PUT DOWN THE PHONE AND PICK UP SOME BALLS!
Playshops
Juggling & Dynamic Play
Philosophy
Juggling instruction can be very intimidating and easily can become tedious and frustrating. I’m always careful to offset rigid instructional concepts with an appreciation for the infinite possibilities inherent in dynamically playing with objects and materials. I want to foster a sense of curiosity in my students. Learning to juggle should be an incremental process and requires the development of underlying virtues such as patience, concentration, hand-eye coordination and body symmetry. As a teacher, I want students to become better mathematicians and not overwhelm or intimidate them by solving all equations for them.
TEACHING CREDITS
I have taught juggling playshops, masterclasses and intensive retreats statewide, nationally and internationally. Top venues have included:
• Ecole Nationale de Cirque, Montreal, Canada
• Escuela de Circo Carampa, Madrid, Spain
• Celebration Barn Theater, South Paris, Maine, USA
• International Jugglers’ Association, USA
• Tennessee Thespians Conference, Nashville, TN, TSA
• Dirk Denzer Performing Arts, Bamberg, Germany
MY SCHOOL OF JUGGLING
Forces of Nature
Jugglers are people that like to connect with nature’s forces. The toss, the catch, the balance and the spin teach us about fundamental physical laws.
My basic juggling playshops are intended for beginners and the general public. These are usually shorter but can also be extended during longer artist residencies.
My master class is generally for other creatives interested in deep diving into my approach of elemental jugglery and dynamic play.
My private practice is usually something I offer over FaceTime or Zoom for those who want to development or recondition their creative approach in playing with juggling vocabulary, choreography and techniques.
self-contained
Specialized Equipment
Alternative drop-free juggling equipment offers fun pattern making for different participant heights and ages.
I bring enough traditional equipment to teach classes of up to 40 people at a time. Dynamic Playshops start off by learning the basic pattern with scarves and then progress to one, two and three ball juggling. Other prop manipulation skills are also included in beginner playshops such as balancing sticks and swinging pois. This equipment is selected for its general safety, ease of use and portability. I believe it is important to share information about traditional equipment as well as taking time for explorations of nontraditional elemental forms of juggling.
Schools
Introductory
I offer playshops for after school programs, summer learning programs and as a added activity after performances.
As they are slow to fall, they offer a slo-mo appeal to establish basic patterns, throwing and catching.
Excellent for beginners as they don't bounce away from students.
I introduce balancing to students using one meter long wooden sticks and juggling clubs for toss spins, club swinging and passing between two or more jugglers.
Juggling playshops can be customized and extended to include many other props including hats, pois, rings, hoops, larger balls and more.
Juggling equipment for students is available for purchase.
Drop-Free Juggling
ParaPlay
Drop-free Juggling can also be included in longer play-shops with participants taking turns creating patterns with metal bearings in seven portable ParaPlay dishes. This is an atypical approach that I have developed and isn’t practiced by other schools or juggling instructors.
Discover drop-free para-juggling skills and routines by exploring and discovering orbital patterns, pendulum patters, elliptical patterns and more by rolling metal bearings inside parabolic orbital dishes.
The orbital dishes provide a means to explore patterns of moving balls from a sitting or reclined position which makes it a good activity for those who are physically challenged.
ParaPlay has been featured at the Maine Innovation Expo and the York County Mini-Maker Faire.
Reserve A Date Today ~ Availability limited
Call Michael @ 207-440-9147 or SEND ME A MESSAGE!
It's Easy To Book A Playshop!
$100. A typical after show playshop of 45 minutes to an hour in length.
$300. Fee includes up to 3 playshops of 45 minutes each for classes with a maximum of 25 students. (I bring my own PA sound system to accompany the teaching sessions.)
Take a journey with me into the unique nature of objects and body movement.
Master classes are for experienced jugglers, dancers and movers wanting to push their limits on finding new ways of exploring juggling techniques. Based on my new book, Dynamic Play, this is an intensive course for those who are interested in developing juggling vocabulary organically. If you are interested in joining a retreat or masterclass either online or in person, please register on my mailing list for future announcements by clicking the button below.