| |
British Juggling Convention 2004 - Derby
Review by Rachel Hopper (my fiancee)
This is a review of a first time convention
goer!
 |
Steve could juggle and I couldn’t
(well that’s a lie, I could just about manage
a 3 ball cascade), so going to the British Juggling
Convention was a kind of bewildering thought.
To be honest, I thought I’d be dead bored
and look really silly when people asked what I
could do. But I loved it. If you can’t juggle,
I do still recommend going. You’ll be really
impressed and inspired to learn more. |
 |
There’s loads going on, and it’s
not all juggling (thank God!) They had workshops
for all abilities to learn all sorts of things.
I really wanted to learn some stuff like balloon
modelling and (much to Steve’s disgust)
contact juggling, but didn’t quite make
it up out of bed for those workshops.
I did however go to a Basic 3 Ball Tricks workshop
and amazingly expanded my repertoire of a somewhat
dodgy cascade to six slightly more impressive
tricks which I was amazed at. |
Practicing in the big tent with all the other experts
was kind of embarrassing, bit I learned the trick
of standing near others who dropped the balls just
as much as me. While there, we went to lots of different
types of things:
• A fire juggling show, which despite being
semi rained off, was still spectacular
• A bonfire with a storyteller
• A ceilidh with not quite a good enough dancefloor
Steve and I also went to the Renegade on the Friday
night (apparently this was the best night of them
all). This was cold, squashed and uncomfortable, however
once I had found the best position for comfort and
vision (sitting on the steps leaning against a bench
and Steve!), I really got into it.
Some of the acts were dead funny, like the Bruce
Lee impressionist and the two guys juggling over each
other on a chair. Some were downright clever, especially
a guy spouting off about his hatred of Off Road Vehicles
in the form of a poem for 15mins. Some were just a
little bit weird. If you were there, I think you’ll
agree with me that the comperes really made the show
that night. Talented, quick thinking, connecting with
the audience and extremely with people.
 |
Saturday was a completely new experience as
we made our way with everyone else to the centre
of Derby to (in my case) watch a load of jugglers
competing against each other in various juggling
olympics. This was dead fun to watch, with a great
atmosphere. After killing 3 hours in Derby town,
we went to the public show in the big theatre,
where the best of the best put on a breathtaking
performance. For about 30mins before the show,
all the games with the balloons started. Everyone
was just there to have fun and enjoy themselves.
The show was jaw-smackingly captivating, and totally
awesome. Every act had you on the edge of your
seat. I am not going to begin to describe them,
cause I won’t do them justice...you had
to be there, it was amazing. |
The weekend was definitely an enjoyable exhausting
experience. I met lots of great people and saw loads
of incredible things. I was however glad to go by
the end, as the mud was getting just a bit too much.
I can’t wait for next year, and the chance to
expand my repertoire to 12 tricks (maybe).
|
