane:
People playing with the computer without interacting.
Surprise:
Actually seeing 2 different people who I've only ever exchanged emails
with in the past month or so.
G.A.R
Norbi
Dougy Fresh winning the big Gold, and peoples' choice.
Dan Holzman
Highs: Wes Peden's juggling in the gym, Doug Sayers run of five club
backcrosses in the competition, Smirks(Reed belstock and Warren
Hammond) silver medal routine in the teams, Sharpe Brother's diabolo
routine, hanging out with Mike Chirrick, my new cigar boxes, Mike
Menes doing three of his classic routines in the show, Florent Lestage
doing his cane and club routine, seeing Greg Kennedy's cone routine
live, Sean Blue's routine in the welcome show, being part of three
really fun workshops, great times hanging out with friends.
Lows: too many diabolo acts in the competitions, accidentally saying
something that turned out to be really insensitive and feeling like a
total heel, not buying Ivan Pecel a sandwich when I had the chance.
Goals: Produce two good shows that the jugglers would enjoy, buy some
new props, Get Erik Aberg to show me some new cigar box moves, hang
out with friends.
Bane: being busy in the theatre and missing the workshops I wanted to
go to(Like Markus Furtner's devilstick ones), focusing more on my
mistakes then my successes, the fact that I still haven't learned to
talk less and listen more.
Crush: The Mellow Mushroom restaurant, cute waitresses and a great
make your own salad menu.
Surprise: Even after saying saying I wanted to go to next year's
festival and just chill, I found myself with some sick desire to be
considered as next year's festival director.
JayGilligansFather
>
> Bane: being busy in the theatre and missing the workshops I wanted to
> go to(Like Markus Furtner's devilstick ones), focusing more on my
> mistakes then my successes, the fact that I still haven't learned to
> talk less and listen more.
>
You are too hard on yourself. You are a tremendous slouch.
(Caddyshack reference alert)
> Surprise: Even after saying saying I wanted to go to next year's
> festival and just chill, I found myself with some sick desire to be
> considered as next year's festival director.
Dan, you know this already, but you would do a super job! Thanks for
all of your work every year on the shows and workshops. You really
give back. And we've got your back!
JGF
danielcoyne
* Seeing some of my favorite routines live: Michael Menes, Greg Kennedy,
Pat McGuire.
* Seeing a sense of joy and play return to contemporary
juggling/manipulation (especially with Jay Gilligan, Erik Aberg, Wes
Peden, and Patrik Elmnert.)
* Appreciating the sense of community and camaraderie.
* Spotting a great new pattern in Yuri's ball routine and actually
learning it in the gym. (Thanks Yuri!)
* Learning a fantastic new rubber band trick thanks to a very patient Erik
Aberg.
Lows:
* Being out of shape. :c P
* No bouncing except alone in the dungeon.
* Ridonkulous lines at the Juggle Jam buffet.
Goals:
* Work on my little routine that I'm putting together. (Check)
* Learn some new hat moves. (Check - thanks Jim Ellison and Steve Langley)
* Juggle with different people. (Check.)
Crush:
Circus Schools
Bane:
Meh...no banes.
Surprise:
Wes's skills. (Was he always that good, or has he made a giant leap
forward in Sweden?)
P.S. Who do you all want to see at next year's fest? I'd like to get
Charlie Frye to perform. And how about getting Vladik back?
7 up
RdL was really good. Hangin' out with friends! Playing lots of combat!
Doing well in the numbers competition! Sean Blue's act was really cool!
The Sharpe Brothers were great! Ivan Pecel was a great emcee! Ok.. I
better stop because the list could go on and on.
Lows: Being really tired after staying up all night.
Goals: Do well in the numbers comp. Specifically I wanted atleast 27
catches of 9b, 24 catches of 8r, and 14 catches of 7c. Check on all!
To do well in eXtreme juggling. Check + 2 medals!
Crush: DOUG!!! Best act ever! And crazy bxx!
Bane: My wrist hurting me the whole time + the carpet.
This was my best IJA so far!!!!
ChrisMoran
RdL in the opening show
Jay, Wes, Patrik, and Eric in the Cascade of Stars
Going to lunch at the Mellow Mushroom
Baby Day!
Watching Wes pratice in the gym
Nick Laffey has awesome tricks
Low:
Too much diabolo
Fire Alarm madness
Having a guy on a bike follow me asking for money for gas at 2 AM.
Although it was kinda funny.
Goal:
Pass 9 clubs (check)
Meet new people (check)
Bane:
It was only a week
Weird lighting spots in the gym
Kevin Axtell
Having a full sized NorCal crew to jam with.
Team RDL - Florent Lestage - Micheal Menes - Greg Kennedy
Very successful Club Motion Workshops - and DVD premier
hanging out with awesome Youtubers- Reeses2150- thegoheads-
theomnipotantjuggler-madjuggler6-chasejuggler-CTjuggles- and more
The organizers and crews - Mike Sullivan - John Satriano - Sandy Brown -
Dan Holzman - Kim Laird + Rob Barowski - Ivan Pecel - Bill Bahrr - Jay Ko
- Jerry Martin - Martin Frost - Jack and Jeri Kalvan - Laura Earnst and
Superstar Workshop Coordinator Matt("I can do that")Hall. An incredible
Selfless and dedicated team that worked tirelessly so everyone could have
such a great time.
Lows
Fire Alarm craziness - 2x in one fest "everybody out!"
Being in the middle of certain IJA politics - west coast v east coast.....
the sad state of IJA poi awareness - people seem to think weaves,
fountains, and snakes are all there is - yeah ...... 20 years ago........
Goals
Premier the Club Motion DVD - check
Lead progressive workshops - check
Medal in the championships - nope
Start on a 4 club scissor notation - check "indinvissor"
Crushes
Jay Gilligan - Alejandro and Romero from Mexico - Poetic Motion Machine
and the Humboldt Circus.
Banes
Teams Judging - look, I love the jugheads .. truly I do,
But please - in mine and many many others opinion, Motion Machine had them
beat by a frakkin mile. Ok, I can see Smirk beating them, but not the
jugheads.
Im sorry, I just don't get it.
Also my "element of Risk" scores from the Individuals Championships.
I wasn't expecting really high marks - but a 1.4!!! Come on!!!
alot of that stuff was very difficult - I guess alot of jugglers think you
have to keep everything in the air for it to be difficult. oh well.
All in all - an incredible Fest - a totally fun inspiring time.
ChaseMartin
>
> Getting in for free.
> Talking siteswap with Chase.
I had a blast too man. I think it was 4 AM at the time!!
Sam Malcolm
I really wish I could have gone. I've heard stories about your poi skill
and I want to spin with you. And I was also supposed to do a poi
workshop..... Oh well next year its all west coast!!!!
ChaseMartin
People asking me questions all week about siteswap & takeouts all week,
and watching them improve on a daily basis!
Doug's routine was indeed the bomb.
Learning a ton of rare multiplex patterns from Bill Coad.
Going out to dinner with different people using jumbo coupons.
Chatting with Adrian (I think that was her name) at 5 in the morning
Ivan says :)
Joe Dean representing our club by winning the Kendama Open!
Low:
Lighting sucked
Stayed with my uncle in the area -- got a little awkward
Poetic Motion Machine should have taken first in teams
Goal:
Win the 3 or 5 ball extreme juggling -- fail
Film myself sharing a siteswap with someone -- check!
Bane:
3 ball 1 up backflip into frontcrosses didn't even get an honorable
mention in extreme juggling!
Kevin Axtell
>
> Bane:
> 3 ball 1 up backflip into frontcrosses didn't even get an honorable
> mention in extreme juggling!
>
>
Still a sweet trick though
ChaseMartin
>
> Re:
> >
> > Bane:
> > 3 ball 1 up backflip into frontcrosses didn't even get an honorable
> > mention in extreme juggling!
> >
> >
> Probably because it was widely used in the past x juggling comps
> Still a sweet trick though
>
>
>
Yeah, I have to admit that other people had some nasty stuff as well :)
Probably my favorite part of the convention.
TimEllis
Highs:
- Seeing some great diabolo friends. Jacob, Nate, Matt always great to
jam with you.
- Doug. I knew he was good, but dang yo!
- The Asian diaboloists. They were phenomenal.
- The night with the local girl. Watching 5 jugglers all hit on one
nonjuggler...epic.
- My roommmates Ross, Mark, Crash. Thanks for the pictures.
Lows:
- Watching diabolo get made fun of so so much. Diabolo is apparently the
redheaded stepchild of juggling. (though watching one get saw'd in half
was funny)
- A couple of the renegade acts. Some weren't funny, some just weren't
renegade, some had such poor audio quality I couldn't hear the person.
Goal:
- Get out of my I can't learn anything new funk. Check.
- See juggling friends. Check.
- Eat junk food for a week solid. Check
Crush:
Male: Florent. He's so very good! And absolutely histerical. "Oh, well
you should go with them then"
Female: Humboldt girls. Friendly, funny, lots of fun.
Bane:
- The damn floor! Horrendous hotel floor. I seriously couldn't see my
sticks flying around.
- Sleep. I got about 3 hours a night all week.
Surprise:
- A man can break a chopstick with ladies' underwear and his butt.
- NYC gives out condoms in packages of 250.
This is starting to sound like it wasn't actually a juggling festival.
Hmm strange.
juggle-early
> Surprise:
> - A man can break a chopstick with ladies' underwear and his butt.
> - NYC gives out condoms in packages of 250.
>
> This is starting to sound like it wasn't actually a juggling festival.
> Hmm strange.
You are right, listening to this it just sounds like a week in the life of
Tim Ellis. It wouldn't matter where
you were: juggling festival, teaching convention, or church camp. I wish
I could have been there. I hope
you rocked out your Catch Me If You Can shirt.
Bekah.Smith
to me. Well, recently anyway
HIGHS:
- Our CouchSurfer hosts. We had two while we were there, and they were
both freaking awesome...the best CS hosts I've ever had, in fact. They
were really cool gals, and they made it possible for us to stay for free
while we were there.
- SMIRK!
- DOUG!
- CLAPPING FOR SMIRK AND DOUG!
- Pulling off Dextre's blow-dart cigarette trick in the Renegade show and
winning some cash for the best trick of the competition.
- Teaching the Creative Club Passing workshop again with Warren. It
seemed to be a pretty good success, and I loved watching the cool stuff
people came up with.
- Getting lots of hugs, and then getting even more hugs! Hello hugs,
goodbye hugs, that was a sweet trick hugs, and Hey I haven't seen you in a
few hours hugs!
- Fancy Pants Day...especially Bob Neuman. Lots of people took part,
including people I'd never met before and people who didn't know they were
taking part. Now that I know that people have fun with it, perhaps we'll
make it bigger next week
- The northeast (U.S.) was cracking me up all week. I'm glad I grew up in
the midwest because I'm definitely too big of a nerd to act cool all of
the time like you guys.
- Inventing lots of fun and silly tricks with Tio and Warren...including
some 2-person-1-club-HORSE tricks, Screaming Old Donkey Tits, Continuous
Screaming Old Donkey Tits, and some other very ladylike tricks that
involved clubs acting as booby tassles.
LOWS:
- Sore muscles, chills, extreme drowsiness, and a head full of snot for
the last few days of the fest
- Forgetting our host's address and having to stay somewhere else one
night...and then, after getting the address and directions, getting lost
on the way to her house the next night.
- Missing the second half of the Cascade of Stars due to kid wrangling for
a couple of the performers.
GOALS:
- Break my 5-club cascade record...have been trying for a year now to beat
45. I finally got 47 catches and was even more excited when other folks
were celebrating with me! Then Florent said I had to beat it again to
make sure I could do it. So I jumped back up and got 55 catches...YEAH!
- Pass 9 and 10 clubs with someone other than Warren....fail
- Go to a lot of workshops....epic fail. Didn't make it to a single one
other than my own due to lots of crazy time issues and pure laziness.
- Take lots of video...another epic fail
CRUSH:
- Brian Rooster...because he's freaking awesome
- Emmanuel...super nice guy, sweet tricks
- Florent...awesome awesome awesome
- Jessica...sweet and cute!
- Kevin...he spent hours behind that registration table and he's adorable!
- Laura's hamster ball...what a freaking awesome idea! And a blast, to
boot!
- Everyone who smiled
BANE:
- NOT the floor. Seriously...what's all this complaining about? I didn't
even notice...and I have yellow props.
- Flying. And trying to fit everything in carry-ons
- The Renegades I went to either weren't that great overall, or had some
pretty miserable acts in them.
SURPRISE:
- The Jugheads took first in teams (not surprised) and I'm not upset about
it (very surprised). They actually had a pretty good act. They
definitely had some tough tricks in there, their sheer numbers were
impressive rather than annoying for once, and they had very few drops. I
still think we need a juniors teams competition because it did seem like
they picked up some points in the "cute kids" category.
