CircusGeek

Circus Oz Summer Classes 2012

2011-11-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

This summer, if you're in or near Melbourne, why not try some of Circus Oz's taster courses? It may be the start of something big...

Circus Oz 2012 Summer Short Courses

Women's Circus Come-and-Try programme

2011-11-13T20:11:00.001-08:00

This is another copy and paste from an email, so hopefully it will turn out okay:

EVER WANTED TO RUN AWAY TO THE CIRCUS?

The Women’s Circus invites women 18+
to run away to the Circus

Juggle!
Stretch!
Try the trapeze!
Build a human pyramid!

If you are interested in seeing what the Women’s Circus is all about or if you want to join the New Women’s Program in 2012 this is the opportunity to test it out in a fun and relaxing way. No matter what your fitness level, age or ability why not come along, have some fun, meet the trainers and see the training space.
Activities will include games, warm up, introduction to various circus skills such as aerials, acrobalance and juggling.

WHY COME TO A TEST DRIVE?
The aim of these test drive sessions is to:

Provide an introduction to both circus skills and the philosophy and practice of the Women’s Circus.

Give you a chance to ask questions & learn more.

Provide an environment where you can explore your physicality, take calculated risks and develop confidence without feeling pressured to make a long-term commitment.

WHO CAN COME?
The Women’s Circus is a non-profit community arts organisation. Our Vision is to empower and inspire through participation in contemporary circus.
The Circus has developed a reputation for using social circus
to work with women survivors of sexual abuse, women over 40 and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Whilst we still give priority to these groups, we are now open to all women 18+ and there are no prerequisites to join.
Women of all shapes, sizes, abilities and backgrounds are in our Circus.
All women are welcome to join!

DETAILS
We are holding 3 test drive sessions (subject to numbers)
Saturday 3 December 10-1
Saturday 10 December 10-1 & 2-5pm

Cost: $30 full / $25 concession
(this is fully deductible from Term 1 fees if you join up)

What if I can’t attend?
Register your interest to join the new women’s program in 2012 by emailing info@womenscircus.org.au

HOW TO ENROL IN A TEST DRIVE SESSION
Email Rachal at info@womenscircus.org.au or telephone 9687 3665 and we will send you an enrolment form with further details and payment details.
WOMEN’S CIRCUS
Drill Hall
395 Barkly Street West Footscray 3012
www.womenscircus.org.au

Circus Oz Training Programme, Term 4 2011

2011-10-03T22:58:00.001-07:00

I tried to just copy the ePostcard they sent out into this post, but it didn't quite work. Just click on this link and all will be revealed...

Circus Oz: Steam Powered

2011-08-20T23:50:00.000-07:00

Just a few impressions right now, a better review later:

Steampunk and colonial Australian influences in the costumes and sets = brilliant!

Nice use of cigar boxes. Not enough cigar box acts these days.

Band is brilliant, as always.

Didn't they use that aeroplane on a pole thing back in the 90s?

Hilarious. Abso-bloomin-lutely hilarious.

I would totally buy one of Fantasia Fitness's DVDs.

Great bicycle routine.

Nice use of static trapeze.

Needed a German Wheel. It was the only thing missing.

Circus Oz Training Programme

2011-06-07T00:11:00.000-07:00

The Winter intensives and Term three classes for Circus Oz are now available:

Circus Oz training schedule.

Have fun.

Summer courses for Circus Girls

2010-12-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

It's the week for timetables to arrive in inboxes.

Both the Women's Circus in Melbourne and Vulcana Women's Circus in Brisbane have released their next lot of training time-tables.

Women's Circus has a great range of short courses during January, including tumbling, Chinese pole, tissue, acro-balance, manipulation and stilts (to name a few). They even have a course on percussion using marimbas, which is a bit different.

Vulcana is offering one-off workshops and short courses in February as well as rolling out the time-table for their Term One training, which includes aerials and tissu as well as basic skills. They're also offering a course on rigging, for anyone who wants to get involved in the more technical side of aerials.

You can find out more about their programmes here:

Vulcana Women's Circus Term One Training

Women's Circus Summer Short Courses

Solid Potato Salad

2010-12-07T23:17:00.000-08:00

Um, okay.

If, like me, you have some issues with contortionists (I maintain human beings should not be able to do that), then you might find this clip... er... challenging:

It starts off as a second-rate Andrews Sister's style music hall number. It ends as one of the freakiest things I've seen in a long time.

Women's Circus Invitation

2010-10-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

From the Women's Circus mailing list:

EVER WANTED TO RUN AWAY TO THE CIRCUS?

The Women’s Circus invites women 18+

to run away to the Circus

Juggle!

Stretch!

Try the trapeze!

Build a human pyramid!

If you are interested in seeing what the Women’s Circus is all about or if you want to join the New Women’s Program in 2011 this is the opportunity to test it out

in a fun and relaxing way. No matter what your fitness level, age or ability why not come along, have some fun, meet the trainers and see the training space.

Activities will include games, warm up, introduction to various circus skills such as aerials, acrobalance and juggling.

WHY COME TO A TEST DRIVE?

The aim of these test drive sessions is to:

Provide an introduction to both circus skills and the philosophy and practice of the Women’s Circus.

Give you a chance to ask questions & learn more.

Provide an environment where you can explore your physicality, take calculated risks and develop confidence without feeling pressured to make a long-term commitment.

WHO CAN COME?

The Women’s Circus is a non-profit community arts organisation. Our Vision is to empower and inspire through participation in contemporary circus.

The Circus has developed a reputation for using social circus

to work with women survivors of sexual abuse, women over 40 and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Whilst we still give priority to these groups, we are now open to all women 18+ and there are no prerequisites to join.

Women of all shapes, sizes, abilities and backgrounds are in our Circus.

All women are welcome to join!

DETAILS

We are holding 4 test drive sessions (subject to numbers)

Sunday 14 November 10-1 & 2-5pm

Sunday 21 November 10-1 & 2-5pm

Cost: $30 full / $25 concession

(this is fully deductible from Term 1 fees if you join up)

What if I can’t attend?

We will hold another session in January subject to interest

HOW TO ENROL IN A TEST DRIVE SESSION

DOWNLOAD AN ENROLMENT FORM HERE

WOMEN’S CIRCUS

Drill Hall

395 Barkly Street West Footscray 3012

www.womenscircus.org.au

New Women

2010-09-13T21:56:00.001-07:00

Women's circus New Women programme is taking names, so if you live in or near Melbourne, get your name on the list. Find out more here:

http://womenscircus.org.au/index.php/training/new-womens-program/

Circus Oz Spring Training

2010-09-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

In addition to being in the Northern Territory on tour and planning a venture to California, Circus Oz is also releasing its training programme for Spring and Term 4.

You can find the time-table and information about the training here.

You can find information about their tour dates here.

You can find information about Nicaragua here.

No, that has nothing to do with the Circus Oz training or tours at this point in time. I'm just using Nicaragua in random places this week.

Circus Oz Winter Training

2010-06-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Cirus Oz have release their training schedule for Winter and Term Three:

Time Table and Info

Once again, it's a schedule chock full of aerials, trapeze and tumbling.

If this sounds like it could be up your alley, take a look at the courses being offered. The Winter courses are running for two weeks during the school holidays, while the term courses run for 9 week stretches.

Women's Circus April training... or "Curses! Cuuuuuurrrrsssses!"

2010-03-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

Well, this kinda sucks. After all my whining about no one offering short courses in German Wheel that someone could do in a one or two week holiday, Women's Circus goes and offers a short course in German Wheel that could be undertaken in a one week holiday - but gives two weeks' notice.

I can't do anything that involves leaving town with two weeks' notice. I'm scheduled to work that weekend, and I can't afford an unplanned flight to Melbourne right now.

To make matters worse, I've tried to ask the organisers if they're likely to run the course again during a later patch of school holidays when I could conceivably take some holiday time, and they've told me they aren't planning on running any courses during the September holidays (which would be my ideal pick). They also seem rather shy on volunteering any information regarding when they will run said course again, which makes me think they aren't planning on it at all.

So, basically, they're finally offering something I would happily travel across the country to attend, but in such a way that I cannot possibly attend it. I don't have enough time to plan for this session and I don't know when or if they will offer another so that I can plan for that one.

Which leaves me no choice but to say:

"Darn you, Womens' Circus! Darn you to Heck!"

Ah, well.

If anyone is actually in the vicinity of Melbourne and would like to do some circus training over the school holidays, the details can be found here:

http://womenscircus.org.au/forms/Short-Courses-April2010.pdf

Short courses include Double Trapeze, Skipping, Hula Hoops, Contortion, Unicycling and, *sigh*, German Wheel.

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm just going to crawl off into a corner and whimper.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls...” or, The Ring Master

2010-03-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

By some strange twist of fate, the Acrobatic Allstars from China and the Lennon Bros. Circus landed in town during the same week. Fortunately, while the Acrobatic Allstars were only in town for one night, the circus stuck around for a couple of weeks, so I could see both without tapping into the same paypacket.

Now, the Acrobatic Allstars were interesting in that they were treading a very peculiar line between contemporary and traditional circus. The acts were pretty much all traditional circus acts (although with a decided bent towards acrobatics and tumbling, obviously) and, like a traditional circus, they just came on one after another. There was nothing to tie the acts together apart from the fact that they often featured the same people. The “contemporary” side of things really came from the fact that there were no animals and they were performing at a theatre rather than in a tent... and there was no Ring Master.

I actually found this to be a bit disconcerting as I wanted to know who was doing what. I know half the time a Ring Master introduces an act the name is almost completely made up (“the Berlini Brothers” are usually two guys who aren't related, and neither has the surname “Berlini”), but somehow it helps me feel more connected to the act if I can say to myself, “my, those Berlini Brothers were pretty impressive” instead of “those guys doing the tumbling act with the table were pretty good...”

And, to be frank, the show was so close to being a traditional circus that the absence of the Ring Master felt like an oversight. It was like they had collectively forgotten to bring their good shoes to change into once they got to the party.

Lennon Bros., on the other hand, is a straight-down-the-line traditional circus. They have the Ring Master, the Big Top, the performing animals and all the circus trimmings like the flying trapeze and the Wheel of Death. Some people don't like the idea of animals in a circus and refuse to go along to the traditional circuses which still have animal acts. These people have obviously never been to a “modern” traditional circus, where the animal acts are largely deathly boring and pretty much consist of llamas running around in a circle for treats. All the "cruel" acts have been phased out, thankfully.

I believe I have previously mentioned that, if I were five years old, I would probably think the llamas were pretty darn fascinating (especially once the miniature ponies got in on the act) and I'm happy to accept those acts as a case of “bringing the zoo to you”. The only animal act still being used today which I don't like is anything that involves making some large hoofed animal stand on the back of another large hoofed animal. I think if you're not willing the have a horse stand on your back, you shouldn't ask the other horses to put up with it.

Oh, and for references, Lennon Bros. doesn't actually have llamas. They have alpacas. And lions. And camels. And ponies. And miniature ponies. And miniature donkeys. And a monkey who has approximately forty seconds' stage time as his sole gig is to ride one of the miniature ponies around the ring twice and leave. I wonder about that monkey. He did the same act the last time Lennon Bros. came to town, and both times I've seen him I can't shake the feeling he'd be giving someone the finger if he could. He has this vibe to him – something you can't quite define, but something that manages to be vaguely threatening. Surely, if he wasn't an evil monkey, they'd use him for some other act that doesn't involve strapping him to a pony and keeping their distance?

