Well, it looks like the 2014 festival season has finally come to a close for me. It’s been a long season, partially because I’ve transferred from my Oakland community college (which ends early) to the University of California, Santa Cruz (which starts late). Here’s the total list of summer festivals:<\/p>\n
Folklife (Seattle)
\nFireDrums (California)
\nWorld Juggling Day (California)
\nEmergency Circus tour (West Coast – ok, not properly a fest, but it was still all-day-every-day juggling, except for the travel days)
\nMadskillz Vancouver (Vancouver)
\nOregon Country Fair (Oregon)
\nEJC (Ireland)
\nEdinburgh Fringe (Scotland)
\nBurning Man (Nevada)
\nPacific Fire Gathering (Oregon)
\nSpun Out Prop Gathering (Oregon)
\nBay Area Circus Arts Festival (California)
\nMaster Ong’s Flow Retreat (California)<\/p>\n
That’s thirteen festivals, one of which went for five days (Madskillz), two which went for a week (EJC and Burning Man), and one that went for a month (Edinburgh Fringe). And this last one, like the rest, was a super good time and unique in its embodiment of a lot of current sentiment in my life. So here it goes: this year’s final round of the classic juggler’s game, High Low Goal Bane Crush Surprise, Fall MOPS edition!<\/p>\n
HIGHS<\/p>\n
\u2022 Great classes all weekend. There were really some magic moments and I got a lot of positive feedback from folks who had taken the classes (busking + stage choreo) before.
\n\u2022 What a great gala show! Felt like all the acts were pretty dang superb.<\/p>\n
LOWS<\/p>\n
\u2022 Post-renegade show hangover.
\n\u2022 Actually, the whole renegade show in general. I felt like I wanted it to be either a lot better or a lot worse. As it was, it wasn’t quite “so bad it’s good” and the small handful of great tricks didn’t quite make up for the waffly boring stuff.
\n\u2022 Not getting to say a proper goodbye to a sweetheart from Detroit who had to leave during my last class. Just a quick “bye, see you next year sometime…”<\/p>\n
GOALS<\/p>\n
\u2022 100 catches of headstall + five ball cascade every day… accomplished
\n\u2022 Dropless in gala show… barely accomplished
\n\u2022 Finish and burn an experimental fireball… accomplished, though now I wanna build another one
\n\u2022 Finish and burn new poi and contact staff… fail. Oh well, there’s always the Santa Cruz Lighthouse jam.<\/p>\n
BANES<\/p>\n
\u2022 Being late to my Sunday afternoon class (only by five minutes, but still). Can’t remember the last time that’s happened… if ever. Lesson learned about not wearing pants with pockets to hold a timepiece.
\n\u2022 The gala stage! Super small, and not level – I placed all my props in the beginning of the act, and the next time I looked at them they’d all rolled to the center of the stage.<\/p>\n
CRUSHES<\/p>\n
\u2022 ((Someone good I can’t talk about on the internet)), the reason I am making this post right now – so I can say it before everybody else goes off about her. Super charming, and she super crushed it at the gala show. Ganz toll Show, lady \ud83d\ude42
\n\u2022 Olive from Harmonic Hoops, aka my crush from like every fest between EJC and MOPS.<\/p>\n
SURPRISES<\/p>\n
\u2022 I didn’t get scheduled for a single manipulation workshop! I didn’t feel bad about it since the contact teachers were super qualified and people ate up my discussion classes about hustling art.
\n\u2022 Chris Murdoch at an LA festival!<\/p>\n
See you next year, festival season…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, it looks like the 2014 festival season has finally come to a close for me. It’s been a long season, partially because I’ve transferred…<\/p>\n