Library Juggling Program
February 9, 2010
Ever wanted to learn to juggle?
Or maybe you want to learn some new tricks?
Admission is free, and open to the public! Bring your own items to juggle or buy juggling balls when you get there. John Hanlon and Richard Biggs will be instructing the class in clubs, rings, balls, unicycling, diabolo, flower sticks and more! The event will be held at the Mishawaka, Indiana library. For more information or if you are planning on coming be sure to contact me!
What is the fascination with juggling?
Is it the sleight of hand that keeps the balls rotating or the escaping sigh of pent-up anticipation as a ball hits the floor?
“It’s just fun!” said Lori Kerr, of Granger. “And it’s nice to be outside having something to do with neighbors.”
Kerr brought her 8-year-old son, Payton, to the “Learn to Juggle” program recently at the Bittersweet Branch of the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library.
Around 35 wanna-be jugglers watched demonstrations and received one-on-one juggler counseling from John Hanlon and Richard Biggs.
Biggs developed his skill as a court jester with a local Renaissance and Middle Ages re-enactment group.
Hanlon is a home-schooled eighth-grader from Osceola who has become a professional juggler after only four years of practice.
Hanlon’s fascination with juggling has earned him money for performances and a grand champion trophy this year at the St. Joseph County 4-H Fair for his juggling web site at www.JugglingWithJohn.com.
“I learned to do it from a garage sale book,” Hanlon said. “It’s fun to do. The biggest thing is it’s easy to teach and it’s entertaining.”
Jugglers-to-be started by cradling one ball, then tossing it back and forth from one hand to the other. The ball was then tossed up to eye level.
“Don’t watch where it lands in your hands,” Hanlon said. “Just trust your hands will catch it.”
As the apprentices advanced to two balls, gravity became a predator. By the toss of three, it was a shower of chaos.
But there were a few dexterous people.
“I think it’s fun, interesting and it takes coordination,” said Morris Bollegref, of Granger, who at 59 was the oldest juggler in the crowd. “Plus it’s a challenge because it seems difficult to do.”
Jerry Fergason, of Mishawaka, was another adult who came out to the event with no child in tow.
“I want to learn juggling in case I ever go on another mission trip where I’m dealing with children,” Fergason said. “I don’t have any other talent to entertain.”
Caitlin Jackson, 12, of Granger, said it was her dad’s quest to come to the event.
“He always wanted me to learn to juggle so we could have something fun to do as a family,” Caitlin said.
“Scott’s been wanting to learn the past 10 or 15 years when he got a set of juggling balls,” grinned Trudy Jackson as she watched her ecstatic husband keep three balls in the air. “Before, he could only do two.”
Biggs’ fascination with juggling began 35 years ago at the age of 10 when he watched a juggling act on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
“But I was doing it the hard way until I was about 17 and found a book on how to cascade,” Biggs said.
Cascade is the easiest pattern of juggling, using both hands to rotate throwing the balls instead of using one hand to catch and transfer.
Although Biggs has been juggling for 35 years, he admits that Hanlon is already a better juggler.
While Biggs and Hanlon demonstrate juggling with balls, rings, and clubs, Hanlon is on his own while juggling firesticks or from a 5-foot unicycle.
The juggling duo host two juggling classes a year at the library. Biggs is the husband of Margo Ferguson, Bittersweet’s young adult reference librarian.
Ferguson recognized the public’s fascination with juggling while hosting a Middle Ages and Renaissance program that demonstrated the juggling skills of court jesters.
“It’s something that all ages can do and great for dexterity,” Ferguson said. “It also brings people together and brings people to the library who haven’t been here before.”