They also have a dog act involving terriers of various breeds. Last time they came through I didn't particularly like the dog act. Possibly because I find those kinds of dogs to be awfully annoying, and they spent a lot of time jumping. This time they brought in a little doggy Wheel of Death and a little doggie tight rope. I thought it was brilliant. I mean, a little doggy Wheel of Death? That's just inspired. Of course, the doggie Wheel of Death was in the first half of the show, while the actual Wheel of Death was in the second half, so I'm not sure if anyone who wasn't a circus geek actually got the joke...

As with the last time I saw the show, however, I have to say the “act” that inspired me the least was the Ring Master. He's a lovely guy who has been doing the job for years, but he's got no flair. He's a softly spoken gentleman who seems more like a polite MC than a Ring Master. Last time I watched the show I had the strangest impression that he reminded me of a grandfather “playing circus” with his three-year-old granddaughter, and I felt the same this time. He's wearing the clothes, doing the schtick and calling the acts... but his jacket is more colourful than his persona, his routine seems to belong to a different man and his voice isn't strong enough to defeat the flaws in the PA system (the sound engineer really needs to work on the clarity of that thing). At least this time he wasn't involved in the clown act. It wasn't really his strong suit last time.

I can't help but feel he needs to change his tack. He's not a boisterous, light-up-the-stage, call-the-roof-down Ring Master, but that seems to be what he's trying to do. If he adopted a different character – perhaps something closer to the dapper gentleman he seems to be, rather than the traditional Ring Master he's trying to portray, it might suit him better.

These two shows have got me thinking about the role of the Ring Master (or Mistress) and what he (or she) can do for a show. A lot of people underestimate the role a Ring Master can play in a circus. At his best, the Ring Master is the through line for the show. He carries the audience from one act to the other – which can be very important when you've got acts as widely different as a beautiful aerial ballet and a comedic tumbling routine. He's often the first and last thing the audience sees and is usually responsible for warming up the crowd and keeping them “in the zone” while the crew is setting up for the next act.

A good Ring Master (or Mistress) isn't that far removed from a cabaret artist or a stand-up comedian. He's really another one of the acts, engaging the audience at every given opportunity and trying to “infect” them with a good attitude. If the Ring Master is having a good time, the audience is probably having a good time, too.

The Ring Master (often written as ringmaster, but that seems to be something of a demotion to me) is often the first thing to go in a contemporary circus show. They can often get away with it because there's a quasi-plot of some description acting as the through line, or because there are recurring characters who sort of work together to fill that role. The Flying Fruit Fly's production of Circus Girl was a brilliant example of this. I've never seen anyone do it better, to be frank.

However, even contemporary circuses often have someone taking on the role of the Ring Master, and they can be better for it. I've seen several Circus Oz productions where there was no Ring Master to speak of – which were perfectly fine in their own way. But the last show that toured my way (Laughing at Gravity) featured Christa Hughes as an all-singing, kind-of-dancing cabaret hostess of a Ring Mistress. She was loud and flashy, and just a little bit risque. It worked brilliantly.

The Ring Master is often marginalised, sometimes treated as a joke and too often underused. Really, he's the person who reaches out to us, as the audience, and says “We are going to have such a great time tonight”, and he's partly responsible for making sure it happens. His value shouldn't be underestimated.

Circus Oz Training Programme

2010-03-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

I promised a more gender neutral entry this time:

Circus Oz has released it's training programme for Autumn and Term Two.

The Autumn offerings are:

Flying Trapeze for Beginners (Tuesdays)
Dates: Tuesdays 30 March - 6 April
Fee: $60
Time: 6.00-7.30pm or 7.30-9.00pm

Flying Trapeze for Beginners (Wednesdays)
Dates: Wednesdays 31 March - 7 April
Fee: $60
Times: 6.00 - 7.30pm

Flying Trapeze for Beginners (Thursdays)
Dates: Thursdays 1 April - 8 April
Fee: $60
Times: 6.00 - 7.30pm or 7.30pm - 9.00pm

Flying Trapeze for Intermediate (Wednesdays)
Dates: Wednesdays 31 March – 7 April
Fee: $70
Time: 7.30-9.30pm

Aerial Extension
Dates: Thursdays 1 April - 8 April
Time: 6.30-9.00pm
Fee: $70

Circus Allsorts
Dates: Tuesdays 30 March - 6 April
Times: 6.30pm to 9.00pm
Fee: $60

While the Term Two programme is positively riddled with aerials. There's a smattering of acrobatics and tumbling, but most of the courses are aerials or trapeze. You can check out their online timetable for more details:

Term Two Time Table

I'm still hanging out for the day when they offer a week's intensive in something or other. (Especially German Wheel. Oh, why won't anyone give me the chance to try German Wheel?)

This "every Tuesday night for the next six weeks" thing is all well and good when you live nearby, but I live on the other side of the country. I can come for a week, if the course is right, but not six.

Anyway, if you live close enough to make it worth your while, head along and enjoy yourself.

Women's Circus training schedule

2010-01-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

Last post I gave you some information regarding the Vulcana Women's Circus in Brisbane, and where you could go for some training if you were a female of the species and in the South East Queensland area.

This time it's the Women's Circus in Melbourne, who have released their training schedule for term 1 2010:

http://womenscircus.org.au/forms/New Women Program 2010.doc

I'll try to post some training details for the circus guys out there soon, I promise.

Vulcana's Term One Training

2010-01-13T20:27:00.000-08:00

If you are a woman, in the Brisbane area and interested in learning some circus skills, the Vulcana Women's Circus has put out it's training schedule for term 1, 2010:

http://www.emailbrain.com/eb_members/91357/ftp/PDF_files/Term_1_2010_brochure_all.pdf

Have fun

Baton twirlers get no respect

2010-01-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

I was having a conversation about beauty pageants with my hair dresser today. The idea of the talent section came up, and someone (it may have been me) mentioned baton twirling.

Now, baton twirling is a form of juggling with a long history - one that can showcase a lot of skill if done well.

But twirlers get no respect. Whenever you mention it, there is nothing but sarcasm and derision in people's comments.

"Yeah, there's an important skill to get you through life."

I tried pointing out that majorettes have major competitions, and that there are such things as world champion baton twirlers. I may as well have mentioned there were world champion sock puppet performers. She seemed to regard it as something bordering on completely ridiculous.

Why, I wonder, do air guitarists get more respect than baton twirlers? I know who I regard as more skillful, and who I'd rather watch...

Could it be a gender thing? It is, after all, a sport entirely identified with young girls. We all know that things identified with young girls are on the "it's okay to completely disrespect this" list.

NICA corrections

2009-11-23T15:46:00.000-08:00

My sources were incorrect. I gave out the wrong email address for Circus Oz's ticket giveaway competition:

Hi Sharon!

In regards to the eNews we sent out last Friday titled 'Have we got news for you? Plus ticket giveaway' we incorrectly and accidentally gave you the wrong email address to enter the NICA 2009 Circus Showcase competition. We are very sorry to all of those who may have tried to enter. The correct email address is competitions@mollison.com - the competition is still open, so get your entries in if you haven't had the chance. Have a great day.

Love Circus Oz

If you had tried to enter previously, you may wish to try again.

Catching Up

2009-11-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, I've been really tardy with keeping up this blog. Comes from having too many blogs, I guess. One or two always gets ignored for too long.

So, how has my "personal circus journey" been coming along?

Slowly, and in drips and drabs.

The main place I used to practice unicycling was the car park at my grandmother's Home, and since she passed away three months ago (wow, has it really been that long?) I've been more or less relegated to short bursts under my house. I have to find a new place to "play"...

It's annoying. I've been "learning" to unicycle for well over a year now, but I spend so little time on the contraption that I'm still very basic. Yet, I can't see that changing anytime soon.

Juggling: haven't been practicing as much as I should with this, either. I go through spates where I seem to juggle a bit every day, and then I suddenly realise it's been weeks since I picked up the balls. I've been juggling with the clubs more than the balls lately, and I'm starting to get a little more adventurous.

Once again, though, a lack of practice is keeping me from getting anywhere really interesting - and that's my own darn fault.

Let that be a lesson to you, friends. Practice is only arbitrary if you don't want to be any good.

NICA's 2009 Circus Showcase

2009-11-19T15:22:00.000-08:00

The National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) puts on a show with the graduating class at the end of every year. The 2009 Circus Showcase runs from the 3 to 12 December at the National Circus Center.

Circus Oz has three double passes up for grabs for those of you who can make it to the NICA National Circus Centre on 4 December at 7.30pm. Simply email your contact details to competitions@mollison.com.au with the subject heading, 'We are circus hungry".

Circus Oz - Barely Contained

2009-07-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

Circus Oz is touring a new show - Yay!

They're not coming to Townsville. Boo!

This is where they are playing if anyone was interested. You might be able to see the show. Tell me if it's any good, won't you?

Things that may kill you

2009-06-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

Found this while looking for something else that will probably kill me:

Powerstriders

Now, the Good Lord knows I'm not one to pay terribly close attention to my personal safety, but I think this is bound to lead to pain and possibly dismemberment.

I still think they'd rock on stage, with a team of acrobats and a kickin' sound track...

Hey, you could probably call them "shoes of death!"

Street jugglers

2009-06-04T00:59:00.000-07:00

I am in Tartu, Estonia, at the moment (using a computer in a public library with a weird multilingual keyboard - on which I cannot find the apostrophe, so there shall be no contractions in this post).

Today it is raining and freezing cold, and I am simply grateful to have some place try and warm for my fingers to thaw, but yesterday it was a lovely afternoon, which I spent toodling around the city on a bicycle. Sure, it was threatening to rain, but it was not raining, and thus the day was lovely.

Towards the end of the day I stopped for an icecream (I was served by a boy of eleven or twelve, who did not weild his icecream scoop well, and as a result I was a bit ripped off, and rather annoyed by this), and noticed that a pair of buskers had set up camp at the end of the street.

One was a young man, mucking about with a diablo. The other was a young girl with a set of devil sticks. Now, there was nothing terribly flash or showy in what they were doing - they were clearly just enjoying themselves and practicing their art - but I like to support that kind of art, so I watched them while I ate my icecream and left a donation when I was ready to move on.

They were probably students from the university trying to earn a quick quid on their first day of vacation. Something I found particularly amusing was the number of people who would stand directly between the jugglers and myself while they chatted to each other. It was as though it never registered with them at all that there was a whole performer-audience thing happening there, and if they moved just a step to the left or the right they would not be interrupting it. Occasionally, someone would even look at me, and must surely have noticed I was trying to look around them to the thing happening behind... but that did not seem to give them a reason to move.

People, eh? Gotta love them.

I have never felt compelled to take up either diablo or devil sticks myself. I am usually quite content with balls and clubs. At one point I flirted breifly with the lasso and other rope related things, but my naturally short attention span saw me leave those behind. However, watching that girl with her devil sticks made me start to get itchy fingers. I am still not terribly drawn to the diablo, but I might take a closer look at those sticks down the line...

The Great Moscow Circus, Part 2

2009-05-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

I'm going to write up a slightly more involved review when I can track down some names to give credit where it's due, but here are some impressions from Saturday night's show:

The hula-hoop/contortionist act was mind blowing. Usually I find contortionists to be disturbing, freaky people who shouldn't exist (no human being should be able to sit on their own head and stick their left toe in their right ear), but this girl was very, very good. She even put in little dance movements into the whole sitting-on-her-head thing.

