Great Juggling, Part 1
I thought about doing this a while back, when I first wrote about the whole Chris Bliss thing. I let the idea go, but recently decided to go back and give it a shot. (Thank you, Dolores.)
This is the first in what I hope will be a fun series of posts about jugglers and juggling routines that I think are amazing: a showcase of personal favorites. I plan to stick to routines or jugglers that I have seen live, and left the show thinking, “Wow, that was incredible!” Some may lean towards innovation in technique and juggling. Some may lean towards artistry and expression. All, I think, include elements of both, and all expanded my own idea of what juggling performance could be. And, of course, I would love to see all of them gain greater recognition.
So for the first entry, I present Steven Ragatz!
I have seen this routine live at least twice, and would gladly see it again, many times over. Clean, polished, smooth, and almost contemplative, every aspect from the set and prop design through the music and outfit reflect the businessman character that Steven has created. This is juggling as Theater, bringing the audience to a place where, Mary Poppins-like, moments of magic intrude into the ordinary with nary a hiccup. He becomes playful as normal objects magically transform into movement, but, refined gentleman that he is, he never loses his composure. And when it is all over, he returns everything to its proper place, and leaves to go about his business. This is one of the most cohesive juggling routines I have ever seen.
Stay tuned for future posts in this series…balls, clubs, pop juggling, diabolo, we’ll have it all! With gushing, semi-articulate praise from me padding things out!
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