- RDL. They're great, but I didn't enjoy their big act as much as I
expected. I imagine it was supposed to be overwhelming...and I suppose
that the audience was even meant to feel like they had ADD. But even
though I knew there was tons of cool shit happening on stage, I couldn't
watch any of it because there was too much. It was like having 4 people
shouting at me simultaneously, the result being that I didn't hear any of
it. I wonder how non-jugglers react after seeing it?...I can't imagine
that they'd get it any more than I did...
- All of the people I'd never met, especially those twice my age, who
recognized my name from this forum. That's awesome...and hello, by the
way. *waves!!*
- beKAH!
krista
>
> Going to lunch at the Mellow Mushroom
> Baby Day!
Join these two together to make Baby Day AT the Mellow Mushroom! Look at
that floating baby!
Brandi
I'm Kevin Axtell's fiancee)
Highs
--------------
-Telling our juggling friends about our engagement, as it had just
happened on Saturday and we flew out to NC on Sunday
-Performing in the benefit show at the childrens' hospital
-Being backstage during the competitions...everyone was so friendly and
supportive, and the SMIRK guys are really hilarious!
-Hanging out with a Norcal crew (Humboldt...CIRCUS) and seeing them be
blown away by all the awesomeness at their first IJA.
-seeing old friends and meeting new ones
-The shows were all high quality, and I loved the old school/new school
mix at the COS show.
Lows
--------------
-I've attended 4 IJA's (and gym juggled at them all) and I still had a few
people ask me "so, do you juggle too?"
Goals
---------------
-Be more involved ~ Check
-Perform at Renegade ~ Fail
Crushes
---------------
-Kevin Axtell for all of his hard work throughout the year to pull off
multiple successes including performing in the competitions, judging
x-juggling, putting out a DVD, teaching workshops, doing the benefit show,
and juggling until he literally could not stand up anymore.
-Cheryl Sayers for being so sweet!
-The circus ladies, Annie and Ariana. You chicks rock my world ;-) plus
you're both super hot
-Greg Kennedy and the awesome plastic cone thing that he juggled in during
the COS show
-The Embassy Suites omelette chefs
-Rob Crites and his amazing hair. You, my friend, are hilarious, and
seeing you get relentlessly hit on/licked on the face by that guy at
Renegade...priceless!!
Banes
---------------
-Renegade was missing spunk this year, and the building was so muggy and
hot it felt like you were breathing in other people's sweat. So gross! At
least I got to see muffin clutches though, THAT was funny!
-I'll echo everyone else on the carpet thing, though I think it may have
been worse in '07 and I've seen worse in other convention centers. They
apparently have a thing with terrible, vomit-inducing carpets.
Overall a great festival, and what a friendly city! I wouldn't even mind
going back again, it's a fantastic venue. Big thanks to everyone who
worked their butts off to make it all happen!
Raggedy Annie
festival experience for me, and I am so thankful and stoked for next
year!!!
Here we go!:
________________________
Highs:
-Being a part of the fabulous California crew that fully represented this
year!!!! Watching The Poetic Motion Machine win a medal!!! (These guys'
performances in the Humboldt Circus inspired me to learn how to juggle 2
years ago, and they taught me how to juggle, so I couldnt be prouder to be
a part of this experience with them!)
-Getting to be a vollunteer for the IJA as assistant to Games and Workshop
directors Scott Slesnick and Matt Hall. I had such a great time on the
mic, announcing workshops and helping to MC the games...
Raggedy Annie for Games Director 2010!!! Thanks Guys!!!
-Getting such good feedback about my stage presence and the renegade 5
fruit endurance.
-The shows... all of them. (Except some of the renegade acts... we need
more hecklers.)
_________________________
Low:
-Sunday morning... waking up wasted and busted, then having to leave and
be on a bus for 24 hours. Being utterly broke by the time I left, both
monetarily and physically.
__________________________
Goal:
-Rock the games: CHECK!
-Get px3's: Check (5 lightly used for $80!)
-Learn new tricks: 1/2 check... I could have learned more
-Meet awesome jugglers from all over: Check... jugglers are the coolest
people alive.
__________________________
Crush:
-Obviously PMM, Na, Kevin and Brandi, Matt Hall: you guys are the best!
-New York crew: You guys are way too fun. ( esp. Tim ;)
-Team RDL: Mind boggling... loved the wierdness.
-Mohawk Rob from CA: "Running joyfully into the light..."
-Florent, Alejandro and Romero from Mexico, Asian Invasion, all of the
kids who have been juggling since they could walk, Sean Blue, Pat McGuire,
Too many to name them all!
__________________________
Bain:
-Slipping while dancing on the wet floor after the last Renegade show and
way too many free drinks on Saturday, and busting my eyebrow on a chair...
I deffinately could have lived without that one. You live, you learn...
you break your face every once in a while. C'est la vie.
__________________________
Surprise:
-Poetic Motion Machine not placing higher in the teams competition...
basically everyone said that same thing.
___________________________
Overall, a life and juggling enriching experience that shall only get
bigger, better and more exaggeratedly bad ass with each time I think or
talk about it. See y'all next year!!!
<3 Raggedy Annie
Matt Hall
something out. Whew, I was seriously tired, but in a good way.
Here's a few thoughts--I'll probably come up with more later..
High(s):
Watching Jacob and Nate tear it up in the Welcome Show. Their ovation
was well-deserved.
Watching the Prop Comp and chatting with folks at the same time.
Going to see Harry Potter with Luke Wison, Nate, Jacob and Lisa. Good
times!
Being a part of the North American Kendama Open--what a mellow, fun
event.
Jumping into the Advanced Kendama workshop with Sean Haddow and Joe
Dean--I ALWAYS have a blast with these guys and the rest of the
kendama learners.
MC'ing the championships and feeling like I had improved on my 2006 MC
performance by quite a bit.
Spending a hilarious night with Mark Nizer, Ivan, Lisa and Bryson at
Finnegan's Wake.
MC'ing the Asian Night Renegade with Slammin' Andy and having a good
time with it--I knew it was going to be a good night when I got to
battle Jay Gilligan 30 seconds into the start of the evening. =)
Chatting with Ivan, Pat McGuire, and Greg Kenneday a bit after
Renegade.
Pulling off some good tricks in the XJuggling Comps
A lovely Thai dinner with Lisa before the Cascade of Stars
The Cascade of Stars--Ah, the joy of it. Greg Kennedy and Michael
Menes were my favorites, but Florent's act really touched me as well.
I could watch Ivan MC every show and not get bored. Stud.
Finally getting some private juggling time around Friday or Saturday
and having good sessions.
Gawking at Wes in the gym on Saturday afternoon. Just
ridiculous....no, really.
Getting to meet some new great folks and teach/participate in some
cool workshops!
Cigar box jamming with Dan, Eric, and the rest of the guys.
The sweet dance circle at the Juggle Jam on Saturday night.
Talking with Ivan, Cheryl, and Lisa on Saturday night
Low(s):
Right around Thursday afternoon when the kendama sequence wasn't
hitting and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Ugh.
Feeling ill enough on Tuesday night to leave the Welcome Show early
The fire alarm going off literally right at the 10am start of
workshops on Tuesday. I was PISSED!!!
Lagging at 3 diabolos in the Sharpe workshop and feeling like an old
man
Feeling like a jerk when I cut Sean Blue off at the knees for minor
ribbing/heckling
Sucking the diabolo routine at Renegade Wednesday night...meh
Goal(s):
Do a good job MC'ing the Championships
Offer a wide variety of quality workshops for folks
Catch up with old friends
Make new friends
Crush(es):
Lisa--as always, supportive, lovely, and fun to be around
Dan--this guy is the MAN. As busy as he was, setting up two
OUTSTANDING shows and doing three great workshops, he still took a
least an hour or two to pretty much write out every single funny thing
that came out of my mouth. Thank you again!
Ivan--mi hermano. This year's video will probably be the best ever...
Nate and Jacob--great movie companions and excellent teachers. Jacob
pretty much solved a years-long problem with my 3 high in about 5
minutes. Very patient teacher...
Eric Aberg--I love jamming with this guy--he's a sponge and always
open to learning and sharing
Mark Nizer--this guy is as funny if not funnier than Ivan, and that's
saying something
Joe Dean/Sean Haddow/and the whole Kendama Crew
Doug--I'm just really stoked for him--it was his fest, and the rest of
us were just attending...
Bane(s):
Fire Alarms
A few wingnuts, but no big deal
My own scheduling mistakes with the workshops
Surprise(s):
Poetic Motion Machine not placing higher.
How much fun the Juggle Jam was, and how good the food was (despite
the wait)
Getting second in the Peoples' Choice voting. One vote away from
being the first two-time winner......who woulda thunk it?
How successful the yellow squares were
How well the Jurassic Park thing with Sandy Brown went over...that one
was mine. =)
A wonderful festival--one of the best out of the nine IJA's I've
attended. Mike Sullivan was on the job for this one, as were so many
other folks.
GLF00
Oh, forgot to put as Crush, Greg Kennedy! I've wanted to see him perform
for quite some time now, and he did not disappoint! That man has some
truly unique and beautiful work.
Jack Kalvan
Hanging with old friends and fun people - too many to name.
Watching Wes Peden in the gym (He's too good for words)
In the competitions: Chris Hodge, Poetic Motion Machine, and Doug
Sayers
The shows were all good: esp. Sharp Brothers, Michael Menes, Greg
Kennedy, some of RDL
Old school passing with Jeri, Tommy Curtain & Bill Barr
Passing clubs with Michael Chirrick (He claims he'd never done it
before)
Mellow Mushroom Pizza
XJuggling
Lows-
Numbers running way late so I couldn't get XJuggling set up on time.
Diabolo routines entered in juggling competitions.
Struggling to stay awake during stage competitions (Is this my fault?)
The little I saw of Renegade was too much. (though the mermaid girl
was fun)
Goals-
Run XJuggling without it taking over my convention - check
Buy Russian balls - check
Crush-
Wes Peden
Bane-
no bane
Surprise-
It was the best festival I've been to in a while.
Bekah.Smith
>
> Lows
> --------------
> -I've attended 4 IJA's (and gym juggled at them all) and I still had a few
> people ask me "so, do you juggle too?"
>
Ahh...how many times have I heard that....
RossB
------
- First IJA!
- Seeing all my juggling friends.
- Rooming with Tim, Mark, and Crash. Good times.
- Having a nice 5 club run.
- The shows were amazing. Ivan is one funny guy. The Welcome Show was
awesome and the Cascade of Stars. The rest were sweet too, but I preferred
these.
- Getting a lot of interest in my t-shirts.
- The Lounge. Genius.
- Some acts in Renagede
- Everything being so close. Housing, Gym, Theater.
- Lots of fun juggling and non-juggling related.
- Lots of the New York crew were there.
- Partying with so many people. It pretty much was a week long party. It's
one big blur.
Lows:
------
- Not juggling as much as I thought I would at a 7 day, 24 hour fest.
- Not being able to go to as many workshops as I wanted to. I was too
tired, or forgot about them.
- Being tired a lot, but if I slept I would have missed out on a lot of
fun. Sleeping is overrated anyway. Does one really need more than 3 hours
of sleep a night?
- Some acts in Renagade. It's not the hosts fault. Some people want to
perform who think they are funny... when they are not.
Goals:
------
- To juggle: check
- Work on 5 clubs: Check
- Learn some new stuff: Check Thanks Club motion guys and Flo.
- To have an awesome time: Check Plus
Crush:
------
- Mark and Flo. Awesome people. Tim too
- The lots of new people I met.
- The Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, jugglers were awesome. So flowy with
all the stuff they did.
Bane:
-----
- I wish there were more places to eat.. maybe more variety. Not the fests
fault though.
- Diabolo. haha just kidding.
Surprise:
-------
- Muffin Clutches. Way to go Reeses. That was awesome. Probably one of the
best acts.
- I agree with Tim. People being talented enough to do a handstand and
able to break a chop stick with their ass at the same time. I have so much
to learn.
fiameyer
JH winning gold. I don't think anyone knows how much blood, sweat, and
tears went into that routine
:P seriously though, as a JH graduate, I couldn't have been prouder.
Jack Levy and Billy Watson both medaling in juiors and individuals. Once
again, very, very proud.
Michael Menes! When I first heard that telltale piano music begin as he
went on stage, I was basically
in a stage of euphoria. Greg Kennedy too. Almost the whole cascade of
stars was very, very
impressive.
Ashley in the Youth Showcase. I adored her routine, and she is a very
sweet person too.
Lows:
No AC at the Renegade stage...uggg. The muggy air, mixed with how
exhausted I already was, meant
that I didn't stay for a whole renegade show the entire week.