I started the evening by trying to guess what the ushers/showbag sellers/canteen workers would be in the show. I was pretty on topic. Most of the people I guessed would be acrobatic or aerial were, the people I picked as "support" were mostly right and the guy I picked for a fire twirler was actually the juggler, but he juggled fire, so I thought that counted. He was also the magician and one of the stunt riders, just like the hula-hooping contortionist was also the tissue artist - they like to diversify in this show

The Russian Bar act was amazing - but probably for the wrong reasons. I thought the little dance routine they wove through it was nice and the aerial stunts performed by the girls were impressive, but I kept having my attention drawn to the guys holding the pole. The amount of strength and co-ordination they displayed was phenomenal. The same guys (Group of Risk) also did an object manipulation act that involved big metal cubes and spheres. I've seen this done before, attributed to juggling, but I'm not sure it's still considered a juggling act. Does anyone know what this is called these days? Cube Spin?

The clown(s) did nothing new, but they did it well. Even though I could pick the punchlines coming a mile away, I still laughed.

The Globe of Death wasn't a complete waste of time, but I still liked the Wheel of Death better.

No performing bears, this time. I didn't think they'd get away with it. They had miniature horses, though, which suitably impressed the audience with their cuteness.

NO PROGRAMME! - That's the sort of thing I expect from a local travelling troupe, not a Micheal Edgley production. I've still got the programme from the last time I saw the Great Moscow Circus, and I spent many a day pouring over it as a child. The lack of a programme from this show makes me sad.

Globe of Death!

2009-05-14T02:38:00.000-07:00

I was having a rambling conversation with a friend the other day that somehow degenerated into something about wild poodles roaming around the forests looking for hoops to jump through.

I can't remember what started it, but somewhere in the middle we got onto the whole "of death!" thing that a few circus acts have going on.

"The Wheel of Death!" is an old staple that has been around for years. I remember watching a Romanian couple perform the act a couple of years ago in a small two king tent that was barely big enough to fit the apparatus. The poor guy kept ducking slightly whenever the wheel he was on reached the top of its rotation. It made that whole blind-folded-skipping thing a bit more interesting.

That was probably one of the few times I've appreciated the "of death!" aspect of "The Wheel of Death!". Most of the time it doesn't look that much more dangerous than an elaborate high wire act or the fancy stunts they do on the trapeze, but the thought that he could hit his head on the rigging of the tent, and get knocked off the top of the contraption... well that made the whole "potential fatality" thing seem more likely.

This whole "Globe of Death!" thing doesn't really do it for me at all, though. I've seen it on TV a couple of times (and on Saturday I'll get to see it live), but I have to admit the thought leaves me cold. Sure, if the stunt riders get their timing off it could all go horribly, horribly wrong... but that's not why I go to a circus.

If you must use a motorcycle, I want to see you do some fancy trick with it - not just avoid death. If I wanted to see motor vehicles going around and around really fast, I'd go to a race-track. If you want to be in a circus with that thing, then you should bunny-hop it over a series of increasingly unlikely objects or ride across the high wire... or something that's a little more involved that going around something really fast without dying or killing anyone else.

I go to a circus to see the sorts of amazing things that humans are capable of - feats of balance and co-ordination, with a bit of showmanship and pizazz thrown in for good measure. Maybe the "Globe of Death!" does offer these aspects - but it is kind of boring. The most interesting thing about the act seems to be the avoidance of death. That's not as interesting as it could be.

On the other hand, I bet the boys in the audience love it - so I suppose it has it's place.

The Great Moscow Circus!

2009-05-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

Well, knock me over with a feather - the circus is in town!

Not just any circus, either: The Great Moscow Circus!

Considering I often notice the little pieces of paper advertising small local (Australian) circuses in the weeks before they get here, this one took me completely by surprise. I got home last night and the news said it had already arrived and set up the tent.

The Great Moscow Circus was the first live "traditional" circus I went to as a child - my uncle took me there back in the 80s (can't remember the exact year at this point), and I thought it was marvellous. Don (my uncle) and I used to go to the Circus Oz productions when they came to town, but this was the first "real" in-a-tent-with-animals circus I went to.

It was also the last, for some time. My mother was not into circuses, so she never took me to any of the local travelling shows as I was growing up. It was some years after I "grew up" that I realised I could take myself to these shows. Good realisation, that.

Anyway, I've been bouncing off the walls a bit since last night singing "hey there, hoopla, the circus is in town!". I'm trying to do it subtly, but I'm not sure if it's working.

I was going to watch a movie this weekend, but needless to say my plans have changed. I'll let you know what the show was like next week sometime.

Gradual improvement

2009-05-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

I'm getting better.

Both with the unicycling and with the juggling.

Not as much as I'd like - I keep neglecting to practise as much as I should if I was going to make any real headway.

Same old story, really.

BUT...

I am improving.

Joel's Opera

2009-04-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hey, remember my cousin Joel? The one who performs tissu routines?

Well, last year some time he managed to land himself a job in an opera, performing a tissu routine as the grand climax at the end of the show.

He got the job because he was basically one of the only male tissu performers in Estonia, but who's going to complain?

Anyway, rumour has it that the opera is coming back (or continuing - some sort of split season?), and he'll be back in Tallinn to drop from the roof of the Estonian National Opera House once more. Not sure when - will have to find out.

So, we have a boy from Queensland using circus skills to perform in an opera in Estonia. Ain't life interesting?

Progress Report

2009-04-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

Stacked it!

Yesterday I fell off the new unicycle for the second time. Last time I landed on my rump (plenty of padding), this time it was a face plant. Good thing I wasn't actually moving with any speed at the time.

Important lesson to learn: don't get too desperate. The unicycle must be approached with a sense of calm control - no matter how many times you have failed to do the most basic of things.

Since getting the new unicycle I've been steadily improving. I'm free-mounting more successfully and covering a decent distance. I could probably improve more quickly if I spent more than one half-hour session a week practicing. I need to find another day and another time, but alas, I have a very full schedule at the moment.

I've been neglecting my other circus skills too much as well. I haven't been juggling all that much (although lately I've managed to get more clubs practice in), and my grand plans to build up my upper-body strength in preparation for the day when I'll finally be able to try out a German Wheel (Rhoenrad) or some other acrobatic type thing have not exactly turned into a reality.

I need to do better. That seems to be my mantra these days, but it's true. I need to do better.

Circus Oz Autumn Programme and Term 2

2009-03-31T16:37:00.001-07:00

For all you happy circus geeks:

Circus Oz has just sent out it's list of Autumn classes as well as the time table for it's Term 2 training (adults and kids classes).

If you live down Melbourne way (alas, I do not), then feel free to fulfil my dreams and get yourself some circus training at the hands of one of Australia's best contemporary circus companies.

The Term 2 classes can be found here.

I couldn't find a link to their Autumn programme (it's listed on the downloadable brochure, but not with the same amount of detail as the other programmes), but I subscribe to their email list so I've got the details here:

AUTUMN PROGRAM
Hula Hoops
Dates: Tuesdays 7 April - 14 April
Times: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Fee: $55.00
Get and stay fit with hula hooping. Hooping improves your body awareness and the abs. The Autumn Program is a perfect way to come and try out the circus art form in a safe environment or to further hone your skills.
Trainers: Anna Lumb

Tissu
Dates: Thursdays 9 April - 16 April
Times: 6.30 - 9.00pm
Fee: $65.00
Learn the fine art of Tissu. Participants must be able to climb a rope to enrol in this class. The Autumn Program is a perfect way to come and try out the circus art form in a safe environment or to further hone your skills.
Trainers: Aaron Walker

Flying Trapeze for Beginners
Dates: Thursdays 9 April - 16 April
Times: 6.00 - 7.30pm or 7.30pm - 9.00pm
Fee: $55.00
Learn how to fly through the air on our indoor 'petit volant' or little rig. No previous trapeze skills necessary. The Autumn Program is a perfect way to come and try out the circus art form in a safe environment or to further hone your skills.
Trainers: Tao Wilson

Letter's End

2009-03-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I missed this show when it was in town:

Letter's End.

I almost saw it, but there was a glitch in the system when I tried to buy a ticket and I was too lazy to chase it up before the show sold out.

From what I can tell, it's one of those circuseque physical theatrical pieces which use circus skills as well as theatrical whizz-bangery (projection, sound design and whatnot) to tell a story.

I really which I could have seen it. If you can, you probably should. The tour dates are here.

If nothing else, look at the website. It's "flashy". After looking at the website for this and other SpoonTree Productions shows, I'm doubly kicking myself for missing this one, and making a note to see any other SpoonTree shows that might come my way.

Circus Solarus

2009-03-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

I first encountered Circus Solarus at an International Museum Theatre Alliance conference in Canberra, back in 2005.

They were at the conference talking about the use of street theatre in public institutions, such as museums and galleries. I found their business card recently when I was clearing out some stuff, and thought I'd look up their website to see what they were up to. It doesn't actually list any upcoming shows or engagements, but I thought I'd give them a write-up anyway.

They aren't strictly a circus troupe/company. In fact, they lay claim to a "pre-circus European Carnival" style, but they do use a lot of skills and tropes that you would find in the circus, and it's always great to see people using floats, parade costumes and giant puppets. That's something that seems to have fallen out of circus proper over the years.

Plus, you can hire them for your festival/celebration/museum/whatever. I don't know how far they travel, but I'll bet you any money you like they'll be happy to go anywhere in NSW, and probably any major city elsewhere in the country as well. If you're in the NSW area it would probably give a great boost to your next community festival...

Every sport has it's hazards

2009-02-05T23:04:00.001-08:00

On Monday I hurt my foot whilst juggling.

On Thursday I hurt my hand whilst unicycling.

My co-workers think it's hilarious.

New Nike!

2009-01-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I haven't posted to this blog for a while - largely because I'm slack.

I'm going to try to remember to take a look at what the Aussie circuses are doing and post some updates on a more regular basis.

In the meantime, there has finally been an advancement in my own personal cirus journey:

I've got a new unicycle, and it's marvellous. I've been slowly buying the parts to make it, and I finally got the wheel set, cranks and tyre for my birthday.

I can't believe how much of a difference the smaller wheel makes.

My first unicycle was a 24incher as it was recommended by a couple of websites for beginners to learn on, but the 20inch wheel is just so much more manoeuvrable. I was having great difficulty practicing with the bigger unicycle because I just didn't have the space, but this 20inch number is compact enough for me to play with it in the space I have.

I took it to a private road/driveway I know of for a bit of play, and I was stoked with how much I managed to do with it. It's been so long since I had a decent bash with any unicycle I was expecting to be thoroughly terrible, but I haven't gone as far backwards as I had thought.

And, as an added bonus, I feel less like I'm going to break something if I come off badly, which makes me a little more fearless. Okay, maybe that could end up being a bad thing, but still...

Now I'm hatching a strange plan to convert my old unicycle and the impossible wheel into some sort of art bike.

Slightly Circus Themed T-Shirts

2008-11-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

I can't condone spending $20 on a T-Shirt...

But, If I could, I'd probably buy these:

The Russian text says something along the lines of "where is my elephant"?

Who doesn't love the idea of a Ninja on a Unicycle?

Circus Oz classes

2008-09-16T03:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you who live in Melbourne and are interested in such things, Circus Oz has release the schedule for their forth term classes.

It's usually about this time I curse my North Queensland location, and the way it's so very, very far away from Melbourne. I'd love to take one of those aerial classes - or the tumbling. I'd love to learn tumbling.

Mind you, the class I used to eye off most of all isn't there any longer: German Wheel. It's probably because the resident wheeler and strong woman, Mel Fyfe, has left the merry band.

