It’s looking really awesome so far. Everyone is coming over to the facebook group and representing their town/city. Many of the people on .org are beginning to write press releases to see if they can get on television! It’s quite an exciting time for contact jugglers, my secret hope is that it means jugglers who have never met before get to find each other, because in doing so, our community finds solidarity in times of turmoil.

I <3 contact jugglers and the community that they create. I am so lucky to be a part of this wacky dynamic sub-culture. Look out world HERE WE COME!

“nope, this is contact juggling” and I explain to them that they’ve been duped into thinking a ball can magically float as hand them a ball to try themselves. “This is a skill that I have taken 9 years to learn, it is not as easy as they make it out to be”.

I call it the F.ball with good reason.  The first offense was the misleading advertising, as it single handedly convinces the entire American public that contact juggling can be learned in an instant with one false advertisement. The second is the less-than-perfect manufacturing process can be proven with a few easy tests. The latest blow includes using a mock website with the registered trademark of Sphereplay  for their own commercial gain (which they have since taken down upon request). Ouch, that’s Low ZoomTV, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

I have begun an information campaign, simply trying to inform people about the problems with this product and this company, in a re-educational campaign about what contact juggling is really about.

Check out the videos, they are very revealing!

Here is a link to the Fashion show itself. The experienc  of being with all these beautiful people was really neat! I am usually a bit more rough and clownish, so it was great to get cleaned up and pretty with the models,  I think I might just suit that look .

Cirque Mystique

I have been working with the Public Dreams Society a lot this past while, including the Canada Day Parade in Vancouver and Abbottsford!

(We are a brief moment at 4:55)

This short clip represents only a small fraction of that day and by that time the parade was going so fast most of the floats had to RUN! It was great fun, so exciting to see so many smiling faces in the crowds and when I did get to stop and do some tricks it was welcomed with great applause! I am so thankful for the opportunity to perform and the appreciation I get from performing these silly human acts.

Soon, I will be performing my stilts with Public Dreams at the Illuminares Festival for the first stilt performance I have ever done! It’s totally exciting, especially since they have taught me to build my own peg stilts and we have been practicing playing soccer with them on!

I look forward to posting some of the backdated material I have soon.

Here’s the details

The MadSkillz Collective features some of Vancouver’s finest jugglers, hoopers, flow artists and ground-level circus misfits, who have banded together to develop and showcase their mad skillz! The first of its kind in Vancouver, The MadSkillz Juggling Festival (madskillzvancouver.com) has been developed to provide a forum for collaboration and cross-pollination, creating a new style of circus and performance art… not to mention juggling, spinning, flowing FUN!

What?
3 days of workshops (see below for a partial list… even more to come!), 2 Cabaret performances, a late night juggling party, games, prizes and some of the most eclectic skillz you have ever seen.

Why?
Didn’t your mother ever tell you to go out and play? It’s good for your brain, body, and being!

When?
June 11-13, 2010

Where?
VANCOUVER!
Friday– Juggling Jam, Workshops, and RENEGADE Show at the Wise Hall from 2pm-1:30am
Saturday – Workshops at UBC from 10-6; GALA showcase at the Rio Theatre at 7:30pm; Juggling PARTY till 3am at a surprise location.
Sunday – Workshops at UBC 10-2, then Games (with PRIZES!) until 5pm… then RAFFLE prizes will be drawn!

How?
Get yourself out there to improve your skillz, and mingle with the other circus freaks! Connect through the facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=184748874952
Or pre-register on the official website:
http://madskillzvancouver.com/

Cost?
Preregister for the WHOLE weekend (including ALL workshops, shows, jams and party times!) for $40 (at the door, $50).
$20 Day Passes and $25 Kids’ Passes (with adult admission) will also be available at the door.

OR, for only $15, just come see the amazing Gala Show on Saturday June 12th! Incredible performers in all sorts of circus disiplines are coming together for one night only! Featuring top notch performances from:
Bekka Rose (Vancouver, Canada) will feature Vancouver’s best club juggling talent with an artistic twist!
Giulio Lanzafame (Italy) will be honouring us with his brilliant balls/toss juggling routine.
Ryan Mellors and Dawn Monette (Vancouver, Canada) are excited to present the North West Coast’s best contact juggling duet piece!
Aaron Gregg (Victoria, Canada) is a hilarious Comedy Juggler who will make you laugh your face off!
MCP (Scotland) is one of the best Contact Staff Manipulators in the world!
Alley’Oop (Newfoundland, Canada) is a well traveled hoop performer who was a feature of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad.
Micheal Bean (Vancouver, Canada) will tie the whole show together as the M.C. for the evening.
PLUS MORE! This will be the most grandiose Juggling Show this town has EVER SEEN! Doors open at 7:30pm; get there early to get a good seat! After the show will be a SUPER FUN TIMES YEAH JUGGLING DANCE PARTY until 3am! Featuring SURPRISE DJs at a special surprise location, come and shake out your sillies and get your late-night juggle on!  All are welcome, but note that this a DRY event, please and thank you!