Seeing 12 year old kids doing stuff with 5 clubs I will probably never be
able to do. wtf.
Goals:
5 club singles... I swear, I am so close to it being natural. If I work on
it more this next week, I should
get there...maybe.
Crush:
Florent.
Bane:
Obviously, the casino-like carpet.
lutkus
> - I wish there were more places to eat.. maybe more variety. Not the fests
> fault though.
I'm not sure I agree with you 100% that such things are not the fest's
fault. Obviously organizers cannot make every single detail of a
convention perfect, nor is there a single idea of what perfect is, but
they do need to consider as many of these details as possible.
My decision to attend a convention is greatly influenced by the location.
If it seems a particularly interesting place to visit, I have a greater
desire to attend the convention. I was at Winsten-Salem two years ago,
and I don't remember anything outside of the convention hall being
exciting enough that I have any great desire to see it again.
Since this is the HLGCB thread, I guess I'll post mine...
High: I didn't spend any money on this convention
Low: I wasn't able to attend, missed Warren and Reid's performance,
Doug's, and all the other cool ones I don't know all about yet.
Goal: not spend more money than I can afford on a juggling convention (I
think that's a check)
Crush: all the cool people I didn't get to hang out with or watch perform
Bane: being somewhere without internet access through almost the entire
thing, so I couldn't even view the webcast
ian smith
would have been amongst at least five other jugglers! All of whom who'd
have been able to teach you a reasonable five cascade!!!! Even now, I wish
you all the best, even if though the best = the most sinister and savage
presently possible... although, is that saying much???
TheOmniJuggler
Highs:
-Meeting tons of new friends, and getting to see the ones from last year
:D
-Learning how to do snakes from Michael Menes!
-Seeing tons of inspiring juggling routines :)
Lows:
-Getting sick with a cold right after IJA :(
Goals:
-Make a kickass video of the fest - failed! Didn't get enough footage for
a video :( Too much participation!
-Help volunteer - failed :P forgot to sign up as a volunteer!
-Learn new props - success! Getting better at contact, and club swinging!
Hooray!
Crush:
oh so many!
-Michael Menes! for teaching me snakes and having awesome routines!
-Jeremiah Johnston! loved having the club brainstorming sessions!
-Chris LaReau the kangaroo! for letting me call him that, and for letting
me juggle his huge clubs!
-Mena and Alejandro! You guys are just too awesome, it was way fun
learning contact juggling!
Bane:
-IJA goes by too fast :(
:)
bill coad
seeing good response to the 3 ball fewest catches game
meeting a few rec.jugglers face to face
youth showcase - one of the more enjoyable shows of the week
attending a few good workshops & getting good feedback on mine
having a 1 day drive to 4 IJA fests in a row.
lows
didn't make all the renegade shows
cascade of stars show. Many performers wore street clothes and were
dropping easy stuff - it was like watching gymn juggling.
Cancelled performances of Dan Bennett, Peter Irish, & Michael Chirrick
goals
juggle all week & teach 3 workshops without aggravating a shoulder injury
- check
sell more beanbags than last year - check
place in joggling - uncheck, had a workshop conflict.
learn a completely useless skill - check, I can now count to 10
alphabetically
crushs
poetic motion - enjoyed their routine & thought they should have paced
Matt Hall - great job as workshop leader among many other things
Michael Menes - about the only performer that met my expectations of being
a STAR in the cascade of stars.
Scott Slesnick - still leading games day after a dozen+ years
banes
did anyone mention the floor? gym was cold too
surprises
Jay Gilligan's music - almost as impressive as his juggling.
hardly any rain all week, despite the forcast
Warren Hammond
-Getting 2nd place in the team championships.
-Getting a medal in the 3 ball extreme juggling competition.
-Winning the �smoking trick� contest in renegade saturday night with
Dextre Tripp and Bekah.
-Doug Sayers routine!
-Seeing my family at the festival.
-Seeing so many of my juggling friends at the same fest!
-Couchsurfing, you made this festival possible for me, plus we had two
awesome hosts.
-Florent LeStage's routines!
-Teaching the Creative Club Passing workshop with Bekah. I love how much
effort all the participants put into it. You made my day.
-The newspaper article in the Highpoint times.
-The giant hug Jerry Martin gave me after the championships.
-Kevin and Thom getting elected to the board! Now I can vicariously rule
the IJA with an iron fist.
-The entire championship experience. Everyone in the green room was
really supportive, positive and encouraging the entire time.
-Doug's reaction after the championships.
-Shamrock tricks with Kevin and Stefan.
-Laura's giant gerbil ball.
-Fancy pants day success! Lots of people participated and enjoyed it, and
many who didn't know about it wished they did. Must make the announcement
larger/more formal next year.
-Getting to pass a lot with Bekah friday night and coming up with some
really cool new tricks.
-The showing from Colorado! If I am counting right, there were 8 of us.
-The pirouette workshop by Lloyd. Very well taught with a lot of great
material. Had no idea there were that many ways to spin around.
-Helping convince Jack Kalvan to make a team category for extreme juggling
and then seeing how many people signed up on the spot for it with such big
tricks.
-RDL's routine in the welcome show.
-Jay Gilligan's routine in the cascade of stars. Most fun I've had
watching a routine by him.
-Making up a few new tricks. Especially turning a 1 club trick I've been
working on into a 3-club trick.
-Everytime someone congratulated Reid and I on our performance.
-Someone I had not met recognizing me from the 2007 IJA tape and
complimenting me on how much weight I'd lost.
-Juggling with Nick Laffey.
Lows:
-Getting lost on foot at 2AM one night trying to find our couchsurfer's
house.
-Not getting to spend the time I wanted to with everyone. There were so
many good friends there and even over the course of a week there wasn't
enough time to spend quality time with everyone.
-O'hara on the way back home. I hate you so much O'hara. The only thing
that made it bearable was hanging out with Bekah and Pat McGuire.
Goals:
-To do well in the championships with Reid, but even more-so put on a
good, enjoyable act (check).
-Hit my 3 club collision squeeze catch trick in extreme juggling
(fail...FAIL FAIL FAIL...I was so upset I didn't hit this trick...I am
practicing it non-stop until next IJA).
-Keep the fest affordable (check).
Crushes:
-Nikki, our 2nd couchsurfer host. She was a blast and came to so many
shows with us!
-Bob Neumann's fancy pants.
Banes:
-My stupidity combined with Stefan Brancel dropping a club from the
ground-floor to the basement to me. My ankle is crazy-bruised. I thought
it would be awesome if I could have caught his club and done a kick-up.
-The service at the mellow mushroom. Took them about 20 minutes to bring
us soda.
Surprises:
-Seeing Justin Sheldon and Kyle Driggs there. I didn't think they were
coming to the fest!
-Renegade on thursday night.
Looking forward to Sparks next year!
-Warren Hammond
Bob Neuman
Highs:
-Strong teams competition
-Smirk - incredibly entertaining
-Doug Sayers - WOW!
-Seeing so many friends and meeting new ones
-So many new workshops - great job Matt
-So many people wearing Fancy Pants (thanks Bekah)
-well orangized fest(or should that be under surprises?)
-Dean's birthday party
Lows:
-pulling my back Monday morning - ugh!
-long drive from TX (especially back home)
Goals:
-pass a lot - check (well, after my back let me)
-buy some drinks for volunteers - nope - many just too darn busy
-see old friends and meet new ones - check
-take some new workshops - check
-go to all of the Renegades - big No
Crush:
-all the vols
-Cheryl Sayers - very nice
-Bekah & Warren in matching Fancy Pants
-Brandi - who can juggle
Bane:
-Renegade venue - hot & crowded
Surprises:
-so many Fancy Pants participants
-I really enjoyed Florent's juggling
-I loved the NAKO, even though I've never even tried the prop
-Ivan Pecel & Assoc. "bit" - hey, I can't say more on advice of my
attorney...
Bob Neuman
krista
Kookies, cupcakes, Mellow Mushroom
Baby Day
This being my...11th? consecutive IJA
X-Juggling DJ table dance party, and the later compliment on my super moves
Getting handsy
You'd get soymilk so we could share
Sean Blue & Wes Peden throwing me in lieu of props during the big toss-up
The Penthouse
Multiple compliments on my hair smelling nice
Actually juggling
Jay's routine in the Cascade Of Stars
The double single pirouette ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8ZG7KHWu50 )
Lows:
Having to spend way more money than I thought I'd have to in order to
support someone else, and
kind of regretting it later
One scary morning
Leaving on Saturday afternoon
Not having my mom there
Always forgetting stuff when I play HLGCB
Sandwiches for breakfast almost every day. The company was lovely but the
food was awful.
Goal:
Make a video - sort of check...I made one but not the one I meant to
Enjoy the limited time I had - check
Juggle - amazingly enough, check
Crush:
My husband, Nick Laffey, and his doppleganger, Chris Moran
My buddy, Wes Peden
Bane:
Papa's coinpurse
RossB
Sean Haddow
remember from this year's IJA fest in Winston-Salem:
Highs:
-Partaking in the first-ever North American Kendama Open
-Doug's routine in the individual championships (the solid run of 5 club
back-crosses sealed the deal)
-Generally agreeing with the judges for all of the stage championships
-Receiving thank yous from workshop attendees for delivering workshops at
just the right level for all involved
-Carolina BBQ at Lil' Richards
-Renegade shows (other than Thursday night, which was quite weak)
-Getting to the Naranja table to pick up Kendamas for friends back home
before he sold out 3 hours after opening
-Cheerwine
-Ken-damn-it (Kendama version of H-O-R-S-E)
-Receiving high praise for my KFC (Kendama Federation of Canada) shirts
-Seeing Greg Kennedy's use of interesting sets / props in person
-Team RDL
-Cigar box jamming with Eric A., Matt H., Dan H., etc.
-Florent's club and cane routine
Lows:
-Late start on Sunday's departure throwing off our schedule for the whole
trip home
-Not enough hours in the day
-Renegade venue was too hot / stuffy
-No Sky
Goals:
-Teach informative workshops - check
-Compete in NAKO - check
Crushes:
-Matt Hall - workshop organizer / MC extrordinaire
-Team RDL - always seem to be having fun during their shows
-Mike Sullivan - great job as festival director
-Dan Holzman - produced a couple of fantastic shows
-Mark Faje - renegade shows are just not the same without him
-Joe Dean - winner of Kendama speed challenge and workshop partner in crime
Bane:
-fire alarms at inconvenient times
-Embassy Suites breakfast ending so early after late night Renegade shows
Surprise:
-dropping my Kendama to start the speed challenge due to nerves
-being able to "scoop the fish" with either hand
Probably left out lots, but that's what comes to mind right now.
Sean Haddow
TwirlPlanet
> Highs
> --------------
> -Telling our juggling friends about our engagement, as it had just
> happened on Saturday and we flew out to NC on Sunday
Congratulations, Brandi! Congratulations, Kevin! So happy for you both
:)
I so missed being at IJA this year. Enjoyed the live stream though on Fri
& Sat. Saw you via webcam helping with extreme juggling...
~ Cindy
TwirlPlanet
>
> High:
>
> Getting in for free.
> Getting a tour of a kitchen in Peru.
> Performing for a very select audience.
>
> Low:
> The camera was pointed mostly toward the ceiling.
> I would have liked for somebody to take us international guests for a ride
> and and maybe introduce us to people or at least show us around.
I, too, was at the fest via livestream on Sat. (thank you Tim Ellis for
making it happen).
Highs:
Free, free, free
Getting a tour of a kitchen in Peru.
Viewing contents of refrigerators in Peru and Spain, with full narration.
The fact that the very international peeps in the chat room all knew
English.
Spotting so many familiar faces.
Lows:
I can see you, but you can't see me (or hear me).
Not being there :(
Goals:
Plans are all in place for Sparks next summer...woohoo!
Crushes:
Annie's voiceover voice announcing workshops.
Banes:
The guy who repeatedly visited the webcam, captivated, would say some
things in Japanese and then leave the camera angled up at the ceiling.
(That's when us livefeeders entertained ourselves with tours of frig's).
Madelyn
together deserves lots of praise and a huge pat on the back!
Highs:
* Michael Menes doing his classic three-ball routine to the "Root Beer
Rag." The minute the music started, my heart jumped. Tears were streaming
down my eyes for most of the performance because I was so happy to see
that routine live again. I had to furiously brush the tears away so I
didn't miss anything. I think I first saw the routine in 1990, and it was
the first juggling routine to really stay with me because I truly loved it.
* Seeing Greg Kennedy's cone routine live. It is so much cooler live than
it is on video, and the cool level on video already was pretty high.
Also, everything else Greg Kennedy did in all the shows was great. The
rhombuses, in particular, were really cool.