She seems to have moved in with a mob I've never heard of before called The Tiny Top. They seem to be a riff on the old freak-show content, only replacing "genuine freaks" with normal circus people and comedy.

It sounds... intriguing. Don't know if I'd go out of my way to see it.

Anyway, if you are in Melbourne and interested in circus skills, get yourself along to the Circus Oz classes. Then tell me all about them so I can live vicariously through you.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

2008-08-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else see the gold medal match for the rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics?

Did anyone else think that those girls clearly have a glowing future ahead of them in acrobatic troupes once that whole "professional athlete" thing is done and dusted?

That Chinese routine was phenomenal. The other routines weren't too shabby either.

Now that's something I'd pay to see if I only knew when and where those sorts of things were on. Not being entrenched in the gymnastics community, I have no idea if and when they've got those sorts of displays or competitions happening locally.

It's one of the many many sports that get zilch by way of media coverage, and absolutely no advertising at all (unless it's some tiny ad in a classifieds column somewhere).

Sad, really, because there are so many activities that show case the same kind of eye-popping raw human ability that you see in the circus, but you never get to see them outside of the ring.

Impossible Wheel

2008-07-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

I built an impossible wheel
Dreaming of the possibilities
But found the reality
Rather improbable –
If not impossible.

I bought the wheel from a shop
I bought the foot plates from afar
I put it together myself
Like a really easy jigsaw puzzle
That one could ride.

So proud, was I,
So full of dreams – of possibilities
And yet, my grasp and reach
Did not quite match
Then, they rarely do.

Oh, I could build it
But riding it was something else
Not impossible, but improbable –
Too much effort
For one so lazy.

So I dreamed on
Of new possibilities
A bold new plan
Based on the ashes of the old –
To re-use and recycle.

I would build a unicycle
Using the wheel and other pieces
Along with new parts
Bought, like the footplates,
From afar.

Alas, it is impossible
To build a unicycle
Using the wheel
From an impossible wheel.
Ironic, in a way.

Joel - hanging around

2008-07-29T02:39:00.000-07:00

Did I mention I wasn't the only circus geek in my family? My cousin Joel actually puts me to shame. I wish I could do stuff that cool. One day, I'm going to a) be able to ride the unicycle properly, dammit! and b) rhoenrad. Oh, how I lust for a rhoenrad...

Stardust Circus

2008-07-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit tardy with this blog of late.

Last month I went to see Stardust Circus (twice), and I've been meaning to review the show ever since, but I haven't quite gotten around to it.

Those of you who know (or have at least read previous posts) might remember that Stardust were the last Australian circus to travel with elephants - only recently given up after an unfortunate accident that lead to the death of one of their handlers.

The elephants still feature rather prominently in their merchandise and advertising, so I'd say they haven't had time to do little things like change the pictures on their website or order new decals for the toy trucks in their showbags.

The show is not without animals (just as well, as they advertise themselves as the animal circus), but without the elephants they're down to lions, monkeys, donkeys and ponies.

The lions were interesting. Unlike the Lennon Bros. Circus the trainer didn't keep his treats on the end of a stick but fed the lions their tid-bits with an open hand. That lead to the rather amusing spectacle of a lion tamer wiping lion spit off his hand after having been slobbered on. A couple of the lions were also cranky, but still gave the trainer his hug at the end of the act (then tried to take a swipe at him). The assistant wasn't so lucky. Swipes, but no hugs.

The monkeys didn't do anything terribly interesting, and the donkeys performed some basic tricks "improved" by props and costumes. I thought they relied a bit too much on the ring master saying amusing things for these acts (and some others). Especially since he wasn't quite that amusing - not enough to cover acts that weren't amusing on their own, at any rate. That's not to say he wasn't amusing. At least he was more amusing than the ring master for Lennon Bros. Man, that guy was dull.

Hey, not everyone can be Christa Hughes.

As for the ponies? I wasn't terribly pleased with that act. The ponies made it rather clear that they found the whole standing-on-each-other's-back thing quite uncomfortable and they'd rather not do it, if given the choice. Don't blame them, really. No one likes having a horse stand on them - not even another horse. More twirling and dancing, less standing on each other for next time, please. Something to do with a trick rider, rather than a trick pony, might also be preferable.

The animals aside, I thought most of the other acts were brilliant. Most of the circus is padded out by members of the West family, and they did a bang-up job. I was especially impressed with Ilyana West (I'm not sure if that's how you spell her first name) and her tissu routine. She injected character in her routine that helped to lift it above the usual run-of-the-mill aerial ballet that you see with a lot of tissu acts. It's amazing what can be done by adding a hat and a bit of jazz. It was a real shame she hurt herself before the second time I saw the show so I couldn't watch her act again.

Also, the other girls in the circus did some incredibly impressive aerial work. The strength and grace of it all was just astounding. I only wish I could remember their names, but the ring leader called them the duo something-or-other. I know one of them was a West and the other one wasn't...

One act that didn't impress me (and managed to not impress me twice) was the second lot of acrobats. They actually had two acrobatic acts. The first group was as much clowning as tumbling and featured a number of the West boys, the second group was a couple of brothers from Europe. The Wests were great. The brothers...

Well, technically, they were quite good. It's just that their hearts didn't seem to be in it - and that was made all the more obvious by the fact that they were in character. They were wearing interesting costumes. They had all of these wonderful, fancy moves. They added "flair" with hand gestures and movements intended to engage the audience... but they weren't actually engaged themselves. It was like a dancer who was doing jetés in all the right places, but all the while thinking about his shopping list.

It was almost as if they were spending the entire routine thinking "put tab A into slot B..." They made it look like it was work. Not hard work, but drudgery type work. As if they'd rather be somewhere else doing something fun. That's not really what you expect from a couple of acrobats doing a high energy routine. Energy is about attitude as much as action.

The act finished with the flying trapeze, which was the only time we saw a particular flyer called Johnny Peroni (the spelling might be a bit off there, too). He looked like he was having fun, but in both of the shows I watched he failed the 'big trick' - some sort of triple spin (my trapeze terminology leaves something to be desired). I don't mind that - you have to get things wrong and fall down a lot before you can start getting it right - but it seemed a pity that the only act he appeared in was one he was still working on. It would have been nice to see him earlier in the show in something he could have nailed.

All said, the show was, overall, a great way to spend an evening or an afternoon. I liked it enough to see it twice, and the Wests are definitely worth watching multiple times.

They're in Cairns at the moment, and will be continuing on from there after Sunday the 20th of July for parts unknown. I think it might be the end of their Queensland tour, but winter is still the time most circuses choose to take on the tropical climate, so if they were going to head across the top end now would be the time to do it... Keep an eye on their website to see if they'll be coming to a town near you.

Konstantin Mouraviev

2008-05-22T00:35:00.000-07:00

Konstantin Mouraviev is currently one of my favourite clowns. He rocks (and rolls):

The Circus (by CJ Dennis)

2008-05-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love it when you can combine a number of your passions at once and still do your job? Someone asked me to find the words to The Circus - a classic example of Australian verse for children in the early 20th Century.

Poetry, Australian literature, children's literature and the circus. That's a good way to spend a couple of minutes. Plus, CJ Dennis' Roundabout collection was one of my favourite books when I was a kid, so it was nice to have a reason to flick through a copy while at work.

Hey, there! Hoop-la! The circus is in town!
Have you seen the elephant? Have you seen the clown?
Have you seen the dappled horse gallop round the ring?
Have you seen the acrobats on the dizzy swing?
Have you seen the tumbling men tumble up and down?
Hoop-la! Hoop-la! The circus is in town!

Hey, there! Hoop-la! Here's the circus troupe!
Here's the educated dog jumping through the hoop.
See the lady Blondin with the parasol and fan,
The lad upon the ladder and the india-rubber man.
See the joyful juggler and the boy who loops the loop.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Here's the circus troupe.

Circus Sunrise

2008-05-13T01:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I managed to find the name for that circus I just missed (twice!) in Tasmania:

Circus Sunrise

It's a shame I missed it because it looks like a good old-fashioned traditional circus with a decent range of acts.

Plus, they have YouTube videos on their website, which already implies they are a decent catch. I look at a lot of websites for Australian circuses, and most of them are terribly dull and uninformative.

If you're in Tasmania (or going to be any time between now and June 15) make sure you check out their tour dates and see if you can get along to a show. Then tell me what I missed out on.

Pocket Trumpet

2008-05-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

I've discovered something new:

The Pocket Trumpet. Basically, it's a trumpet that's been curled up on itself a few more times so that it fits in a more compact space. It would be a great instrument for use in a clowning routine or whilst attempting to balance on something...

Missed it by that much...

2008-04-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Currently holidaying in Tasmania.

Found a poster advertising a circus (some mob I've never heard of before - Sun or something like that. I can't remember exactly and I can't find them on line just at this moment) was going to be stationed up the road... last week.

I wonder which direction they were heading after doing North-West Tasmania? Back over the Straight or East? I wonder if I'll catch up to them somewhere along the way...

Heavy Balls

2008-04-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

I found these exercise balls that are supposed to be an alternative for dumbbells - they weigh about 3lb each and are about the size of a large grapefruit.

For some reason I had to buy three of them and try to juggle. I tell you what, after a few minutes tossing those things around 'normal' juggling balls just seem to float.

Useless information: all three balls together make 9lb, which is just shy of my birth-weight. I'm juggling my own birth-weight. How weird is that?

Sacred Circus

2008-04-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

In a fit of extended insanity I competed in the 2008 Julia Creek Dirt 'n' Dust Triathlon over the weekend.

This triathlon is, at least, partly responsible for my lack of practice involving things circus, as I have been training for the tri instead of riding the uni.

I came last. Dead last, in fact. You couldn't possibly get more last that I did without stopping part-way through for half-an-hour before continuing. But I finished it. Next year I hope to be less last.

The Triathlon was part of a three-day(ish) festival which also included horse races, a rodeo and bog-snorkeling (a charming event which involves people trying to snorkel their way through a trench filled with mud whilst having live crabs thrown at them). I didn't go to the races and we left before the bog-snorkeling, but I did get to the rodeo.

'Twas at this rodeo where I discovered two things:

1. I don't mind rodeos. I always assumed watching someone get thrown off the back of an annoyed cow would be about as interested at it sounded, but it turns out to be quite entertaining. The fact that I was watching it with a group of people who were having a great time probably contributed to it all. I'm not sure if it's the sort of thing I'd take myself to if no one else was coming.

2. Sacred Circus. They're a company based in Cairns who basically provide street performances and the like for festivals and things. They had a few stilt walkers out amongst the people on Saturday and Sunday, and they provided the half-time show during intermission at the rodeo.

It was a fire act, which involved dancing girls, juggling, poi, fire staff and a flaming hula-hoop (you've got to love a flaming hula-hoop). The act was interesting, but possibly ill-conceived for the place and crowd. The dancing really should have been scrapped. It would have looked great on one of those stages that they have set up for local festivals, but in the middle of a wind-wept rodeo ring (pit? arena?) it was hard to see what they were trying to do, and the wind kept throwing flames towards the performers.

Also, this took place at point in time when a lot of drunk people had just been amusing themselves by watching men get thrown off the backs of annoyed cows, and they were hoping to grab a few more beers before the next batch of men got themselves de-cowed. Dancing was not high on their list of fun things to watch. The juggling was appreciated, but there was far too much dancing for most people's liking.

If there had to be dancing involved in the act, they should have gone for something more likely to appeal to a group of people who were about to watch a country music band after the rodeo had finished. The style of dancing was, shall we say, too metropolitan? Too close to ballet, not close enough to bull-riding.

