Tossing Fun Around Juggling Club For Kids Teaches Ups And Downs
Apples bruise, oranges squish, but limes work pretty well.
That’s the advice Q.Z. Allard gives her handful of wannabe jugglers - mainly so they don’t destroy a house full of produce while practicing.
Allard and Ellen Weissman, a professional clown and juggler, recently teamed up to start a juggling club here for kids. It’s now on the menu of activities at Sandpoint West Athletic Club.
“It’s something totally different and unique,” said Don Helander, manager of the athletic club and a juggler himself. “It only takes a few hours for most people to learn, and you get a lifetime of enjoyment out of it.”
The juggling trio tossed around the idea of a club last summer. The three started meeting at City Beach to feed their own passion for juggling balls, clubs and rings.
Whenever they started launching objects through the air, people gathered to watch. Some joined in. Others wanted to learn.
“We had a whole variety of people down at the beach,” said Helander. “People I knew stopped and said, ‘Hey, you juggle too?”’
When winter hit, the adult jugglers disappeared. Helander then decided to offer a class for kids ages 9-18 at the health club with Allard and Weissman as instructors.
“We decided there was enough interest to try it,” said Allard, pitching three rice-filled balloons from hand-to-hand. “If I can do it, anyone can, because I’m pretty uncoordinated.”
About eight students have joined the free club. The instructors are confident there will be converts.
“Once people see you do it, they want to give it a try,” said Weissman. “It’s a stress reliever, good for your brain and a great way to meet people. It’s also cheap and very portable. You can pull out your three balls and do it anywhere.”
The instructors start students juggling scarves. They float slowly through the air so kids can see the juggling pattern.
Within an hour most are juggling three balls. Lessons progress to juggling clubs, passing to other students and performing tricks.
Helander’s goal is to start a performing troop, like the jugglers from Roosevelt Elementary in Spokane. The students performed in Sandpoint about three years ago. Helander still remembers the impressive act and said it helped spark the club here.
“Kids can get truly remarkable at it,” said Helander. “And even though it sounds like an odd pastime, I think the juggling club is going to take off.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Learn to juggle Anyone interested in joining or learning to juggle can call Don Helander at the club at 263-6633.