Some new moves

The stress and exhaustion have been running high lately, due in great part to the fact that the circus club at my college in putting on a show (and also because of my comprehensive exams and two papers that I have due, plus the stress of planning for the future). I would prefer a different show, but I am a part of it so it is a big time drain. I finally juggled this morning, and it felt really nice, since it has been so long since I have gotten a good practice in. I practiced a bunch of new moves, mostly taken from Bill Berry's 3 ball routine. I am also starting to get takeouts, which is really nice because I have wanted to know those for a long time. I am sure that I am at the point where I can get a bunch of new moves, but I need the time to practice. In a week when this show is done and my comps are done and my papers are turned in I will have the free time to juggle for my own pleasure more often. I am really looking forward to that.

Under the legs, streamlining

I saw a great video of a award winning juggling routine yesterday. It is encouraging to know that I can do a lot of what is in it (not all of it by any means), so for those moves that I know I just need to get smooth and more fluid. Perhaps I will eventually learn this routine as well, although the arm-balancing might be a challenge to learn.

Thinking about the list of moves I have written down in my notebook, I also am thinking about practicing fewer moves each time I practice. I am reviewing a lot of things that I already have down fairly comfortable, like Machine/Robot, and Columns. I definitely want to add in the under-leg tosses as well. Watching Bill Berry do them made me realize how cool it is, and it wouldn't take much work for me to get either.

A quick update about a good practice

Before I forget, I just want to make a note of how good backcrosses felt during my practice last night. I was getting four or five or six in a row that all felt relatively steady. It is excellent progress since last time. Shuffle is starting to feel more solid, and my machine/carry variations are just beginning to leave the stage of "very shaky." My four ball shower was feeling good too, as I had several runs in which I got a good half a dozen or so tosses before losing control of it. :)

A calm practice

It was calm, but I was feeling pretty tired by the end of it. Not many people came to the skill training practice today, and that might actually have something to do with it. Although I like to focus on my own stuff, having other people there can give me a small distraction when I need to take a little break. I was feeling mentally exhausted only halfway through my normal practice routine. Back-crosses are feeling better though, which is excellent. I wonder how long it will be until I can do them reliably. I am trying to get some variations on columns, carrying one, and machine/robot. If I can, I want to work some more hip-hop style movement into a few patterns, in preparation for the show. It was a good day outside of juggling too though: I got a bunch of organization work done on my thesis. Hopefully next practice I will have a bit more energy so that I can spend more time on the challenging tricks, like five balls and shoulder tosses.

MadFest 2010

MadFest was cool. I was introduced to some new tricks, such as a 441 in which the 1 is passed behind the back, and a variation on mill's mess in which the upper hand is clawing. I got to see some pretty cool performances in the evening, and I saw some really impressive skills being practiced in the gym. Possibly the best part was taking part in the juggling games on Sunday afternoon. Nolan and I competed together in a three legged race while partner juggling clubs, and we both competed separately in a quarter juggling contest. There were also 7 ball endurance and distance passing contests, but neither of us are that good (yet!). Sara bought herself some rings, and Jessie learned a few new tricks for three balls. Erica made progress on learning three balls as well. We all got to do some partner-acro too! Unexpectedly, we ran an impromptu mini-workshop on some tumbling skills after a small crowd gathered around Nolan and I practicing somersaulting on each other's backs. Both the show on Saturday night, and the renegade show that took place later at a local bar were excellent. We saw a fantastic juggler by the name of Thom Wall, whose tricks and attitude I really enjoyed, as well as a great comedy juggling duo called Smirk, and a hula-hooper with lots of courage and style who calls herself Dizzy Lizzy Delicious. A real treat of the show was to see a juggler who has been working with Cirque du Soliel for the past ten years do some excellent clowning, some creative contact juggling, solid toss juggling, and very impressive and smooth object manipulation with his suitcase, his cane and a ball.

Below is a show reel for Dizzy Lizzy Delicious, a perfomer from both the regular and the renegade show whom I enjoyed watching very much.