That said, it was (obviously) one of the highlights of my evening.

Hopefully I'll get to see the Sacred Circus again at another event.

Bit Rusty, but not dead yet

2008-03-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

Well!

I have been tardy in many things to do with my personal circus adventure of late - but particularly my attempts to master (or at least get slightly okay with) the unicycle.

Alas, I have allowed months to lapse since I last practiced riding my nike, and my feeble attempts at the park yesterday showed me that I have suffered as a result.

Thankfully, I didn't go as far backwards as I had feared, and by the end of my practice session I was starting to get back in the swing of things.

One of my main problems is I have to remind myself to focus my weight through the seat. I keep trying to hold myself with my feet - which is making my legs work much harder than they have to and causing me to loose balance more quickly.

When I can make myself "sit on the seat" and push my weight down I fair much better, but I have to actually concentrate to do that.

One day it shall all come naturally to me. I have faith.

Circus Oz - Laughing At Gravity

2008-03-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I saw the Townsville performance of Circus Oz's Laughing at Gravity the other day.

It was, of course, brilliant. I never walk away from a Circus Oz show wondering what I spent my money on.

It turns out this was the last tour of resident strong-woman Melissa Fyfe. Fittingly, she seemed to be in every second act - either in character as the kind of school-girl who would terrify you as either friend or enemy or as her highly-impressive self. Towards the end, she supported pretty much the entire cast using nothing but balance and some darn-strong thigh muscles.

The picture (which I lifted from a review in The Sydney Morning Herald is of Christa Hughes, who took on the role of ringmistress. I can't remember any of the other Circus Oz productions I've seen having a ringmaster/mistress, but she was entertaining enough.

I was disappointed to find out later that the version of the show we got to watch in Townsville was missing a number of acts that Southern states got to see, including the "singing stuntman" and Hughes' famous party trick of gargling La Vie En Rose.

But, you know, a great show with some brilliant circus performers performing brilliant acts - what's to complain about.

I particularly liked the rope act which played on the concept of a bell-pull (beautifully done) and the "Bikini Parade" routine which was essentially a duet between Fyfe on the Rhoenrad and Hughes on the microphone.

If the Circus Oz "birthday bash" is coming to town, you could do a lot worse for entertainment...

The Last of the Circus Elephants

2008-02-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

Stardust Circus, one of the last Australian Circuses to have elephants, has elephants no more.

Arna and Gigi, the elephants that once toured the country, 'performing' in front of millions of people, are now bossing around the local elephants at Dubbo Zoo.

This is a tragedy.

No, literally, it's a tragedy. The elephants were transferred to the zoo after one of them sat on a member of the circus crew, resulting in the crewman's death. The man's family is bereft, and the entire circus has lost three friends (the crewman and the elephants).

You can read more about it here.

There are some people who would rejoice at the idea of the elephants getting out of the circus. There are some people who would wish they could get them out of the zoo, too, and have them running around in the wild somewhere.

Zoos and circuses often get a bad wrap when it comes to animals. Everyone assumes that the animals would rather be somewhere else, and must be miserable under these horrible conditions.

Now, not being an animal in either place, I can't say for sure how they feel about the whole situation. Many of them have never known anything different, having grown up in captivity, and would probably survive as well in the wild as I would, should my keepers ever decide to release me from civilisation.

The thing is, we need them. We need zoos and, yes, circuses. I don't know why, but it's true. Part of us can't really deal with the thought of elephants until we've seen them for ourselves. The invention of glossy photos and motion pictures has done a lot to help us feel as if we really have seen an elephant, or a lion or a monkey, but until we actually stand in the same place as one of these creatures and breath the same air as them - they may as well be cartoon characters.

However, once you've smelt that elephant, heard that lion roar with your own ears or had the monkey try to pee on you, then suddenly they become real. They aren't just stories any more, they're living breathing animals.

Anyone could tell you why we need zoos, but we need circuses for the exact same reason - and because circuses come to us. Many kids will never get to go to a zoo while they're still children. Heck, some will be lucky to get to a zoo when they're adults. But circuses? Circuses bring the lions and monkeys and Peruvian llamas to your town (or at least the town up the road). You might never get to a zoo, but you'll probably catch a circus at some point in your life.

When I reviewed the Lennon Bros Circus last year I commented that the animal acts were really boring. We aren't really allowed to have dancing bears anymore (but, for some reason, dancing dogs are okay), so all the animals really did was come in, jump up on something, make a noise, jump on something else and leave. For the four-year-olds in the audience, that was enough.

For a kid who as only ever seen a lion in picture books on on TV, to have one prowling around and roaring only meters away from where s/he was sitting was just magic. The looks on the kids faces was fantastic, even if the "act" itself was a bit dull. Truth be told, the animal "acts" weren't really acts at all - more like exhibitions, and as exhibitions they were pretty good.

I never went to the circus when I was a kid (we couldn't afford it), but whenever it came to town my family would go to the circus yard and look at the elephants. That was thrilling enough. It won't happen again, though - not until another circus decides it can get away with touring with elephants.

I find that a very sad state of affairs.

I also wonder what Arna and Gigi must think of it all. They'd be missing their friends, missing the travel, missing the applause. I don't know if they liked any of those things, but they'll still be missing it. It was their life - traveling, showing off in front of crowds of people...

Now they're standing still, waiting to find out what will happen to them next. All of their patterns have gone. All of the people they saw every day have gone. Everything they knew has been shaken up completely. Part of me just wants to go to the zoo and applaud them, just so they have that at least.

Ah, rain

2008-02-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

It does make things difficult.

I'm getting very rusty with my nike as things have been far to wet for any kind of one-wheeled stuff at present. Also, juggling of clubs and things has also taken a back seat due to high winds and squishy back yards.

Starting to feel very tardy.

On the other hand, I've also started training for a half triathlon (something which, sadly, is easier to manage in bad weather). I have a feeling I'm going to have to fight hard to remember to keep up the circus skills stuff along with the triathlon stuff.

I really wish things would just dry out enough for me to get back into the unicycle. I really felt the lack of practice last time I managed to get out.

AEROS

2008-01-31T23:14:00.000-08:00

Hmmm,

AERO is a "a truly unique, soaring performance which fuses gymnastics and dance in an awe inspiring display of physical prowess" that doesn't seem to be touring Australia so much as camping at Hammer Hall on St Kilda Street in Melbourne.

It's performed by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and is said to be "the world’s first performing arts project to feature a national gymnastics team".

Sounds like circus to me. Isn't gymnastics combined with performance the foundation of all acrobatics? Why don't they just call it acrobatics and be done with it?

Happy 30th Circus Oz!

2008-01-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well, well.

Circus Oz has been doing the rounds for 30 years, and they're celebrating with a nice big national tour. Better keep an eye out to see if they're coming to a theatre near you.

You can probably do that by checking here.

They're going to be in Townsville on the 12th-14th of March, which is something I'd really look forward to if not for the sneaking suspicion I might be moving town just before then. Dammit.

Rain

2008-01-22T22:55:00.001-08:00

It's been raining here - a lot.

Apart from the occasional flash flood we haven't gone under water, but we've still been awfully soggy.

Makes life difficult - especially when one wants to practice such things as juggling and unicycling.

Pretty much every where I practice with the unicycle has been off limits, either due to being far too soggy or cluttered with the washing we couldn't hang outside.

As for juggling? Well, I've been focusing a lot on balls, seeing as I can't go outside to play with the rings or the clubs. At least, I've been trying to. I got rather ill for a week and a bit and didn't feel like moving at all, let alone juggling.

The sun is out, though. With any luck it will stay out long enough for things to dry, and then long enough for me to get some practice on the dry things.

One can only hope

Trikke

2008-01-09T17:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, I haven't posted anything here for a while.

Very tardy of me. In my defence, I have been devoting time to important, work related stuff. Oh, yeah, and I took an entire week off-line for Christmas/New Years.

Believe it or not, you can actually survive without checking your email for a week.

Anyway, apon my return to the on-line world after New Years, I discovered a new toy - one I'm very interested in trying one day.

It's called a Trikke, and it works via cambering, which means you propell it by weaving from side to side like a drunken loon.

Not sure if it has any real application to circuses, but I expect a few well-placed stunts in the hands (and feet) of a talented acrobat or clown would have a few "oohs" and "aahs" from the audience.

Improvement! Improvement I say!

2007-12-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

I had a fabulous session on my nike yesterday. I managaged to get further than I have ever gotten before - and I managed to do it more than once.

I also managed to free mount and travel aways. Usually I only get one or two rotations from a free mount before I fall off.

I am improving very slowly, but I'm improving, dammit!

Juggling Club!

2007-12-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

I might be starting up a juggling club based at the Museum of Tropical Queensland.

There's a fellow volunteer who is also interested in juggling, and some of the "real" staff think it would be a great volunteer based programme to get people into the museum of a weekend.

If I'm still in town next year, and Simone doesn't have anything more pressing taking up her Saturdays, there just may be a local juggling club in Townsville starting up in March next year.

Now, to think of a name... Townsville Tossers? Hmmm...

Impossible wheel!

2007-12-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

I'm getting an impossible wheel for Christmas!

I know because I've already bought the parts and I'm putting it together myself (just waiting on some footplates to arrive in the mail). I did ask family for one, stating that I would be happy for it to be the only present I got for both Christmas and my birthday, but they just gave me that look. You know, that look that indicates they think this entire circus kick is just a silly little passing phase and they'll be damned if they encourage it in any way.

So, I did what anyone would do when they know no one else will buy something for them - I bought it as my Christmas present for me.

To their credit, they're seriously considering the roller skates I asked for, but I think they'd rather just buy me a book or a pair of socks or something.

Anyone who doesn't know what an impossible wheel is, sit tight. I'll be giving a brief guide to the wheels of the circus shortly.

Circus Watch - Circus Oz

2007-11-20T00:35:00.000-08:00

This is something I wanted to do when I started writing this blog, but I sort of let it slip my mind: keep a "Circus Watch" where you can see what the Australian Circuses are up to at the moment (and maybe if they're somewhere nearby).

Circus Oz (one of the first circuses I saw as a child and still a personal favourite) is currently touring the US.

If you happen to be in Berkley, CA, you'll be able to see them at the Zallerbach Hall on Bancroft Avenue from the 29th of November until the 2nd of December.

After that, they'll be moving onto Arcata, CA for shows starting on the 9th of December.

The Circus Oz classes are still running at their Headquarters in Port Melbourne, but you might want to contact them to find out which ones will be offered over the school holiday break: Circus Oz Classes

Be A Clown

2007-11-06T02:49:00.000-08:00

I just borrowed a fabulous book from my library (not 'my library' as in the library I work for, but 'my library' as in the local library I've been visiting since I was a child).

How to Be A Clown by Mark Stolzenberg is a great, practical guide to clowning. It gives just a dash of history, but focuses more on characterisation, motivation and all that other acting stuff I used to pay attention to when I was a Drama teacher. It also outlines a number of classic routines so you can 'see' the advice given in practice.

It's been around for a while (I read the 1989 version, although there is a 2003 vs), and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who have already read it, used it, have the class set at their school... but it was a new discovery for me.

A very good one, too. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone teaching clowning to high school students, as well as anyone who's just interested in what goes into being a clown.

mixed media

2007-10-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

Trying new things in juggling. Combinations of stuff that I had not combined before. 'Tis fun.

Knee pads

2007-10-24T01:23:00.001-07:00

I think I could definitely do with some knee pads.

Update time

2007-10-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted something here.