* The Team RdL presentation at the Welcome show. It was one of the
coolest things ever. I particularly like various ring routines and Wes'
five-club routine. And I loved the balls-attached-by-string routine. I've
come to the conclusion that one of the things that I most like to see in
juggling is nice visuals and nice lines, and the Team RDL stuff had those
things to the max.
* Sean Blue's routine in the Welcome Show. He was spinning little balls,
which is so hard.
* Having both workshops that I ran, the "How to Juggle Three Clubs"
workshop and the "Juggling Instructors Networking" session go really,
really well.
* Getting my first spike with a kendama.
* Getting my first overhead cracks (apparently also called circus cracks)
with a whip.
* Seeing Marcel Marceau's rope at the Renegade sideshow.
* Having one of my former grade-school juggling students, Oliver Ritter,
show up at the fest with members of his college juggling club.
* The Sharpe Brothers' diabolo routine in the Welcome Show. Even though I
saw it done, I don't believe some of those tricks are possible!
* The Poetic Motion Machine championship routine. It was a four-person
passing routine that was the perfect marriage of great skill, great
choreography and great-looking clubs.
* Seeing the Youth Showcase, which was the best ever. The level of talent
was so high. Some of those acts could have won Juniors not too long ago.
* Seeing my friend Kathy Doutt's son, Stephen, hit all the important
tricks for his diabolo routine in the Youth Showcase and then seeing him
do a great job again the "Planting the Juggling Seed" show.
Low:
* Seeing the lawyer commercial in the Cascade of Stars show. That kind of
in-joke wasn't appropriate for the event promoted at the "public" show. It
belonged at a Renegade show.
Goals:
* Work on left-handed passing a lot. Check!
* Have the workshops I ran go well. Check!
* Get 100 catches with four balls. Fail -- I don't think I even tried to
run four balls.
* Have fun. Check! Check! Check!
Crushes:
* The porches at the mid-1800s' Augustus T. Zevely Inn in Old Salem, where
I spent a few days before the convention began. Sitting in a rocking chair
on one of the long porches and reading is heaven.
* Michael Menes.
* Greg Kennedy.
* Jay Gilligan.
* Matt Hall.
* Poetic Motion Machine.
* Melonhead.
* Oliver Ritter.
* Raggedy Annie.
* Ashley Ellis.
* Almost everyone else who was at the festival because you were such great
people to hang out with for a week.
Surprise:
* I made it to the wonderful breakfast at the Embassy Suites every morning.
Alan Thompson
Continental Breakfast
Awesome Hotel mates! Jeremy's, Foley, Tio, Thom!!
Hanging with Chase
Patrick and Wes 5 club takeout/ transfer routine
Passing with Thom!
Watching Wes practice solo stuff late at night, inspiring
Loading the pin up with signatures
Poetic Motion Machine- what a great addition to the teams comp!
Watching Ivan practice in the gym.
IVan was an awesome MC
Passing Zone Renegade Box routine, they inspire me to perform
Smirk!
Red Bull and Protein Shakes
Doug's routine, so original. We all know how good he is, but to make a
routine so original and colorful with so much stage presence.
Watching Jack win some extreme medals
Great seats for shows
Watching Stefan and Ben pass, whoa
Getting another number medal
Low
Not getting to watch the Jeremy's do any practice in the gym
Not getting to practice much 5 club takeout stuff with anybody
Not getting to go to too many workshops
Being a bit out of festival shape, note to self: get back on a workout
schedule
Smirk! not getting gold
Missing Junior's comp.
Feeling lonely in the gym
Some best friends cutting out early
Being so completely lost on performing for a living
Thursday night
Sitting next to the Humboldt Circus Cheer section
No Good Games( 5 club, 7 ball, 6 ring, 744 misc., distance passing,
passing edu.) I've never been more upset with the IJA.
Constantly being reminded and asked about my ex-girlfriend
Goal
Pass a lot (nope)
Settle Boulder decision (Kinda)
Spend less than $400 (Check)
Get some numbers medals
Compete a bit more (nope)
Attend some good workshops on performing (nope)
have lots of juggling fun
Crush
Wes and Patrick
Passing Zone
Doug Sayers
Florent Lestage
Ivan Pecel
Thom Wall
Tio
Warren and Reid
The Cutie that ran Games for a bit
Yuri
Tony Pezzo
Bain
the prospect of getting to old for combat
the prospect of not having a professional performance partner
Still not having my solo routine solid, I will Not compromise!
Not a lot of great girls to talk to in the gym
Not receiving my new Gballz in time for the festival
nobody juggles or passes renegades anymore
brianpdailey
> Also my "element of Risk" scores from the Individuals Championships.
> I wasn't expecting really high marks - but a 1.4!!! Come on!!!
> alot of that stuff was very difficult - I guess alot of jugglers think you
> have to keep everything in the air for it to be difficult. oh well.
>
Kevin,
Do you think that performing specific movement-linked aesthetic increases
your element of risk?
-bpd
Kevin Axtell
>
>
> > Also my "element of Risk" scores from the Individuals Championships.
> > I wasn't expecting really high marks - but a 1.4!!! Come on!!!
> > alot of that stuff was very difficult - I guess alot of jugglers think you
> > have to keep everything in the air for it to be difficult. oh well.
> >
>
>
> Kevin,
>
> Do you think that performing specific movement-linked aesthetic increases
> your element of risk?
>
> -bpd
>
No, I think performing specific movement-linked aesthetic does not factor
into element of risk. Many sequences were done with simple grips, alot of
movement and had very little risk to them.
However a good number of moves I performed, while not being big toss
tricks - were indeed difficult and yes "risky", for example scissor
switching and trap multiplexes are challenging to link without a drop -
On the more Subtle side many grips and moves are entirely dependant on
previous moves/grips ending correctly - Long sequences of 3 and 4 club
"grip juggling"- Switching club grips through hand manipulations - are
indeed difficult to maintain for any period of time -
Truthfully, I did not expect high element of risk scores
In my own past experience as both a judge and competitor
Along with my healthy knowledge of juggling and difficulty of tricks
I expected the EOR score to be mid 2's and low 3's, which is mostly what I
got
I was just a little taken aback by a few low 1's
Maybe it's just the contact juggler in me - but I do believe that there
are many difficult and "risky" moves that involve little or no tossing of
the objects in question.
Viveca
>
> brianpdailey wrote:
>
> > Do you think that performing specific movement-linked aesthetic increases
> > your element of risk?
> >
> > -bpd
> >
> A Loaded Question Brian
>
> No, I think performing specific movement-linked aesthetic does not factor
> into element of risk. Many sequences were done with simple grips, alot of
> movement and had very little risk to them.
>
It did factor into my ratings, and I was a judge. I gave higher "risk"
points to Kevin relative to degree
of difficulty because I thought even though some tricks didn't look so
hard, he'd set up an aesthetic in
which drops mattered more.
Viveca
Reeses2150
>
> A Loaded Question Brian
>
> No, I think performing specific movement-linked aesthetic does not factor
> into element of risk. Many sequences were done with simple grips, alot of
> movement and had very little risk to them.
>
> However a good number of moves I performed, while not being big toss
> tricks - were indeed difficult and yes "risky", for example scissor
> switching and trap multiplexes are challenging to link without a drop -
>
> On the more Subtle side many grips and moves are entirely dependant on
> previous moves/grips ending correctly - Long sequences of 3 and 4 club
> "grip juggling"- Switching club grips through hand manipulations - are
> indeed difficult to maintain for any period of time -
>
Well let me say right now I believe you about all the scissor and trap
combo's are really tough and risky, but the thing is it is hard to
understand and notice the risk/difficulty. See those tricks and combos
are really subtle, and require much more finesse than anything, and when
the objects aren't thrown the movements are so small that they don't look
risky or difficult. It's like the 3 club chin-balance cascade. It's a
simple idea that's easy to see and understand, but you can't see how hard
it is until you do it, and the unique tricks are things the judges haven't
seen or tried before, so they can only guess at how hard they are. (I
think this is a fundamental flaw in judging overall, but I won't rant on
that right now).
Matt Hall
Axtell) wrote:
>
> On the more Subtle side many grips and moves are entirely dependant on
> previous moves/grips ending correctly - Long sequences of 3 and 4 club
> "grip juggling"- Switching club grips through hand manipulations - are
> indeed difficult to maintain for any period of time -
>
> Truthfully, I did not expect high element of risk scores
> In my own past experience as both a judge and competitor
> Along with my healthy knowledge of juggling and difficulty of tricks
> I expected the EOR score to be mid 2's and low 3's, which is mostly what I
> got
> I was just a little taken aback by a few low 1's
>
> Maybe it's just the contact juggler in me - but I do believe that there
> are many difficult and "risky" moves that involve little or no tossing of
> the objects in question.
>
Axtell) wrote:
>
> Truthfully, I did not expect high element of risk scores
> In my own past experience as both a judge and competitor
> Along with my healthy knowledge of juggling and difficulty of tricks
> I expected the EOR score to be mid 2's and low 3's, which is mostly what I
> got
> I was just a little taken aback by a few low 1's
>
> Maybe it's just the contact juggler in me - but I do believe that there
> are many difficult and "risky" moves that involve little or no tossing of
> the objects in question.
>
think your routine rocks and I think you should keep pushing it and
keep doing it. On the one hand, if you want to win one day, you're
going to have to bust out some more toss juggling (just my opinion, of
course). On the other hand, to put too much more toss juggling in it
would ruin the aesthetic you've created, and that aesthetic is the
thing that separates your routine from so many other routines.
Your point about risk scores touches on another issue that continues
to come up in IJA competitions--the subjectivity of the judging.
Chuck's new scoring system is a really good tweak on the old system,
but it still comes down to the individuals who are applying the
standard. I've been a judge several times, so my criticisms apply to
me as much as to you, Viveca, or anyone else. The only way the risk
scores (along with other categories) are going to come out more
balanced is for every judge to be conversant or elite in almost every
prop and technique that comes along. Given what we've seen on the
stage in the last decade, I'm talking about 7 balls, 5 clubs, 7 rings,
3 diabolos (high and low), 2 devil sticks, and 7 balls bounce.
Someone who can do or is really close to mastering those props (along
with the hundreds of tricks and variations at the lower levels as
well) can really assign a proper risk factor to each as it appears.
I'll bet someone who's good at clubs would have valued your traps and
scissors more than a judge who only does diabolo. I'll bet a
diaboloist would have known the real difficulty of some of Yu-saku's
or Lin-Yen's moves.
The good news is that Chuck's system makes the competition more than
just a trick vs. trick thing. Here are two more ideas I've got
running around in my head:
1. Invite former IJA Champions to judge. At the very least, they
will have a decent understanding of what it means to have the "full
package" for a performance. Some more than others, of course, but
imagine having Francois Rochais, Greg Kennedy, Michael Menes, Anthony
Gatto, and Mark Nizer as your judges. If you could get a good score
from them, you'd be stoked. Who knows? Maybe they would be poor
judges as well, given that they might not be familiar with the state-
of-the-art techniques, but I know if any of these folks walked up to
me and said, "I wanted to give you Gold, but Viktor Kee overruled
me." I'd pass out.
2. Do away with competitions completely and go to an Open Stage
format like they have at EJC. It could be done. In fact, it would be
just like what we have now--a handful of folks working hard to put
together good routines, and then showing them to everyone. The only
difference is that there would be no judges. Just good shows. Does
competition push people to perfect their craft? Yes. Would the same
people work just as hard if there were no competitions? Probably.
I'd love to hear what other folks think.
matt
brianpdailey
How important to that decision was the use of isolations or 'illusion'
type of tricks?
Jack Kalvan
...
> 2. Do away with competitions completely and go to an Open Stage
> format like they have at EJC. It could be done. In fact, it would be
> just like what we have now--a handful of folks working hard to put
> together good routines, and then showing them to everyone. The only
> difference is that there would be no judges. Just good shows. Does
> competition push people to perfect their craft? Yes. Would the same
> people work just as hard if there were no competitions? Probably.
>
> I'd love to hear what other folks think.
>
> matt
I've been saying this for years. Every year we have the same problem
in the competitions of comparing 5 clubs with diabolos or some other
non-juggling skill.
However most of the competitors I talk to say they like the competing
and winning medals and they would not be as happy with just a show.
Maybe the IJA's main competitions (with all the medals and prize
money) could be the Individual Prop Competition and XJuggling. I think
these make much more sense as competitions.
Those with polished acts (artistic or comedy) should perform in shows
(and ideally be paid to perform).
Jack.
MichaelB
> Your point about risk scores touches on another issue that continues
> to come up in IJA competitions--the subjectivity of the judging.