Speaking of grandiose shows, the Renegade Cabaret at the Wise Hall on Friday night is sure to be out of hand itself!  A Renegade show is an open mic-style stage for any and all jugglers who wish to participate. This show is 19+ (cash bar, yeah!) and will be a hilarious, ridiculous riot! Heckling is enthusiastically encouraged! Don’t miss out on the weirdest of the weird… come down and become part of the show!

And of course, 30+ WORKSHOPS all weekend long, from beginner level basics to ground-breaking next level skillz! Here are just some of the incredible workshops that will be presented by facilitators from across North America:
Beginner Horizontal/on body Hoop
Beginner Vertical/off body Hoop
Intermediate Poi-style Hoop
Intermediate Self tosses and Partner passing Vertical Hoop
3 ball Mills Mess Devil Sticks
“Getting Over The Hump” – Intermediate into Advance Contact Juggling Transition
Advanced Contact Juggling incorporating foot, leg, and body
Beginner Three Ball Juggling
Intro to Siteswap
Advanced Siteswap
Table Juggling
Building Blocks of Poi – steps to hybrid moves
Contact Staff Dance
Flow-wand
Beginning Double Staff
Beginning Partner Poi
Poi/ Double Staff Hybrids (Advanced Doubles)
Foot Juggling
Beginner Hoop
Advanced Hoop
Beginner Unicycle
Explorations in Fan Tech
Fan Spinning & Tossing
Partner Fans
Intermediate 3 Club Tricks
Beginner Contact Juggling
And MANY MORE to be announced!

So come on down, step right up, and join the circus!!

Check out the website or facebook for more details!
http://madskillzvancouver.com/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=184748874952

Photo by Jonathan Hanley

So I have some deep philosophies about the color green and have given a great amount of thought. Wikipedia says that the word is close to Old English, meaning, to grow.  In some ways the color of new growth is neon, and this bright new color is my favorite, the green of choice.  In Vancouver, you have to appreciate this to get through the rainiest days. If you understand the correlation of the green of this new spring growth with the rain that supplies this growth then you can appreciate how this land really is all about new growth.

I’ve learned a new word, the word Solastalgia . This word is connected to nostalgia and refers to the missing of one’s land that has changed environmentally from some destruction. It is this missing of the green lands which once filled our back yards, but have eroded due to climate change, or pollution or simple destruction of peoples presence. I wear green so often because of this solastalgia. When I look out my windows and see concrete for miles lining the shores I miss the great trees that should be here. This is a tree friendly city and I still miss the green.

I dream of a day where the rooftops are built to be strong enough for gardens and trees. I hope we grow food on each balcony. I wish that this whole city could live under the canopy of trees that once lived in this place, in the not so distant past.

My friend Carmen once said to me “if we all chose to move out to the country side, then the country side will soon become a city”.  In this I agree and realize that I cannot stay in the lush green all the time the way I would like to, if I would like to get what I need to do done, I have to stay here and encourage the city to become more green.

Right now, I stand out in a crowd, because I took this new growth of the trees that were once here and I attempt to replant this idea simply by embodying this color. When people ask, I find it is difficult to explain, that I represent what was once here before the gray sidewalk,  new growth.

One seed is all it takes

I dream one day you will join me.

To fulfill this goal more thoroughly, I have decided to join the Green Peace team as a street canvasser.  I need a bit more money for school than performance is giving me, although I believe performance is picking up quick, I think I can balance both.

3 balls in the air -  school, work and juggling performances. This will be the biggest thing I have ever juggled.

Give’r

Here is the shout out

For those of you who haven’t heard, the first ever Vancouver juggling festival (aka Madskillz Vancouver) will be held June 11-13, 2010!! We are still in the planning process, but the schedule so far is as follows:

Friday 4pm – 9pm Open Juggling and workshops
10pm Renegade (& juggling after renegade until 1am) (At the Wise Hall)

Saturday 10am – 6:30pm Open Juggling and workshops
7:30pm Public Show ~ maybe fire?  (The Rio on Broadway)

Sunday 10am – 4pm Open Juggling, workshops and games YAY!

Check out the website at http://vanjug.org/madskillz/ which actually doesn’t have much info on it yet, but we’ll be updating it soon. Mark your calendars and spread the word!!

~The Madskillz Committee

This will be the biggest thing in the Vancouver juggling scene! This place is exploding with talent, and I feel grateful that we get to show it off!