That's what happens when you run multiple blogs, I guess. You post at least one entry every week so you tend not to notice if you haven't posted anything to one particular blog.

Anyway, just an update for anyone who might care:

Getting better on the nike. I've actually gotten to the stage where I can kind of almost steer. Occasionally, I can even travel the distance I want to travel, instead of coming off three feet short of the mark (which is, unfortunately, much more normal).

Heck, I've even managed to free-mount a couple of times. I didn't get very far once I did, but the fact that I got anywhere at all pleases me greatly.

My juggling is still trucking along. I haven't been practicing the clubs as much as I could, but when I do pick them up I'm no worse. I've bought bouncy balls. They aren't 'proper' juggling bounce balls, but more like some sort of tennis-ball-type thing put out by Slazenger. Very bouncy. They've been keeping me occupied.

I bought some trick rope a few weeks back and I've been playing with it a little bit. It hasn't quite caught me the same way juggling and unicycling have. Shame, really, seeing as I went out of my way to get the expensive stuff.

I've juggled while rollerskating a few more times since the last post, but I'm in desperate need of getting up to speed with the skates before I can progress much in that area. When I was a kid I skated all the time, but then I spent years not skating, and moved from there to wearing the skates in-doors while in character as a clown. I can manoeuvre tight spaces fairly well, but have difficulty keeping my balance on long stretches.

I've taken to heading down to the Strand after church every Sunday to 'stretch my legs', as it were. My legs have been telling me they need more stretching.

I'm thinking about Rhoenrads. I know I shouldn't. I can't afford one, I don't know where to buy them from, I have no where to practice and I'll probably seriously hurt myself. I've still been thinking about them.

That's about it for now.

Stay tuned for more 'exciting' adventures of the Circus Geek.

Butt guard

2007-10-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a question:

When we fall down (or fall of things, like, say, unicycles), we tend to fall on certain parts of our bodies.

We fall on our knees, so we have knee pads. We fall on our elbows, so we have elbow pads. We fall on our hands, so we have wrist guards. We fall on our faces, so we have chin guards. We fall on our heads, so we have helmets...

But we also fall on our butts, so why don't we have butt guards? Surely someone would have figured out how to minimised impact to the tailbone...

Roller-derby

2007-10-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

Last night, on a whim, I pulled out the old roller-skates and tried my hand at juggling and skating at the same time.

It wasn't exactly brilliant, especially since I don't skate nearly enough to be able to forget what my feet were doing and focus on my hands, but it was still great fun.

There's something about juggling that seems to make everything more interesting. If you happen to be getting a little same-old same-old about whatever it is that you are doing, try juggling at the same time.

Jogging not doing it for you any more? Joggle. Skiing not enough of a rush? Ditch those poles and start chucking some balls around. Unicycling getting too easy? Add some clubs.

I'm sure there are people out there right now who are planning their next mountain-juggling adventure (why climb a mountain when you can juggle up one?)

One day I'd love to be able to unicycle well enough to add juggling to the mix, but skating seems doable at the moment. Especially since I can bend down and pick up the dropped balls without having to get off anything.

If you see a crazy person rollerskating and juggling down the Strand of an evening, that's probably me.

More on Circus Girl

2007-09-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, I meant to do this some time ago when I still had a hope of remembering what the characters' names were, but time slipped away from me.

Remember how I was whinging about Circus Girl (the show by the Flying Fruit Fly Circus) not having a programme? Well I found out some time later I had good cause to whinge. I was annoyed because all I knew about the performers were their first names, as mentioned it the show... but it turns out the performers weren't playing "themselves" and those weren't even their first names.

The only place where I have been able to find reference to who was actually in that show was a "The Social Factor with Colin" spread on the back of the Sunday Mail's Factor X segment, July 29, 2007.

On this spread, all but one of the girls are pictured and given their real first names (still no surnames).

From what I can remember of the characters, this is the talented pool of performers who blew me away so much I had to see them twice:

"Harry" (the 'host') - Ella (13)
"George" ("Harry's" best friend) - Susie (14)
"Em" (the dag) - Alex (13)
"Cassie"? (the one with the hoop fixation) - Freya (15)
"Fee"? (the new girl) - Bree (15)
? (the tough one with the unicycle) - Alice (15)
? ("Allie's" best friend who gets left behind) - Sophie (15)
"Allie" (the girl in her last year) - ?

It's not terribly good, is it? If anyone can fill in these gaps, please feel free.

Circus Train at the Workshops

2007-09-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

If anyone is in Brisbane or the surrounding area between 22 September to 7 October, The Workshops Rail Museum is providing a school holidays programme based on the theme of "Circus Train".

For those of you who don't know, the Workshops Rail Museum is one of the campuses of the Queensland Museum and is located in Ipswich, about 40 minutes out of Brisbane.

The 'circus' steam train from Roma Street has been sold out, but the rest of the activities mentioned in their website and brochures are available (if "subject to change"):

"Circus Entertainment
Our Ringmaster and Clown will delight children and adults as they bring the circus to life.

Circus Train – Creation Station
Circus style art and craft activities for children of all ages.

Circus Train – Activity Station
Try your hand at all the fun of the circus with a variety of performance activities.

Circus Theatrette
Enjoy daily screenings.

Circus Train – The Display
The history of the circus and its relationship to train is explored in this fascinating Museum exhibit.

Circus Camp
Become a circus performer by practicing balancing on a beam, mini stilt walking and juggling.

Action Alley
All the action of the circus for the very young!

Land Train & Bouncy Train (additional charges apply)
Tickets are $3 per person (ages 1 and over) and are purchased after entry in to the Museum.

Circus Steam
Steam history is brought to life when the Museum steams up the Garrett Steam Traction Engine.

For more information please phone The Workshops Rail Museum (07) 3432 5100, or contact us."

Getting somewhere

2007-09-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, after all of my whinging about not making any progress with the nike or the clubs, I'm actually getting somewhere.

I'm up to about four metres before coming off on the unicycle, and I've progressed to the stage where I can avoid hitting myself on the head with the clubs. Why, the other night I almost got a half-decent cascade happening.

I also got almost clear across my yard on the nike about two and a half times. There's a lychee tree that's sort of my furthest point at the moment, and I managed to get there two times quite cleanly. You could say I got there a third time, but I didn't exactly get there cleanly. Actually, I fell face-first into the grass next to it.

It was the first time I've really fallen off the unicycle. Usually I just land on my feet, but this time I hit a bump and went down before I could catch myself. It reminded me why I bought the wrist and elbow guards - very handy things, those.

I ended up covered in dirt, but otherwise fine.

Progress on the nike, progress with the clubs... Why, it's only a matter of time before I'm juggling and riding at the same time.

No predictions on how much time, however.

Carnival in the Carpark

2007-09-11T01:19:00.000-07:00

A clown can juggle and a juggler can clown, but they are not bound by law to always do both at the same time. Just as a swimmer can ride a bike and jog, but doesn't have to engage in a triathlon every time he gets in the pool.

This past weekend my Church was running a "Carnival in the Carpark". It's just something we've been doing for the community for the past couple of years, where we pay for some rides and a petting zoo and let everyone else in the community come along and use them - our shout.

I didn't go at all last year due to laziness, but this time 'round I decided to bring along the balls I made for World Juggling Day and do a spot of juggling. It proved to be a bit more successful than WJD, as I had more kids come up and have a go, and more people actually engage with the juggler rather than just watch me from afar. There were a couple of babies in prams who thought I was the most interesting thing there - and I supposed if I was a baby stuck in a pram I probably would have gotten more out of the juggler than the jumping castle as well.

However, I started to get really annoyed after a while with the number of people who suggested I should get dressed up as a clown. They would see me juggling my way across the car park and shout out, "You should get a wig or something. Then you can be a clown and juggle." I tried, very politely, to mention the fact that I was juggling, and that I was here as a juggler, not a clown, but they still maintained that I was somehow incomplete without the clown regalia.

Now, I have clowned in the past. I have a clown character called Titch (a semi-traditional white face who rolls around on skates and 'encourages' audience participation) that I drag out of the mothballs on occasion for parties, functions and the occasional talent night. This clown does not juggle. That's just not part of its character. It's a jester, dealing in story telling and bad jokes. The only 'physical' activity it engages in is rollerskating.

It may seem a little strange to have a juggler who doesn't juggle whilst clowning, but when I created Titch I was in a more verbal place.

I have been toying with the idea of creating another clown character that does do more of the physical stuff. The pratfalls, the exaggerated movements and, yes, juggling. I don't know about unicycling, but definitely juggling.

Now, though, I'm not sure if I want to. The stubborn part of me is starting to build up an "I'll show them", and insist on continuing to be either a juggler who doesn't clown or a clown that doesn't juggle. That'll learn 'em.

Of course, that will potentially 'hurt' me more than it 'hurts' them...

New Adventures with my Nike

2007-09-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

The other day, on a whim, I went "off road" on my unicycle. By "off road", I mean my backyard.

Okay, that doesn't sound very impressive, but my back yard is bumpy and lumpy, as opposed to the smooth cement I have previously been using, so I feel adequately challenged by it.

I actually got halfway across the yard before coming off, which I thought was pretty good for my first time. Of course, it still wasn't very far.

I'm starting to feel a little frustrated with my progress on the nike. I've had the thing for a few months now, and I'm still struggling to get more than three metres before falling off. I'm nowhere near correcting when I start to tilt, which means turning is more-or-less out of the question. The first few minutes, until I start to warm up and loosen up, I can't even get two feet without holding onto something.

If I could practice every day I'd probably improve more, but I'm a working stiff, and the places where I usually practise have certain time restraints (like, "it gets dark" or "we hang washing there") that make it difficult for me to get to them with my hours.

Mind you, I am improving slowly. I'm catching the nike more often (I hardly ever drop it these days), coming off rather than falling off (and landing reasonably gracefully), and I am getting those three metres on occasion. It's not much, but it is keeping me coming back for more. I can see that I'm improving, no matter how small those improvements may be, so I keep trying to improve some more.

Ah, the unicycle. Who knew it have such a hold on people...

Clubbed

2007-08-29T00:33:00.000-07:00

Speaking of "ow", I can't say I'm enjoying the learning process with my juggling clubs. At the moment, I think I'm doing well when I catch at least one club and manage to avoid being hit on the head with the others.

And they always seem to get me somewhere around the eye-socket. Fortunately I don't bruise easily, or I'd have a lot of explaining to do.

I noticed an interesting side effect of the clubs practice today. I was moving some books on the top shelf when one fell off and came straight for me. Ordinarily, I would have caught it. This time I batted it away from my head on reflex.

Heh, pain. I'll probably get a lot further as soon as I stop caring about it.

Whoo Hoo! Oh... and Ow.

2007-08-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

Progress! Progress I say!

The other day I made it to the pole I've been trying to get to for weeks. I usually only get halfway there on my nike before I fall off, but this time I actually got there. It wasn't graceful, but it happened.

Also, seeing as the weather has warmed, it was the first time I had tried riding the nike in shorts. Turns out that wasn't the smartest thing to do with the chunky spiky pedals.

First blood. A victory in itself, I would say.

Aspirations

2007-08-20T03:02:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about circus skills, but once you start developing them you feel a strange need to do more...

When I started this particular circus kick I was only really interested in juggling. I'd wanted to juggle since I was a kid and I had been able to juggle (poorly) since I was a teenager. I was good enough to keep a small group of children interested for a few minutes (and thus able to use it as leverage when working as a relief teacher), but that was it.