> Chuck's new scoring system is a really good tweak on the old system,
> but it still comes down to the individuals who are applying the
> standard. I've been a judge several times, so my criticisms apply to
> me as much as to you, Viveca, or anyone else. The only way the risk
> scores (along with other categories) are going to come out more
> balanced is for every judge to be conversant or elite in almost every
> prop and technique that comes along. Given what we've seen on the
> stage in the last decade, I'm talking about 7 balls, 5 clubs, 7 rings,
> 3 diabolos (high and low), 2 devil sticks, and 7 balls bounce.
> Someone who can do or is really close to mastering those props (along
> with the hundreds of tricks and variations at the lower levels as
> well) can really assign a proper risk factor to each as it appears.
> I'll bet someone who's good at clubs would have valued your traps and
> scissors more than a judge who only does diabolo. I'll bet a
> diaboloist would have known the real difficulty of some of Yu-saku's
> or Lin-Yen's moves.
>
This was my first time watching the competition and as I watched. it
occurred to me that it would be simply impossible to compare these
different sorts of acts on any common scale, especially when such
radically different sorts of props are involved. How does one compare 7
balls, to 5 clubs, to 4 diabolos, to contact juggling? To me, the judging
looked even more subjective than it is in figure skating and gymnastics,
where at least they have standard compulsory tricks to perform that
provide a common metric.
>
> 2. Do away with competitions completely and go to an Open Stage
> format like they have at EJC. It could be done. In fact, it would be
> just like what we have now--a handful of folks working hard to put
> together good routines, and then showing them to everyone. The only
> difference is that there would be no judges. Just good shows. Does
> competition push people to perfect their craft? Yes. Would the same
> people work just as hard if there were no competitions? Probably.
>
> I'd love to hear what other folks think.
>
I think simply doing away with competitions is a great idea. It's all too
damn subjective anyway -- like ice dancing in the Olympics. Perhaps have
a series of open stages organized by prop.
> matt
Viveca
>
>
> How important to that decision was the use of isolations or 'illusion'
> type of tricks?
>
Sorry, I'm not sure what that means.
Some more general notes re. judging and this thread:
1. Degree of difficulty and Risk are not the same thing. Balancing a pen
on your head has a higher
degree of difficulty but a lower element of risk because dropping it is
not as big a deal. Ditto for much
diabolo. No matter how hard certain tricks are, you have fewer objects to
drop.
2. The goal of the Stage Championships is external (best act for the
general public). Thus, I suggest
having more non-jugglers judge, just the opposite of what's Matt's
recommending. Difficulty is
perhaps the only criteria best judged by insiders. All the others would be
more accurately judged by
others. My suggestions? Circus owners, talent agents, Vegas bookers, and
others who know the
variety arts show business.
3. Matt's right too of course that it's hard to compare difficulty across
genres, props, and skills we
don't juggle, but I don't think first-hand experience is the only way to
gain knowledge. As far as I
know (and admittedly that's not far), judges in for example Olympics
diving or gymnastics events
don't all have to be athletes also. The major difference is that the
tricks are generally understood and
rated in advance so the judges can focus more on execution and staging.
4. It still shocks me that across however many years I've judged only one
competitor has ever asked
me what I thought and how he could do better. People complain publicly or
wait for feedback and
gossip from their friends when I bet the vast majority of judges would be
happy to explain their
choices. We all love juggling and want to help the acts improve. Plus,
many are pros who could give
competition-v. non-competition advice (the competitor I talked to asked
separately what to change to
win and what to change to sell the act--very smart questions.
But I can't speak for other judges at all, since the situation Matt
described no longer exists: I not only
don't know who the other judges wanted to win, but because of the
weighting system I emerged not
knowing how my own numbers voted. I weighted them later, and it turns out
they supported my
intuitive sense (not the order awarded), which is a huge compliment to
Chuck and the new system.
5. It's not the diabolists' fault. I've judged many times when I've wanted
to give the award to a toss
juggler, but none of them earned it. I don't know who entered prelims, but
my strong guess is if we
pulled diabolo we'd either have significantly smaller or significantly
weaker competitions. We need
toss juggling to step up the game not diabolists to bow out.
6. Finally, I would probably eventually support a tiered system with
X-juggling, individual props,
numbers, and stage competitions all feeding into a point system with one
overall winner. It would be a
ton of work, we'd need prelims to narrow the fields, and we'd still argue
about what counts, but if we
wanted to rank and reward folks, it would encourage people to develop
breadth as well as depth
without punishing those who preferred to focus (you could still win your
events).
Viveca
brianpdailey
> brianpdailey wrote:
>
> > Do you think that performing specific movement-linked aesthetic increases
> > your element of risk?
> >
> > -bpd
> >
> A Loaded Question Brian
>
> No, I think performing specific movement-linked aesthetic does not factor
> into element of risk. Many sequences were done with simple grips, alot of
> movement and had very little risk to them.
>
It did factor into my ratings, and I was a judge. I gave higher "risk"
points to Kevin relative to degree
of difficulty because I thought even though some tricks didn't look so
hard, he'd set up an aesthetic in
which drops mattered more.
Viveca
>
> brianpdailey wrote:
> >
> >
> > How important to that decision was the use of isolations or 'illusion'
> > type of tricks?
> >
>
> Sorry, I'm not sure what that means.
>
I'm just wondering if you can expand on how you decide drops matter more
based on aesthetic or conceptual choices.
brianpdailey
Kevin,
You don't think there are any performing styles where drops or other
mistakes mistakes matter more or less to the success of the piece?
Really? Because, I don't believe you.
-bpd
Kevin Axtell
> Kevin,
>
> You don't think there are any performing styles where drops or other
> mistakes mistakes matter more or less to the success of the piece?
>
> Really? Because, I don't believe you.
>
> -bpd
>
That perhaps is a step beyond what I was suggesting.
Clearly certain performance styles are more drastically effected by drops
than others -
A smooth dancy Contact piece for example can be completely devastated by a
big drop - where as a more "hyper" funky 3 ball piece could be far less
effected.
The mood and ambiance of a piece can of course make drops more detrimental
to the routine.
Regarding my original comment
"No, I think performing specific movement-linked aesthetic does not factor
into element of risk. "
I guess I should have said "factor heavily into"
Suffice it to say
5 club backrosses = high EOR
4 club moving shapes = Low EOR
I absolutely believe that the success of
certain performance styles are affected differently by drops/mistakes.
Though I wonder to what degree this factors into the "Element of Risk"
portion of the judging system. defined as :
Element of Risk (EOR) = The chance of a drop or mistake, and the
difficulty of cleanly recovering from a drop or mistake.
An interesting topic
Daniel S.
..or is there just one open stage?
Viveca
>
> Is there an open stage at the IJA where it isn't a competition?
> ..or is there just one open stage?
>
There were four "Club Renegade" shows, for which performers signed up in
the gym.
Viveca
Viveca
> >
>
> That perhaps is a step beyond what I was suggesting.
> Clearly certain performance styles are more drastically effected by drops
> than others -
> A smooth dancy Contact piece for example can be completely devastated by a
> big drop - where as a more "hyper" funky 3 ball piece could be far less
> effected.
> The mood and ambiance of a piece can of course make drops more detrimental
> to the routine.
> Regarding my original comment
> "No, I think performing specific movement-linked aesthetic does not factor
> into element of risk. "
>
> I guess I should have said "factor heavily into"
>
> Suffice it to say
>
> 5 club backrosses = high EOR
> 4 club moving shapes = Low EOR
>
> I absolutely believe that the success of
> certain performance styles are affected differently by drops/mistakes.
>
> Though I wonder to what degree this factors into the "Element of Risk"
> portion of the judging system. defined as :
> Element of Risk (EOR) = The chance of a drop or mistake, and the
> difficulty of cleanly recovering from a drop or mistake.
>
> An interesting topic
>
> I'm just wondering if you can expand on how you decide drops matter more
> based on aesthetic or conceptual choices.
And then discovered you'd said it better (above). But here it is anyway,
and maybe it addresses some
of what you're asking and how this judge, at least, differentiated risk
from difficulty.
>
I probably shouldn't have summarized the thought process without referring
to the rules
(http://www.juggle.org/champrules/champsrules.php, which I sincerely hope
all competitors read
before entering). I don't have to decide what drops matter more; the rules
define that risk is not just
determined by the chance of a drop, but by the chance of making a mistake
(which is different and
can include non-juggling mistakes, for example artistic ones--Doug
forgetting to move a box or
David Fermin's father crashing into the drapes) and also the difficulty of
cleanly recovering from a
drop or mistake.
In Kevin's presentation, since that is the example at hand, I believed
that he had created a mood of
beauty and precision that would be disproportionately harmed by drops or
mistakes (higher risk per
difficulty). As we found out, he actually had a visual "drop line" ready,
but its slight goofiness clashed
with his overall theatrical framing, and drops detracted from his
presentation more than they did for,
say, Yu-Saku Mochiduki (or, for a clearer but less relevant example Jay
Gilligan) who created a more
raucous mood onstage in which drops don't feel as uncomfortable.
I'll give you another example from Champs. I thought the Poetic Motion
folks had a higher element of
risk than the Jugheads (i may be in a minority on this one). The Jugheads
risk came primarily from
having so many people and objects on stage at once. There's a multiplier
effect where even small
elements of risk become considerable over large populations. On the other
hand, if any of them
dropped, the recovery would be trivial in most instances, and in several
cases if any had made a
mistake it wouldn't affect the others. Poetic Motion, on the other hand,
had all the color synch effects
and slo-mo characters. After a big mid-air collision it would have taken a
while to sort out who had
which clubs and where to start to get the effect back, and they would have
had to try to appear
relaxed and in character while doing it.
All that said, it is juggling and drops do matter probably more than
mistakes and while our official
drop counts were per event, scattering seven clubs on the floor after they
collide in mid-air (one
event) is a worse drop than tangling a diabolo on a string (one drop) or
losing a grip on one or two
club knobs in a manipulation.
The main thing about the comps is the rules are online and fairly clear
and as long as each judge is
consistent they seem to produce, as a group, a ranking that while we don't
all agree with it actually
matches the criteria the competitors were given.
Hope that helps clarify, and Brian, you're asking a lot of questions, but
I'd be curious about your
impressions too. It sounds like you're getting at something, but I can't
tell what, so if you choose to
give your own opinion, I'd be happy to hear it!
Viveca
Jack Kalvan
...
> 1. Degree of difficulty and Risk are not the same thing. Balancing a pen
> on your head has a higher
> degree of difficulty but a lower element of risk because dropping it is
> not as big a deal. Ditto for much
> diabolo. No matter how hard certain tricks are, you have fewer objects to
> drop.
>
> 2. The goal of the Stage Championships is external (best act for the
> general public). Thus, I suggest
> having more non-jugglers judge, just the opposite of what's Matt's
> recommending. Difficulty is
> perhaps the only criteria best judged by insiders. All the others would be
> more accurately judged by
> others. My suggestions? Circus owners, talent agents, Vegas bookers, and
> others who know the
> variety arts show business.
>
> 3. Matt's right too of course that it's hard to compare difficulty across
> genres, props, and skills we
> don't juggle, but I don't think first-hand experience is the only way to
> gain knowledge. As far as I
> know (and admittedly that's not far), judges in for example Olympics
> diving or gymnastics events
> don't all have to be athletes also. The major difference is that the
> tricks are generally understood and
> rated in advance so the judges can focus more on execution and staging.
>
Well, here's an idea... Maybe "difficulty" shouldn't be a judging
criteria for stage competitions. (OMIGOD, SURELY HE CAN'T BE
SERIOUS!!)
The important thing in a performance is the effect on the audience -
did it amaze/entertain them?
Just performing difficult tricks is of NO USE AT ALL unless they look
like something.
Performing hard tricks that don't look amazing should not be
encouraged. Show me something amazing!
That's what real juggling is about.
Jack.
edward
Turning a performance into a number is silly no matter which axis(es) you
take in my opinion*. I don't think juggling is always "do the most biggest
most amazing thing", sometimes people have more to say.
(* I suppose that is missing out one detail, the way people rate diving
and gymnastics works well for juggling too)
Raggedy Annie
wrote:
>
> Low
> Sitting next to the Humboldt Circus Cheer section
> No Good Games( 5 club, 7 ball, 6 ring, 744 misc., distance passing,
> passing edu.) I've never been more upset with theIJA.
> Crush
> The Cutie that ran Games for a bit
>
> Bain
> Not a lot of great girls to talk to in the gym
> nobody juggles or passes renegades anymore
>
> --
> ----== posted viawww.jugglingdb.com==----
* Hello Alan, this is Raggedy Annie, a.k.a. "the cutie that ran
the games for a bit" ha, thanks, i'm flattered. In response to your
post, i do appologize for the ringing in the ears our cheering may
have caused, apparently we are a little more rowdy in Humboldt than
most east-coasters are used too, but im really not sorry for cheering
loud, SOMEBODY had to do it. And we especially had to cheer for our
boys of the Poetic Motion Machine!!!
