Dogfish Juggling

The weekend was jam packed with juggling, and the weather was gorgeously accommodating.

I had a short performance with my fellow Neverthriver, Charly the Poi spinner, Saturday at the International Street Performer’s Festival in downtown Athens. We had a short, clean set which the crowd seemed to really enjoy.  Before that, though, Dave Altman, an enormously talented AJA juggler from the  Atlanta area stopped by my house. He brought along a set of 10 Renegade 85mm’s, and we passed for a little over an hour.  It was a great session; Dave did some really exciting stuff!

Dave’s visit also served to fan the fires of lust for my own set of new Renegades, which should actually be arriving tomorrow, just in time for the next Neverthriving meeting!

Sunday, Ben, Allie, and I headed over to Circus McGurcus — a circus-themed event for one of the UGA housing organizations.  I tried a few of Dave’s moves out with Ben, and we had a great time.  A few of the students were able to juggle pretty decently, and I think we built some interest in our club, so it was a successful couple of hours.

My juggling class Sunday evening saw a pretty dismal turnout, sadly.  A new student did show up, though.  She’d never juggled before, but within the first 10 minutes of class she’d managed three catches with three balls.  Five minutes later she’d qualified with a six-plus-catch run!

It’s always inspiring to see that happen.  There is a small percentage of the population who seem to have an innate ability to juggle. For these people, it’s just a matter of having the process explained, and the execution comes naturally. It’s a wonderful thing to see a new juggler come into being so instantaneously!