Then I decided I wanted to be better. I wanted to be able to maintain the cascade for longer and I wanted to be able to do other stuff - like a shower. The more I read up on juggling, though, the more I found out about the stuff that the average Joe on the street doesn't really recognise as juggling. Spinning, twirling, balancing - these all come under the juggling banner... and they are all strangely attractive.

And then the allure of the unicycle got to me, and suddenly the world of equilibristics started to grab my attention as well.

Even as I'm improving with my juggling and unicycling, I'm eyeing off rope tricks and stilt walking. I'm also toying with the idea of staff-spinning, flag spinning and baton-twirling. I came very close to joining an adult gymnastics class to learn tumbling. I still may, now that I'm recovering from that weird virus.

The only thing I don't want to do is fire-twirling. I'm a complete klutz, and while I'm quite happy to play with things that will give me bruises, I try to draw the line at anything sharp or hot (it's a wonder I ever step into a kitchen, really). The likelihood of setting myself on fire is just too great.

That said, I was looking at some throwing knives the other day...

It runs in the family, pt 2

2007-08-20T02:56:00.000-07:00

Aha!

Not only am I not the only circus geek in my family, I'm also not the only person in my family who owns a unicycle.

My uncle is still very much in the closet about his unicycling behaviour, but he opened up to me when I revealed the existence of my nike.

I don't know why, but I feel slightly less crazy now. It's not like I felt particularly crazy in the first place, or that my uncle is known for his sanity, so sharing any traits with him lessens my craziness, but for some reason it is good to know that I'm not the only weirdo in the family.

Clubs: an adventure

2007-08-10T00:23:00.001-07:00

It all started when I realised I was going to be in Brisbane for a weekend while sorting out my Estonian Passport (find Finland on a map, then look south across the bay).

I though to myself, I thought, "I could pop by Gooble Warming and pick up some juggling equipment." Now, I'd been thinking about clubs. I'd been thinking about clubs ever since I started watching those DVDs I won the other month. So, I decided that while I was in Brisbane, I was going to buy myself some cheap juggling clubs and see if I could get away with taking them back on the plane with me.

Not as luggage, mind, but actually in the cabin. I've watched baggage handlers place luggage on planes before, and it's not pretty. If you can possibly avoid handing over your precious belongings to those unfeeling ruffians, you should.

So I got off the plane with several hours to spare before the kind and generous relatives with whom I was staying would be home, and I decided I may as well get the whole buying clubs thing out of the way. I took the train from the Brisbane Airport to South Brisbane station and set out on foot to Vulture Street, wherein Gooble Warming can be found.

Now, I'd walked from Gooble Warming to the Vulture Street Station in the past, and found it to be a relatively long, not-terribly-shady and decidedly-uninteresting walk. This time, I took a good look at a street map and decided it would probably be shorter to go from South Brisbane Station, via Melbourne Street and a few others.

It was indeed shorter, and more interesting, and slightly shadier... but when one was carrying one's luggage around (fortunately only a small bag loaded with vases for a cousin's engagement) it still was not comfortable.

I made it there within thirty minutes (the walk itself wasn't that long - I stopped for lunch), suffering little more than a dash of sunburn and a sore back. After looking at/fondling almost everything in the store I decided not to buy five of the cheapest clubs but settle for three of the second cheapest clubs (the cheapest are usually cheap for a reason). It was more money than I had expected to part with, but I thought it would probably be worth it.

All well and good. All reasonably managed. Then I had to get myself and the clubs "home". I probably should have taken it as an omen when they moved the bus stops on me.

You see, I spent five weeks in Brisbane as a locum librarian, and for those five weeks I caught the same bus from the same bus stop to get to my aunt's house. I had tried, the day before, to check the time tables online in order to see if there had been any changes. The Translink journey planner was down. So, I went with the assumption that everything would be as I had left it. That assumption was wrong.

When I realised my bus no longer stopped at that bus stop, I called Translink to find out where it did stop. The man on the other end of the phone helpfully told me it stopped outside the Magistrate's Court on Roma Street, completely neglecting to mention that there was more than one Magistrate's Court... on Roma Street. He also told me I'd have to change buses to get to my destination (something I didn't have to do last time).

As the Brisbane Transit Centre was in the process of being renovated, the customer services office had been closed and there was no one around who could help me. Finally, I flagged a bus driver down and ask him where my stop was. About half an hour after I had arrived on Roma Street, I managed to find the bus stop I needed. Fortunately, I had the foresight to ask the driver of my bus if he went all the way to the bus stop I wanted (he did), thus eliminating a completely unnecessary bus change.

By the time I got to my bus stop, I was exhausted. By the time I climbed up the hill to get from my stop to my aunt's house, I was dead on my feet. I didn't even have enough energy to play with the clubs.

For the next couple of days I gave the clubs a bit of a twirl in the mornings, getting the feel for them and only occasionally hitting myself on the head. When it came time to pack for the plane, I discovered they didn't fit in my bag. I scabbed another bag, but when I got to the airport...

Well, I told the security folks up-front exactly what I had in my bag. That didn't stop them from questioning the "bowling pins". They pulled them out, looked at them, waved them around a bit, smacked their hands with them, took them over to other security folks who also waved them around a bit and came to the conclusion that they could, indeed, be used as clubs. I was told to put them in the belly of the plane.

Oh well. It was worth a try. I managed to get them home safely in the end.

Ever since then I've been trying to get at least a decent cascade going. Every little victory is enough to keep me going, even though I seem to be spending the majority of my time ducking the darn things as they come flying straight for my head or crashing into my shoulders.

And you know what? Those things hurt when you get hit on the head with them. The security chappies made a good call after all.

Two steps forward, one step back

2007-08-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

So, I've been making exciting progress on my unicycle, managing to suddenly cover twice the distance I could cover before (which still isn't very far, but every victory is a buzz on that thing).

Then, disaster struck. After a wonderfully successful afternoon at the bike park down the road (I'm loving the slalom 'activity' - there's always something to hold onto, and yet you can also count how many poles you ride past), followed by an interesting evening spent throwing things at my head (I'll explain in another post), I came down with yet another bout of whatever disorienting thing I had before (only this time without the sniffles.

I've barely had the energy or coordination to walk in a straight line for the past few days, let alone continue my progress on the nike. Darn these human frailties. Darn them to Heck!

IJA DVDs

2007-08-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to admit that I thought the two DVDs of the 2004 IJA competition/festival in Buffalo seemed like a pretty lame prize compared to all of the people who won actual juggling equipment after enrolling for World Juggling Day 2007, but that was before I watched them.

It's actually quite pleasant watching all of those great jugglers in action, and the fact that I can watch one act at a time if I feel like it is very handy.

Olga and Volva are, by the way, freakishly good. Are we sure they're human?

Saddles

2007-07-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

I rode my bike to work these last two days while they were resurfacing the car park. It was the first time I had ridden my bike since buying the unicycle, and the thing I noticed more than anything else (aside from the fact that I didn't fall off it) was the seat.

I have to say that my unicycle has a superior saddle. When I first tried working with it, it was a bit odd, but now it's just far more comfortable than the saddle on my bike. The way it's shaped (closer to an actual saddle than a bike seat) cradles you when you ride, where as the bike seat doesn't. Not even slightly. Both days I felt as if I was slowly slipping off while I was riding.

Part of me is thinking of getting a new saddle for my bike which is closer to the design on the unicycle, but the rest of me realises that the different angle between seat and pedal just won't work with that kind of seat. Besides, the old bike is getting a bit rusty, and it would seem strange to put a brand new part on her.

Yet, I'd also really like to take the pedals and cranks off the bike and put them on the nike. If there's one failing with my unicycle, it's the fact that I can't get a decent purchase on the pedals without half-stepping on the cranks.

Ah well. If life was too easy there wouldn't be much point to it, would there?

Circus Girl - Flying Fruit Fly Circus; 3

2007-07-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Yep, went and saw it again.

Yep, still good.

I hadn't realised it the first night I went, but the girls had actually stuffed up a trick twice. They kept their characters so well that it looked like the stuff up was part of the 'plot'. Mind you, much better when they got it right.

Did I mention Andrea Rieniets' sound design? Brilliant. By far one of the best sound designs I've heard on stage in a long while. I would dearly like a copy of that sound-track.

Circus Girl - Flying Fruit Fly Circus; 2

2007-07-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

Brilliant. Absolutely, unequivocally brilliant. I loved it so much I'm going to go and see it again tonight - it will cost a fortune and I'll get a lousy seat, but it will be worth it.

My hat goes off to the writer, Andrea Lemon, who managed to construct the best dramatic/thematic through-line I have seen in a contemporary circus, telling the story of these girls who are going through everything every other school girl goes through, but with the physical and emotional side of the circus thrown in for good measure.

My shoes go off to the composer, Andrea Rieniets, who keeps the mood flowing smoothly and effectively using fractions of things we've heard before weaved into something new (and made you feel like dancing).

My jacket goes off to the director/choreographer, Jodie Farrugia, who kept the stage alive for the entire performance, only allowing her cast to be still when it would have the most impact, yet never upstaging the performers in the spotlight.

My socks, however, were totally blown off by the eight performers. They each managed to convey enough character to stand out on their own rights, sucking the audience in so that we cared about each of them. And they performed brilliantly. What these girl's can do is mind blowing.

I have only three complaints: 1. No programme (what's with this thing of not having programmes? Don't they know it's part of the joy of going to the theatre?), 2. No juggling (there was a diabolo, but that's not the same), 3. No readily available schedule.

I'd love to be able to tell you where they're going to be touring after they leave T'ville tonight so I could urge you all to go, but I can't find anything that tells me what cities they're hitting and when (and I'm a librarian - I find out information for a living). You just sort of have to pick a city and try to find out if they're going to come or if they've already been.

Make the effort to find out, though - they do tour outside of Australia as well, and it is well worth seeing.

Plus, it has amazing curative powers. I walked into the theatre feeling exhausted and sick as a dog, and walked out feeling fabulous and wide awake. Not every show can do that.

It runs in the family

2007-07-17T21:03:00.001-07:00

By the way, I'm not the only circus geek in my family. My cousin, Joel, is also into the circus arts. He's a bit more advanced than I, though, and decidedly more athletic.

On his blog, you'll be able to see a practice session of one of his tissu routines (also known as the Russian Silks).

Circus Girl - Flying Fruit Fly Circus

2007-07-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm going to see the Flying Fruit Fly Circus' production, Circus Girl, tonight. Hopefully the plague will let me concentrate enough to make it worth my $42.

Fortunately, I had already planned to knock off work early today so I could get my passport photo taken, which means I should have enough time to go home and take a nap before heading out to the theatre.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, it's "Australia's only circus training institute for children". It's an actual school, based in Albury Wodonga in New South Wales, in which circus skills is on the curriculum as a compulsory subject. While most Australian kids are taking PE, the kids at Flying Fruit Fly are taking tumbling lessons.

The latest production, Circus Girl (which has absolutely no connection with Charles Frohman's 1897 production, The Circus Girl, the poster of which I use as my 'picture' on this site), has been based around the stories of the girls performing - it's about being a girl in a circus school.

I've been looking forward to it for weeks, and I dearly hope I manage to stay awake for all of it and not cough so much that I get expelled from the theatre.

Progress halted on account of the plague

2007-07-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

Dammit!

I've been itching to a) get back on my nike and keep practising, and b) toss a few balls or rings around, but I've come down with some sort of cold-thingy which has gone and sucked all of my energy and co-ordination out of me.

I can barely muster the energy to juggle for more than five consecutive minutes, and I can't manage to walk in a straight line (heck, even standing without listing to one side is a challenge), so there's no way I can try to balance on a unicycle.