* In response to the dissapointment with the games... i was
assistant to Scott, the games director, and i know first hand how hard
it is to meet everyones expectations and to fit in everyones requests,
without having the games run all day on saturday, which is really alot
to ask. If I am chosen as games director next year, i will deffinately
put in some higher numbers/ more challanging games based on the amount
of requests/ complaints I heard, about the games being too easy or
weak or whatever. I personally think games should be more geared
toward fun and acessable to everyone and less about impressive numbers
tricks, which have the numbers competitions and x games.
* And furthermore, I do juggle and pass 95mm renegades, and i was
in the gym all week, and you didnt try to talk to me... so there. Come
say Hi next time :)
*Thanks for the input!!!
fiameyer
>
> Bain
> Not a lot of great girls to talk to in the gym
>
Hey, I'm a girl who both juggles and passes renegades. 85mm, but I'm
willing to pass with anyone regardless of which clubs they're using :)
fiameyer
> * In response to the dissapointment with the games... i was
> assistant to Scott, the games director, and i know first hand how hard
> it is to meet everyones expectations and to fit in everyones requests,
> without having the games run all day on saturday, which is really alot
> to ask. If I am chosen as games director next year, i will deffinately
> put in some higher numbers/ more challanging games based on the amount
> of requests/ complaints I heard, about the games being too easy or
> weak or whatever. I personally think games should be more geared
> toward fun and acessable to everyone and less about impressive numbers
> tricks, which have the numbers competitions and x games.
I was disappointed in the lack of club games. I was looking forward to
some 5 club endurance :( But other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the
other games, the three ball least catches was unique, and really fun :)
Part of me wishes we had a longer time for the games, but I know that
getting more time might not happen.
fiameyer
-Fia
TimEllis
> Low
> Not getting to watch the Jeremy's do any practice in the gym
> Not getting to practice much 5 club takeout stuff with anybody
> Not getting to go to too many workshops
> Being a bit out of festival shape, note to self: get back on a workout
> schedule
> Smirk! not getting gold
> Missing Junior's comp.
> Feeling lonely in the gym
> Some best friends cutting out early
> Being so completely lost on performing for a living
> Thursday night
> Sitting next to the Humboldt Circus Cheer section
Alan, I know your pain. I was immediately next to them. I actually
plugged my ears for the entire Poetic
Motion Machine act.
@Humboldt Circus: I know you love them, but it actually made me want to
move seats.
Raggedy Annie
>
> Alan Thompson wrote:
>
> > Low
> > Sitting next to the Humboldt Circus Cheer section
>
> Alan, I know your pain. I was immediately next to them. I actually
> plugged my ears for the entire Poetic
> Motion Machine act.
>
> @Humboldt Circus: I know you love them, but it actually made me want to
> move seats.
>
-yeah, i appologize to you too Tim :/
next time ill lower the deciples a few notches... and not sit next to you
or Alan... and try to save my loudness for heckling at Renegade... which
needed rowdiness much more than the public shows.
Raggedy Annie
>
> Oh, and I think you'd make a great games director :)
>
> -Fia
>
----Thanks Fia! I'll deffinately get 5 club endurance in there next year!
Along with some of Alan's suggestions, 7 ball, 6 ring,distance passing,
etc.
And I would not mind at all running the games a little longer to allow for
more/harder endurance games... maybe we have an advanced games section
after the regular games are over for crazy numbers/ different props
endurances and maybe a few rounds of high difficulty simon says... any
suggestions?
Raggedy Annie
> Highs
> --------------
> -Hanging out with a Norcal crew (Humboldt...CIRCUS) and seeing them be
> blown away by all the awesomeness at their first IJA.
> Crushes
> -The circus ladies, Annie and Ariana. You chicks rock my world ;-) plus
> you're both super hot
> -Rob Crites and his amazing hair. You, my friend, are hilarious, and
> seeing you get relentlessly hit on/licked on the face by that guy at
> Renegade...priceless!!
>
> ----Hahahahaha! I almost forgot about Rob getting licked on the face by that
guy... rich with pricelessness! And thanks, i forgot to mention, your super
hot too ;) I'm Blown away indeed, I cant wait for next year!!!
Kevin McBeth
(e.g., 3 balloon endurance). There should still be a few classic games
thrown in to satisfy the technical people though.
Perhaps split the schedule into 1-2 hours of core games (5 ball endurance,
7 ball endurance, 5 club endurance, distance passing) and 1-2 hours of fun
games? That way people interested in just the fun games would know when
to show up.
Reeses2150
So to start, let me talk about my decision to DRIVE down to North Carolina
from New Jersey. I knew it was gonna be a massive drive, so I went on
Monday because I wanted to save money on the hotel and monday there was
nothing going on planned at the IJA except for the open gym. It was 9 and
a half or more hours each way, easily the longest solo drive I'd ever made
by myself, and I have to say, it really wasn't all that bad. Of course the
reason it wasn't so bad was because I was smart about it, see I have a DC
to AC current car adapter, so I basically have a power outlet in my car
from the cigarette lighter, and I can run my laptop off of that as long as
I want! That and I have downloaded all of the Penn Jillette radio shows in
MP3 form from back in 2006. It's about a hundred plus hours of content,
and I've barely gone through 10 hours of it before then, so I put them all
on my laptop and had an endless source of good radio for the 9 hour ride.
Though I do have to say, at the end of the drive down it really sucked,
because the road I was to take from Virginia into North Carolina was Route
220, but the thing is there's a US220 and a dozen or so Business 220's,
and Google maps was telling me to take one of those business 220's. So I
was heading the right way for sure, but I was stopping at every gas
station that was still open, it being 10PM at the time and southern
Virginia, where there's at least 3 miles between an open gas station and
another open anything. That was fun for sure, but then all the sudden I
find myself exiting 220, and now as I'm in North Carolina, in the suburbs
and rural areas, there are NO streetlights, and the major highways are
only one lane, so I'm almost missing every single major intersection I
need to turn at until I FINALLY make it into Winsten-Salem, and I realize
how thankful I am to see streetlights and buildings again. It's a little
revelation I had while taking that drive that I am a city guy for sure.
So once I actually arrived and found the orphanage, getting the key to my
room and everything, I went to my 2 twin bed room with a shared bathroom
and slept for the night. Next morning was pretty good, I got up and made
my way to the convention center, finding that the attached parking deck
was 6 bucks a day was a pretty good deal, and having the guy at the
registration desk recognize me and sign me in was just as awesome. I spent
the next hour or so checking out the gym and catching up with a few of the
jugglers I'm friends with and who I like, those being Kevin Axtell, The
New Steve, Paris, Rob Crites, Warren Hammond, Ross Berenson, Sean Blue,
Matt Hall (once I saw him running down the hall to his next workshop,
lol), and of course all the other people I didn't know that came up and
knew me. It still amazes me that I'm such a big name in juggling, even
after the knowledge has sunk in. Well either way, the time comes around
for the cigar box workshop, and while there I'm reminded of all the
wonders of 3 box stuff, and why I love boxes too. It was a great workshop,
and the leader talked briefly about Ohako (a massive cigar box DVD from
Japan I've been dying to get a copy of), and he said he'd give me a copy!
SWEET! So let me think, after that workshop ended, it was about time for
dinner before the welcome show, and I followed one of my new pals around a
few blocks looking to see what was there, finding my two main places to
eat for the next few days, the Quiznos (which when I went on that 1st day
didn't have enough meatballs for more than a 6" sub, so they discounted
me) and the Mellow Mushroom, which may sound like a place to drop acid,
but it's a really nice pizza place, and believe me it was some awesome
pizza.
The welcome show started and featured a few big names at the beginning,
including Laura Ernst, Sean Blue, Kyle Driggs, and especially the hosts
the Sharpe Brothers. What everyone was waiting for was the big hour long
stage debut of team RDL, with Jay Gilligan, Wes Peden, Erik Aberg, and
Patrick Elmnert. Let's just say, I could spend a whole blog post talking
about them and how I don't like them that much, and I think that's just
what I'll do either in another blog post or a forum post somewhere, but
for now let me just say ther had a great 5 minute start, and then ten more
minutes of good material stretched out into an hour long show. I'm kind of
not ashamed to say I fell asleep for some of it right in the middle of a
15 minute long lull of nothing but 3 club scissors routines and random
non-juggling stuff. it was nice seeing Wes do a 5 club 1 high 4 low
shoulder throws, but past that, not for me at all, and a couple people
agreed with me, but others couldn't have disagreed more. I think it's
because they're either filling a niche or just have such a specific style.
But again, I'm going into detail. Let me finish by saying, Wes went from
doing 6 club scissors to poking balloons in the air...... (and people
wonder why I don't like his post Sweden style...)
DAY TWO - WEDNESDAY
So it's now Wednesday, and I have to wake up in time to host my workshop
about videography. Since I started going to conventions I've been meaning
to host a workshop on something, but I've really never managed to come up
with a topic I thought I knew enough about to teach people, it's kinda the
same problem with JoJ, but this year when Matt Hall put out a mass email
asking for people to do workshops at the IJA, I looked at what was there
and what I'd done with JoJ, and I realized that though there were tons of
workshops about juggling and unrelated stuff, there was NOTHING on how to
make videos or even the basics of shooting video! So I responded to Matt
back in June and said I'd host one about videography, and now it was time
to do it.
I entered the workshop, half expecting it to be empty except for 3 people,
and to my surprise and joy, there sat a good dozen people in the chairs
with their video cameras and props, waiting to hear what I had to say. I
had two ways I could have gone with this workshop, the basics or the real
video tips. Of course it seems obvious to me now, but as I asked what
everyone wanted to see, I got back that everyone knew how to use their
cameras and wanted to learn how to make a better shot. Perfect. So I went
through the points about how to decide what makes good lighting and
backgrounds from bad ones, along with everything on how to frame a shot
and even techniques for holding a camera steady when there's no tripod
around. I took any questions people had and answered them all fairly
easily (which I was so thankful for, it made me feel smart and like I
wasn't underqualified to do this), and at the end I got a lot of
compliments, including one guy who said it was the least intimidating
workshop he'd ever attended, which meant a lot to me. I'm always one to be
on the same level with people, and I really don't like people thinking I'm
pompous or above them or anything, just a guy offering advice on something
he knows.
So after that, I bought my first Kendama ever, it was the last of the
standard ones available from the japanese guys table, and I managed to
snag it fr a cool 12 bucks. I couldn't put it down for the next 4 hours, I
loved it and hated it so much as I tried to get my first spike, quickly
picking up on the techniques as I went, eventually getting a full round
from one side cup to the other, then to the bottom cup and then a spike.
The thing I didn't realize in those four hours though, are that the 2 side
cups are different sizes, and that the instruction book showed all the
tricks I was coming up with in japanese. So I played around with it and
got some footage of people doing stuff, and then it was time to go for
food.
I met up with a group of jugglers at the Mellow Mushroom pizzeria, and
just as they got a table I jumped in and didn't have to wait at all for a
seat when there was a possibly 20 minute line. I brought the Kendama with
me and played around with it a bit when the conversation was boring, and
then we started talking about RDL and being me, I HAD to share my opinion.
Luckily a few people were on my side, especially when I said the wes went
to poking balloons line. The pizzas came and I ended up eating over half
of a 12 inch pie, having not eaten at all that day yet, and then the group
broke up to go see the youth showcase. This is the ont competition I
really didn't care to see at all, so I went back to the gym to check my
email and stuff on my laptop, again thankful beyond words for free
wireless internet at the convention center. So I finished that and headed
off to the Juniors Competition which followed the youth showcase. While in
the lobby I played a game of Horse with Kendama players, and managing to
not get last somehow after only a few hours of practice. The juniors
competition was good, nothing really ultra-memorable, but I do remember
there were diabloists all over. So yeah, that ended and I went back to the
gym to grab saome stuff before heading off to the first Renegade show with
sleepy eyes. After I watched a few acts including the legendary Bob
Knickerson, I just got way too tired and finally back to my room.
DAY THREE - THURSDAY
So this is where it settles in and things start to become more mundane,
like waking up in the twin size bed and heading off to the convention
center. I for the most part took today to go to a couple workshops and to
practice my ring stuff in the gym like I hadn't really one much, and I was
finding it a little tough to do my favorite 5 ring moves, like the full
reverse and half shower. It was in that moment that I knew I REALLY need
to practice more at home. One of the workshops I somehow missed because I
overslept was the acrobatics workshop, which I really love doing but don't
have anyone here at home to do it with, but to my joy when I finished
trying my ring stuff and went outside for water, I saw they were out there
still doing stuff! I instantly jumped in and was a base for a few
positions.