The sad (and potentially crazy) thing is, I really miss these activities. As in, I actually dream about them. My prize from the IJA came yesterday (a couple of DVDs of the Buffalo conference in 2004 - interesting, but hardly thrilling), and I spent some of what little concentration I had watching other people juggle. At one point, there was a girl getting on a unicycle in the background, and suddenly I couldn't consentrate on what the guy in the foreground was saying (not that I could concentrate all that well, anyway). It obviously stuck in my head, because last night I dreamed of unicycling.

I need help.

And a tissue.

Circus Bike

2007-07-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, I just bought a unicycle and I haven't even learnt to ride that properly yet, but I was reading Circus Techniques, by Hovey Burgess (I'll review it later, I promise), and we was talking about how a common trick was to ride a circus bicycle like a unicycle.

Now, Burgess described a circus bike as having a 1:1 gear ratio, which I have since discovered is called a "direct geared" bicycle, (as distinct from a "direct drive" bike, in which the pedals are attached to the hub spindle, as with a unicycle). I have a feeling the contraption Burgess described might also have been a "fixed wheel" bicycle, in which the back wheel can't move without the chain moving - which means you can ride it backwards.

My memory might be failing me, but I think my first bicycle was fixed wheel, in that to break you had to pedal backwards, and I half remember it could move backwards as well. It may have been a common design for children's bicycles from the late 70s/early 80s.

As soon as I saw the picture of Burgess riding the bike like a nike, I had an instant "I want one" moment. I've never really been that interested in stunt riding before, but now that I'm starting to get further and further into this circus skills obsession I just want to do all sorts of things that I really should have done as a kid but just wasn't interested.

I'll have to see if I can find a second-hand bike I can modify...

Some progress - if slow

2007-07-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm making some headway on my nike. I'm getting a little further before I fall off. I'm not sure if I'm doing it on purpose, but it's happening. The other day, whilst practicing under my house, I made it almost all the way from the washing machine to the car without holding onto anything... before I fell off on purpose to avoid running into said car (stopping gracefully is not something I can manage yet).

The last couple of times I practised I managed to convince my mother to come to the local park with me to make sure I didn't kill myself whilst trying to "stretch my legs", as it were. I don't have an awful lot of room under the house, and the park offered the promise of a free run with a bit of support. It is good to have a mother who is not-so-secretly convinced I'm going to kill myself on this crazy contraption. She's willing to be seen in public helping a 27 year old woman try to ride a unicycle - just to make sure I don't slam head-first into a pole or something and die from internal bleeding.

The park down the road from where I live underwent a bit of a make-over a few years back. I think it was some sort of gentrification thing, because it happened around about the same time a lot of the army housing in the area was sold to slightly-upper-middle-class families (you know the type - they really are middle-class, but they have delusions/aspirations of upper-middle-classdom) who set about trying to paint the houses and add bits to the outsides to make them look more "modern".

These were really typical, matter-of-fact, working class, North Queensland high-set homes from the sixties and seventies. Painting them in funky colours and giving them "modern" balconies was never going to make them look good - only ridiculous. Sigh, some people just have no sense of form and architecture.

Anyway, the park was sort of re-branded as a "bike park" (as opposed to a "piece-of-land-with-no-buildings-on-it-where-you-can-play-ball-games park"). They put down a cement bike path, which loops around the park, and off to the sides of this path they put in obstacle-course type exercises which are supposed to be undertaken by kids on bikes.

I don't think it's all that successful as a "bike park" because I never see anyone using the exercises - although they are the kind of "safe", low level things that smaller kids could do while their parents stood guard, so maybe I'm just not there are the right time of day. It would no doubt be more popular amongst the older kids if they had included a skate bowl kind of thing, but thankfully they didn't - those things tend to attract an even combination of kids who just want to have fun and kids who like to break stuff. As it is, it's a family park; skate bowls tend to be less family-friendly.

I never really paid that much attention to these exercises in the past, but now I'm eyeing them off. It's one of my short-term goals to be able to do all of them on the unicycle without breaking anything.

A handy link for researchers

2007-07-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in photographs or artwork, the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Reading Room is a brilliant place to visit. It contains a wide variety of photos and prints from the last two hundred years or so.

It has a great collection of old posters from shows from the 19th Century, and can probably help you find that obscure image you're after. Just watch where you use the pictures, as they're not all public domain.

Nike

2007-07-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

I am now the proud owner of a unicycle. It is a 24" Torker LX (see picture). I have had it for a grand total of three days, and I can get on and off without hurting myself. That is, unless you count the splinters in my fingers from grabbing hold of the wooden beams under my-house to steady-myself.

So far I've been "passing" myself from beam to beam while I get a handle on this thing. I ache in terribly unusual places, it must be said. I have a few bruises on my legs and my arms are getting more of a work out that one would expect, since I'm using them to grab hold of things above my head so much.

It is an interesting challenge, but one that's kind of addictive. I find myself thinking about the unicycle when I'm not on it, wondering when I'll get a chance to have another go around my house (splinters and spiders be damned). I think I'm very lucky to live in an old house in North Queensland, because I've got this area that's just the right size to take my "baby steps". Plus, should the ground ever become dry enough (we've had a bit of a wet spell recently), I've got a rotary clothes line out the back that I can use to get used to more "off road" conditions.

One of the only problems, though, is remembering what to call the darn thing. I keep going to refer to it as a "bike", because that's what I've been calling my HPVs for years. I've only ever owned bikes and trikes, and trying to remember to say "uni" is more that my addled brain can cope with. It just doesn't fit the established rhyme scheme.

As a result, I've decided to coin a new nick-name for unicycles: Nikes.

Forget that whole global sportswear brand, from now on, the word "nike" is short for unicycle. Embrace it - use it.

Feel free to tell someone to "get on your nike" or, if you are a fellow unicyclist, to state your intention to "go for a nike ride."

And, just to see if one of those search engines with dictionary algorithms is watching, I offer the following definition:

Nike: an colloquial abbreviation for unicycle, as "bike" for bicycle and "trike" for tricycle.

Hey, it may take off, you never know.

Wedding Crashers

2007-06-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting idea, but I'm wondering if they measured the door to the church first...

Heads Up

2007-06-26T00:57:00.001-07:00

I'm seriously thinking of buying a unicycle. Someone other than my mother has to present a convincing argument for why I shouldn't before Saturday, or I may be handing over money for half a bike very shortly.

Another Circus Museum

2007-06-26T00:43:00.000-07:00

A friend at work sent me this URL: http://www.circusmuseum.nl/eng/

This leads to a number of observations:

a) The Netherlands just got a lot more interesting
b) Considering I have a thing for museums and a thing for circuses, all of these circus museums in far away countries are really just taunting me
c) I think I'm starting to get a reputation at work

World Juggling Day

2007-06-26T00:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's taken me a while to get around to writing this post, but here it is anyway. World Juggling Day fell on my shift at the Museum of Tropical Queensland a few weekends ago (16 June 2007), and to celebrate I talked the powers-that-be into letting me juggle pretty much the whole morning while I was doing the rounds, as well as replace the talk on the Pandora with a talk on juggling.

It was an interesting day, I must say. My presentation was reasonably good, considering I haven't been juggling seriously for very long, but unfortunately I had an audience of two and a half (one audience member was another museum volunteer, so I don't quite count him as a full punter). They were older than the target audience I was hoping for.

Still, I think they enjoyed most of it, and I did managed to get some kids to juggle something, and at least a few people thought it was fun to watch a person juggling their way around a museum, so it wasn't a complete washout.

I have to say, though, that doing laps of a three story building whilst juggling almost continuously can really wear you out. I was exhausted by lunch-time.

Circus World Museum

2007-06-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

Found this site whilst browsing : Circus World Museum (a link for different information here). Must say that this is definitely on my list of places to visit if I ever go to America. This, and the Museum of Bad Art. Good stuff.

Lennon Bros Circus

2007-06-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

I went to Lennon Bros Circus just over a week ago. It was smaller than I had expected. If you got rid of the family from Chile, the entire circus would have to be cancelled if one guy got sick (to be specific, the guy wearing the jester's outfit in the picture). It was a good little circus, though. I was seriously considering going a second time, but the week got away from me.

The best part about the circus was the human acts. The Chilean family were fliers, and they also performed the double wheel of death. It looked as though they barely fit into the tent (like I said, it was a small circus), but they still did a good job. The rest of the human cast was worth watching as well. The Ringmaster did say the names of everyone several times, but I've got a terrible memory for names so I can't tell you who any of them were. They really should have had programmes. Even a single page, photocopied flier with the acts and performers listed would have been better than nothing.

The animal acts, though, were as dull as dull can be. They had lions, alpacas, a camel, geese, ponies, a monkey riding the ponies and a pack of performing chihuahuas... and the only ones worth watching were the dogs. Everything else basically came into the ring, sat on something and then left. I suppose a lot of kids would have gotten a thrill just from seeing the animals - especially the lions, which at least did a couple of jumps. Personally, though, I could have skipped the geese in favour of a couple of tumblers. And as for the camel? Coming into the ring, reluctantly sitting down, and then bolting out of the door does not constitute as an act. The least they could have done was have one of the kids ride it around the ring a few times. The monkey also could have been used to greater effect.

I don't know. Maybe I've seen too many contemporary circuses where you get to watch one fabulous human performer after another, so the animals just don't do it for me any more.

Also, they could have done with live music. Every time they cut into the pre-recorded music to say something I cringed a little. Even if it was just an electric guitar, a keyboard player and a drummer, it would have lifted the show up a couple of notches. There are limits to how many performers you can have on a small budget, though.

Like I said, though, it was a good little circus. I probably will see it again. Even now, I'm regretting not seeing it a second time. Don't know if I'll travel up to Ingham to see it. That might be pushing things a bit.

They're covering North Queensland, Australia at the moment. Check out the website to see their schedule:

http://www.lennonbroscircus.com.au

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls...

2007-05-25T23:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally decided to join the blogging revolution. And to what purpose? Because my small-time obsession with all things circus has grown to the extent that I feel I must express it.

I've always been fascinated by the circus - ever since I was first exposed to the arts through Circus Oz back in my formative years. Yes, I love the contemporary circuses, but I also love the traditional circuses. Something about the whole thing just makes my heart beat a little faster.

Lately, I've been noticing what some people might consider to be an alarming trend. I've always been a little unusual, had interests in things most people consider a tad out of the ordinary, but I've noticed they now seem to be following a theme.

I have been known to turn up to places dressed unusually for the fun of it. It's only been recently, however, that I actually turned up to a couple of parties as a fully fledged clown (on roller skates, no less). I've been trying to juggle ever since I was a kid, but I was never really serious about it. Then, one day, I just up and decided that I wanted to juggle and juggle well. I've been practicing almost everyday since, and I've joined the IJA (I'm still not great, but I can do enough to keep a group of small children interested). And (in what many people consider to be the weirdest thing yet) I bought a concertina last year.

I can't help but feel I was born to be one of those clowns who wonder around keeping people amused while the tent-crew set up the next act. It's a long way from my current job as an academic librarian, but it calls to me...

One of these days I'm probably going to pack up my regular, normal(ish) existence and run away to join a circus. If nothing else, I'll probably just join the tent crew or sell concessions. All I have to do is explain it to my family.

In the mean-time, I'll try to feel like I'm part of the circus scene by keeping a blog about what I know, what I see and what I discover. I can't guarantee it will stay entirely on-topic, but you will find most of the entries will be skewed towards the circus arts.

Hope you don't find it too dull, and "may all your days be circus days".