Once that was over, there was a big lull between the workshops I wanted to
go to ending and the Individuals Championships beginning, so I took that
time to go off and do some Geocaching! I looked over on the websites for
the local cache information and went out in search of the two closest
Cache's, which were only about 3 blocks away from the center. I read the
hint on the first one and instantly knew it would be hidden under a USA
Today box, and so I recorded a video of me walking up to and quickly
finding it. Granted the video makes it look sort of boring, but it's
really an awesome thing to do. I still haven't put that video up, but I
will next week when I talk more about my newest hobby.
So I got back to the gym and practiced a little more and then it was time
for the championship in the theater. I went off and sat near a couple
jugglers I knew casually, and watched as diaboloist after diaboloist went
up and took the stage. Ugh. I understand Diabolo is tough and it's good,
but the competition is supposed to be about toss juggling. So finally it
was Doug Sayers turn to come out, and I WISH I was recording his act,
because as you've probably heard, it blew everything else out of the
water, completely. His insanely long run of 5 club backcrosses, his
isolated 7 ball runs and tricks, his inside joke about him juggling rings,
it was all beautifully put together. He got the only 100% standing ovation
of the night, and I clearly remember after seeing the next 2 competitors
go up, "If they don't give Doug the gold, there's gonna be a riot and I'm
starting it!" Luckily for the judges, he was given 1st place and everyone
went to the Renegade show happy that Doug finally got what he deserved.
That night at renegade the Passing Zone dropped in to perform a new act
they had been working on with cigar boxes, and though I recorded it, it
was one of the videos I lost when my converter blew up in my face. (If
anyone has that on video, please email it to me) It was an awesome
routine, and it was again the routine of the night, but unfortunately
again, I ended u leaving halfway through thanks to sleepiness. Before I
went though I checked google maps for any local food places that would
still be open, and on my way to the local Wendy's, I ran across a 24 hour
CVS, where I bought frozen pizzas and food for the rest of the week for
myself, seeing as how where I stayed had a fridge and a microwave. Luckily
for me, there were no real workshops I needed to go to the next day, so I
could sleep as much as I wanted.
DAY FOUR - FRIDAY
So this, like I said, was the day I slept in, and I woke up around 1:30 or
so and headed off to catch the numbers competitions. I got there and the
first thing I heard when I asked what happened was that I missed 2 new
world records happening, but thankfully because of that, they weren't very
far along, and so I set up my camera and recorded a lot of what remained,
again, this was a lot of the footage that got lost in conversion, but oh
well. It was amazing to see regardless, and after that was X-Juggling,
where I was amazed at how many WJF competitors there were competing for
something, including Jack Denger and Josh Horton. Some of the tricks were
awesome, others were stupid, most overall hey were just great. I thought a
little after about WJF6 and who would be there for #6, after taking out
Thomas, the X-Juggling competitors, and keeping just the regulars and not
special guests like Ignatov or Lauge. I came up with a list of only about
4 big names and about 8 others above my skill level. So since then I've
been a little scared about WJF6, even talking about it later with some
other jugglers, but I'll get to that later.
So moving on, it was time for the cascade of stars, and m god was it good.
Granted the first half wasn't the best series of routines ever, but then
Greg Kennedy came out and did Boxes, Rhombi, and the Lotus I think it was
called? And though the lotus sucked a bit, Boxes and Rhombi completely
made up for it! Then intermission came and went, and when we came back,
the curtain came up to reveal Greg Kennedy again in the Plexiglas cone, a
massive cheer coming from everyone, myself included as he went through and
performed the most famous juggling act there is. Then as soon as that was
finished came Michael Menes performing the most amazing 3 ball routine,
and then the classic stairwell miming act, which blew me and everyone else
away completely. There were 3 other acts, all of which were so great and
I'm not mentioning them by name because I want to move on, that and I
can't remember the names, but moving on, the second half of the show was
amazing.
Of course after it was Renegade, and it was planned to be Asian Night and
games like Ultimate Beer Pong. Of course I could care less about all the
Asian stuff, and so I went in late looking for the games, I entered the
room right at the act where there was a guy in a thong, and only a thong,
breaking chopsticks with his ass. Needless to say, a very interesting
moment as I stayed for a little bit, asking about the games, and not
getting any sort of clear response. Eventually I heard the games were
canceled and so I headed off for sleep after watching Rob Crites do a
handstand on a barstool in a Speedo onstage. That an the choptsticks made
me feel SO much better about my act which was coming up tomorrow, and I'd
been nervous about going onstage without a shirt on pretty much the whole
week.
So I went back and checked my email again, but of course Kieth Bindlestiff
hasd other ideas, nearly dragging me outside to hang out with all the guys
(Tony Psezzo, Mark the Knife, Warren Hammond, Ross, etc), and there we got
into a conversation about WJF vs IJA, and I shared my revelation about how
I was afraid of WJF6 not gonna be big at all, and then I heard an
interesting and somewhat scary thought. the WJF is basically skipping a
year by not having a con in 2009, and they said "Imagine if the IJA or the
Emmy's skipped a year", and it sent a small shiver down my spine with the
realization that WJF6 might not happen. I mean deep down I know Jason,
he's not gonna quit for anything, but just the possibility makes me
shudder, because nothing else exists right now that could come close to
filling it's niche. There was a bit more discussion about stuff and glow
ball juggling, but I managed to sneak away and off to bed.
DAY FIVE - SATURDAY
So this was the last day of the convention, at least where stuff was
planned, and I got up eagerly to go play the games. It was a little lame
that they didn't have as many endurance competitions as I wanted like the
5 ring endurance, but hey, can't get everything. I didn't come close to
winning any of them, though Kevin Axtell won almost 50 bucks in the
quarter juggling competition, and The New Steve came devilishly close to
winning 5 ball endurance. If you want to get uber technical, I won Ivan
Says because I was the only one to throw my wallet up to him when he said
"Ivan Says", but that's just me being stupid. It was a great moment though
when I realized after I threw it that one of the NYC condoms being given
out I had in there, Ivan looking inside and seeing it.
So then after the games it was time for the party, where I could complain
about the food line for ages. It wrapped the entire length of the building
it seemed, and took a full half hour to get to the front for food. The
food was good though once I got it and managed to somehow find an open
spot at The New Steve's table. The awards and stuff were, well, awards,
and I was a little surprised but not that much as to how Matt Hall got
second and Doug Sayers nabbed first place. They both deserve it so much,
but yeah, this really was Doug's time and he showed it in the competition
and in the gym constantly. The DJ they got for agfter the awards was ok,
nothing really special or even worth mentioning past the fact that he was
there, and after a little dance-juggling improv around in a dark corner of
the dance floor, I headed off to prepare for Renegade.
Now I've been hyping my trick all week, telling everyone who asked if I
was performing at all that I would be doing Muffin Clutches topless. I had
at least 6 people that were really looking forward to it, and I practiced
it a couple times in the changing room just to be sure I could do it
before heading back out to watch Mark The Knife and a few other acts
before my own. I handed the camera off to the guy sitting on the ledge and
went backstage to grab my juggling balls just before I was called out. The
rest as they say, is history. You can watch that video up near the top of
this post, and as you can hear, I got a standing ovation for it. It was
one of only three standing ovations of the night, the other two being for
cigarette tricks in the contest. So that made me happy beyond words, and
all throughout the night everyone was congratulating and complimenting me
on the act, it was the most surreal, awesome, and humbling feeling I've
ever had and I loved every minute of it as people came up to me "That was
the PERFECT Renegade act", "I couldn't have ever done that", and "You are
the MAN!" were some of the memorable ones I heard. Even Bob Knickerson
complimented me on it as he saw me, talk about being humbled.
DAY SIX-SEVEN - SUNDAY-MONDAY
So now the stuff was all over, and it was time for me to spend one more
day gathering footage for the podcast and saying goodbye to everyone.
Mostly though it was my day to relax and catch up on sleep in the hotel
room I'd booked before heading over to the lobby to hang out with Kevin
Axtell and the Humbolt Circus group for a bit, doing just a last little
bit of juggling as we all talked over our highs and lows of the
convention. It was a great few hours of relaxation before I finally headed
off to bed one last time in Winston-Salem.
So after that night of sleep it was finally time for me to get back to New
Jersey, with a freshly recorded set of videos that will keep my Youtube
channel interesting for the next month or so, and an experience I am eager
to repeat next year. I threw on my laptop and listened to some more Penn
Radio as I drove up the easy roads through Virginia to West Virginia,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and finally back to Jersey where I arrived at
around 1AM and immediately screwed up my editing of the files, and losing
nearly half the footage I got...... However I will be getting footage from
other people soon, so I should be fine. Either way this was an amazing
experience and I'm so glad I went.
Bekah.Smith
>
> 2. Do away with competitions completely and go to an Open Stage
> format like they have at EJC. It could be done. In fact, it would be
> just like what we have now--a handful of folks working hard to put
> together good routines, and then showing them to everyone. The only
> difference is that there would be no judges. Just good shows. Does
> competition push people to perfect their craft? Yes. Would the same
> people work just as hard if there were no competitions? Probably.
>
> I'd love to hear what other folks think.
>
> matt
>
>
>
Would people work just as hard if there were no competitions? Yeah...I
think you're right...people would.
But I still think having a formal and overall competition is a pretty cool
thing. It strikes me as a way for judges who know a lot of about juggling
to tell people which upcoming performers have really good acts to sell.
Because isn't an IJA medal a great thing to put on a resume? (is there a
different word for a performer's resume?) Maybe agents don't care about
that as much as other things, but it ought to help, especially to a new
performer...and that's what most competitors are, right?
So basically the championships is a way for us, jugglers, to tell others
what a really good juggling act is like...plus give new performers
something really fancy-sounding to put on a resume. I don't think that
medals for x-juggling and individual prop competitions would accomplish
this because they wouldn't be taken as seriously by outsiders.
I should have prefaced all of this by saying that I'm really new to the
IJA...so my idea of what the championships are for may be totally off from
its actual goal. But maybe that's irrelevant...
- beKAH!
Bekah.Smith
>
> Bain
...
> Not a lot of great girls to talk to in the gym
> nobody juggles or passes renegades anymore
>
I take offense to both of these statements. ;)
Bekah.Smith
>
> I really enjoyed seeing some easily accessible games that anyone can win
> (e.g., 3 balloon endurance). There should still be a few classic games
> thrown in to satisfy the technical people though.
>
> Perhaps split the schedule into 1-2 hours of core games (5 ball endurance,
> 7 ball endurance, 5 club endurance, distance passing) and 1-2 hours of fun
> games? That way people interested in just the fun games would know when
> to show up.
>
Great idea, Kevin!
Bekah.Smith
I was sitting on the other side of the row and was still getting pretty
annoyed. Mostly, I just think it's rather ironic...PMM is a pretty
artistic group (as opposed to sport juggling)...yet their fans cheer them
on as if they're watching a basketball game.
- beKAH!
brianpdailey
Thanks V,
Mostly I am curious about different peoples ideas about juggling.
I'm not sure that I have anything to say myself that would be too
interesting.
I don't think the IJA competitions (or United States jugglers who dominate
the IJA organization) reward taking aesthetic risks. I think that is
too bad, and that juggling, particularly in the United States suffers
greatly from it.
It just makes me wonder how do performers style, concept, tone, affect
their scores... and how judges go about considering such things.
I really appreciate your reflections on the topic of aesthetic vs. risk
because it is a big part of the puzzle.
b
wes peden
> doing 6 club scissors to poking balloons in the air......
haha, classic!
> (and people wonder why I don't like his post Sweden style...)
okay, so that's why people need to tell you to stop filming me in the gym.
because you dislike my style
so much... got it...
one love,
/wes
MasterKatra42
>
> > Let me finish by saying, Wes went from
> > doing 6 club scissors to poking balloons in the air......
>
> haha, classic!
>
> > (and people wonder why I don't like his post Sweden style...)
>
> okay, so that's why people need to tell you to stop filming me in the gym.
> because you dislike my style
> so much... got it...
>
> one love,
>
> /wes
>
>
Good point, Wes.
Kevin Axtell x3, Warren Hammond x2, Sean Blue x2, Matt Hall x3, Laura
Ernst, Kyle Driggs, Sharpe Brothers, Jay Gilligan, Wes Peden x2, Erik
Aberg, Patrick Elmnert, Doug Sayers x4, Passing Zone, Jack Denger, Josh
Horton, Greg Kennedy x2, Michael Menes, Tony Pezzo, Mark the Knife x2,
Jason Garfield, Ivan Pecel x3, and Bob Knickerson are all the names you've
dropped. Does it earn you juggler's street cred?
Richard, quit S'ing the D of all the "name jugglers". Especially if you
wanna S the D in one paragraph, then act like you have a good relationship
with them just because you're ThE rIcHaRd KoHuT oF JoJ fAmE!!! It
especially makes me upset that you're frequently going after WES PEDEN
(just so we're not confusing him for the other Wes) for having such a vast
knowledge of juggling that you will never understand. I'm not just
talking about the tricks he knows, I'm talking about how to make a show
and use elements such as CONTRAST(!!!!!!!!!!!) to make the highs seem
higher and the lows seem like a welcome break so you can re-insert your
eyes into their sockets.
If you really have a problem with what people are doing on stage or off,
maybe you should stop including them in your reports. Your reports make
it sound like you think it's really cool you shared juggling space with
them, just because they have a recognizable first and last name.
~Joe "Looking for an online fight" Showers
GLF00
>
> So moving on, it was time for the cascade of stars, and m god was it good.
> Granted the first half wasn't the best series of routines ever, but then
> Greg Kennedy came out and did Boxes, Rhombi, and the Lotus I think it was
> called? And though the lotus sucked a bit, Boxes and Rhombi completely
> made up for it!
Dude, the lotus routine was absolutely beautiful. What makes you the one
that decides what stinks and what doesn't? Obviously there are plenty of
people who liked lotus, so if you disliked it that says more about your
personal taste than the routine. Everybody is entitled to personal taste
and subjective opinion, but don't talk like yours is objective fact.
thegoheads
here's my unofficially official IJA 2009 HLGCB
HIGHS:
-learning new things
-juggling a lot
-buying a diabolo
-watching many wonderful performances!
-losing 5 pounds without even trying
-going 7.5 min in the 5ball endurance game!
-seeing many familiar faces and meeting some new people
-the overall friendliness of everyone there
LOWS:
-not learning enough new things
-not juggling enough
-buying a diabolo
-low ceiling and bad lighting in the gym
-spending a lot of money (but it WAS worth it)
GOALS:
-film a lot (check)
-juggle a LOT (ummm, check?)
-learn new club passing patterns (check)
-attend a LOT of workshops (fail)
-buy some new props/t-shirts/dvds/etc (check!)
-not die in a plane crash (check)
-eat some hardcore NC barbeque (check, although it wasn't quite as
hardcore as I was expecting)
-do something in the X-juggling (check)
-meet a beautiful female juggler who IS single and IS NOT a minor (fail!)
-be the first person ever to qualify 9 clubs while not on film and while
nobody was watching! (check)
CRUSH:
-the bartender at the millenium theatre! and the mermaid too!
BANE:
-being sick most of the week...
Big thanks to all the IJA volunteers and everyone who worked so hard to
make the festival so much fun!
-Steve
Raggedy Annie
----- Thanks for the input Kevin! This is right allong the lines of what I
was thinking. First, having the Games go at least a little while longer,
and having them in organized sections:
-Focused: endurance games section (including those mentioned which were
not included this year)
-Fun: fun/interesting/partner games more accessable to everyone, and of
course at the end...
-Fierce: Many rounds of combat!!!
-----This way everyone could be prepared for whatever section(s) and
specific games they wanted to play, and each could have a relative time
frame that could be printed in the program, and announced ahead of time.
Thoughts anyone?
Raggedy Annie
>
> >
> I wish that you were present at the Mayhem gig in Bradford late '97, you
> would have been amongst at least five other jugglers! All of whom who'd
> have been able to teach you a reasonable five cascade!!!! Even now, I wish
> you all the best, even if though the best = the most sinister and savage
> presently possible... although, is that saying much???
>
>
----- I'm not quite sure i undestand the context or meaning of this
message, but, um, thanks? What about a 5 ball cascade?... Yes im still
working on getting it solid, but i didnt mention this in my HLGCB... Have
we met? And '97? Ive only been juggling since 2007! Savage and
sinister...???
Sincerely,
a very confused,
Raggedy Annie
Raggedy Annie
JayGilligansFather
Annie) wrote:
> ----- Thanks for the input Kevin! This is right allong the lines of what I
> was thinking. First, having the Games go at least a little while longer,
> and having them in organized sections:
> -Focused: endurance games section (including those mentioned which were
> not included this year)
> -Fun: fun/interesting/partner games more accessable to everyone, and of
> course at the end...
> -Fierce: Many rounds of combat!!!
> -----This way everyone could be prepared for whatever section(s) and
> specific games they wanted to play, and each could have a relative time
> frame that could be printed in the program, and announced ahead of time.
> Thoughts anyone?
Is Scott Slesnick giving up the games after all these years?
JGF
Raggedy Annie
>
> Is Scott Slesnick giving up the games after all these years?
>
> JGF
>
>
sections of the games. Scott said next year, he'll be ready to pass the
torch to me, and be my assistant. I will not let the IJA down, GAMES RULE!
I will carry them on with much glory!
Juggle12
>
> THE 2009 IJA FESTIVAL:
> So to start, let me talk about my decision to DRIVE down to North Carolina
> from New Jersey. I knew it was gonna be a massive drive, so I went on
..massive snip
massive snip...
> around 1AM and immediately screwed up my editing of the files, and losing
> nearly half the footage I got...... However I will be getting footage from
> other people soon, so I should be fine. Either way this was an amazing
> experience and I'm so glad I went.
>
Longest ... HLGCB ... Ever!
Viveca
>
> I don't think the IJA competitions (or United States jugglers who dominate
> the IJA organization) reward taking aesthetic risks. I think that is
> too bad, and that juggling, particularly in the United States suffers
> greatly from it.
>
If you haven't, check out the scoring criteria. I suppose you could
consider the risk of making a bad
artistic choice a mistake, but mostly you're right that risk isn't defined
as creative risk. Other categories
do try to reward creativity though ("creativity" is a category that
confers its own points for example).
V
Viveca
>
>
> I don't think the IJA competitions (or United States jugglers who dominate
> the IJA organization) reward taking aesthetic risks. I think that is
> too bad, and that juggling, particularly in the United States suffers
> greatly from it.
I forgot to say the most important thing, which is that the IJA actively
seeks input from members on what
to prioritize but not here. You say you don't have anything to say, but it
sounds like you do. If you decide
you want to bring up issues where they might make a difference, I think
the IJA forums (fora?) or
emailing the champs director could be productive.
V
Tio
HIGHS
- The airplane ride. No, seriously, we were way up there.
- The expression on the security guard's face as he looked at the x-
ray of my juggling props.
- First IJA, so going at all was a high.
- Florent's workshop. Opened me up to the concept of juggling/
performing as a whole-body experience.
- Staying in a hotel room with six other jugglers.
- Beginning most days with stretching. Holy crap, I love stretching!
If I could just get my act together a little more, I would start every
day and/or practice that way.
- Managing to delay our shuttle back to the airport long enough to
still be in the Big Toss Up. My hiking pack full of juggling props
should be in there somewhere...
- The routines of Smirk, Doug, Florent, Tony
- Seeing Doug's face when he got the Gold. That was one happy dude.
LOWS
- The tunnel. So low, it was subterranean.
- Tweaking my wrist in the airport BEFORE I even left Colorado. Got a
lot of fun filming with Thom though, and some ice/stretching cleared
it all right up. Worth it!
- Being late to every Renegade, and thus having terrible "seats" if
you could even call them that.
- Leaving early on Saturday. Would have loved to stay one more day,
but scheduling just wouldn't allow it.
- Sweat.
- Not getting to meet up with a childhood friend living in Raleigh-
Durham because she got sick.
GOALS
- Last year I decided that no matter what, I was going to the 2009
IJA. It wasn't cheap, but I did it and I will never regret it.
- 5b 5-up pirouette (that word is so much more fun to write and read
than "360") - Fail. Damn close, but I just didn't have the energy to
keep trying. Soon...
- Don't burn out in the first few days - Success, if you ignore the
wrist tweak before even getting there. I might have even taken it a
bit too easy... don't feel like I got in as much juggling as I could
have. Next year, it's on.
- Sell all ten PX3's - Success! Sold for way, way cheap, but it was
enough to get my Delphins...
- Buy new Delphins - Check! Seven new Delphins now belong to me.
Thanks to Annie and... oh heck, I forget the other girl's name. Hope
you two enjoy the PX3's! They treated me well, but it was time for a
change.
CRUSH
- Nikki, Warren and Bekah's hostess for the last few days of the
festival. Cute, and kind of nerdy!
- Florent Lestage - He is quite honestly the first juggler I've met
that has truly inspired me. Granted, I've been impressed with others,
but watching him makes me want to do what he does.
- Screaming Old Donkey Tits
- The other girl who bought five of my PX3's... way hot poi routine
for the mixed prop competition.
BANE
- The virus I inadvertently installed on my laptop. Had to devote an
entire day after the fest getting that cleaned up.
- The two-hour drive back to Deckers from Boulder at 1:00 AM.
- Humidity. I've been spoiled by Colorado.
SURPRISE
- "Hey Thom... how are we going to get to Winston-Salem from
Greensboro?" "Huh... good question! It'll probably work out."
- "Sweet, a $15 shuttle ride that we didn't even sign up for!"
- Alan! Didn't expect him until Wednesday, then BAM, there he is.
Good to actually get to know you, my friend!
- Justin! Always a pleasure to see him, really one of the most
talented jugglers I know, though he'd never admit to it. A joy to
watch him do his thing.
- Surprise! That program came with a virus!
- "Hey Thom... how are we going to get back to Boulder from Denver?"
"Huh... good question! It'll probably work out again."
- "Hey dude who took some pictures of us juggling in the Atlanta
airport... can we get a ride to Boulder?" "Uh... yeah, sure."
- Oh, and the dude who gave us a ride turned out to be an editor for
Urban Climber (http://www.urbanclimbermag.com/)
Raggedy Annie
>
> - Sell all ten PX3's - Success! Sold for way, way cheap, but it was
> enough to get my Delphins...
> - Buy new Delphins - Check! Seven new Delphins now belong to me.
> Thanks to Annie and... oh heck, I forget the other girl's name. Hope
> you two enjoy the PX3's! They treated me well, but it was time for a
> change.
>
> CRUSH
> for the mixed prop competition.
>
-----Thank you Tio for the PX3's!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are treating me very well, getting so much better at 4 club already,
and can now do scissor catches! Ariana is my friends name, and I'll tell
her you thought her poi routine was way hot (didnt we all)!!!! :)
Good juggling to you and your new Delphins!
krista
G.A.R
This was a really well thought out, detailed post. I didn't go this year,
so a nice long description was good (including your controversial
opinions).
You have a nasty habit of starting your paragraphs with "So", though.
Matt Hall
>
> I forgot to say the most important thing, which is that the IJA actively
> seeks input from members on what
> to prioritize but not here. You say you don't have anything to say, but it
> sounds like you do. If you decide
> you want to bring up issues where they might make a difference, I think
> the IJA forums (fora?) or
> emailing the champs director could be productive.
>
give Dan Holzman credit when I mentioned the update and changes made
to the competitions scoring criteria and preliminary judging system.
In many instances Dan had the original ideas way back in the day.
Chuck, as most recent champs director, has been implementing and
running the show, but Dan also deserves a large helping of respect
himself as well.
just crossing my t's and dotting my i's...
matt
Tio
Did I play already? I didn't think so, but you made me doubt myself.
After looking through all the posts, though, it appears I did not
unconsciously make one already. Unless of course you're talking to
someone else.
On Jul 29, 4:02 pm, Matt Hall <juggle_sen...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> just crossing my t's and dotting my i's...
Circle your o's, and you've got a me!
-Tio
Emman
That was meant for Reeses, but you can't see that on wherever you use rec.
from.
Emman
krista
Oh, no, I was responding to Reeses2150
Alan Thompson
>
>
> >
> > Bain
>
> ...
>
> > Not a lot of great girls to talk to in the gym
> > nobody juggles or passes renegades anymore
> >
>
> I take offense to both of these statements. ;)
>
Apparently these are two very offensive statements.
rhalf
>
> > Let me finish by saying, Wes went from
> > doing 6 club scissors to poking balloons in the air......
>
> haha, classic!
>
> > (and people wonder why I don't like his post Sweden style...)
>
> okay, so that's why people need to tell you to stop filming me in the gym.
> because you dislike my style
> so much... got it...
>
> one love,
>
> /wes
>
>
Msybe he thinks other people will like it when he posts a video on youtube
;)
Emman
>
> Bekah.Smith wrote:
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Bain
> >
> > ...
> >
> > > Not a lot of great girls to talk to in the gym
> > > nobody juggles or passes renegades anymore
> > >
> >
> > I take offense to both of these statements. ;)
> >
>
>
> Apparently these are two very offensive statements.
>
You also said not a lot, which implies there were some.
Emman
Reeses2150
Sorry if I came off that way, I thought people already knew this was just
my opinion of everything :S (is not being sarcastic, seriously). I'm sure
people loved the Lotus act like people loved RDL, I only am saying I
didn't really like them...