It seems to me that circus performers and students are able to pick up new skills and new tricks very quickly. As a box juggler how can I break down moves to practice them most efficiently and how do I then turn moves into combos and combos into routines?
Hey Cameron, I think a lot of the professional circus artists I know pick up stuff quickly because they have a broad foundation. At least in ENC you have core classes touching on dance, acro, handstands, flex, strengthening, etc. A lot of these traits (like strength and flex) make learning stuff a lot easier. From a juggler’s perspective, if you can already do backcrosses with clubs and you’re trying to do a box trick involving a behind the back throw, you might say to yourself “oh this is like backcrosses with clubs” vs if you’d never done anything similar to that before. The second part of this kind of also responds to your second question(s). Regular focused training can help you learn HOW to learn better. I think you’re on the right path though- break down individual tricks until you understand what makes them work, then put those tricks in an order (or a “combo”), then build that into a routine. I’ll get into this (how to practice, and how i build routines) more in another video because it’s an awesome question, but basically I tend to group similar tricks together (example: my “around the body” section in my routine is traveling under the leg, fast under the legs, behind the back, behind the back takeouts). I think of this as a sentence or a phrase, and I always like to put an exclamation point at the end of my phrase- in this example I finish with something in the same “theme”, so i’ll do a behind the back pirouette. At least in my head that keeps the tricks from seeming too random and helps guide your audience along. Then for the full act I go from easier tricks to harder tricks, plus variations so it doesn’t get boring (that’s why i stick a balance in the middle of the act instead of doing 4 minutes of 3 box juggling and the balance at the end). Hope that helped!
Thank you for this video! I have a dream of becoming an acrobat!
Eric, another on-point video! I'll do my best to promote it as quai-required viewing for all ÉNC students, teachers, and staff!
Thanks!
Love this Guy, subscribed done !
Hey thanks!
Get it, Eric!!!!!!!
Thanks dude!
I love this video!! Very instructive. Thank you Eric
Hey thanks! Thanks for dropping a comment, it's great to know it's helping people!
spot on
Thank you!
Love it! Very interesting!
Thanks!
It seems to me that circus performers and students are able to pick up new skills and new tricks very quickly. As a box juggler how can I break down moves to practice them most efficiently and how do I then turn moves into combos and combos into routines?
Hey Cameron,
I think a lot of the professional circus artists I know pick up stuff quickly because they have a broad foundation. At least in ENC you have core classes touching on dance, acro, handstands, flex, strengthening, etc. A lot of these traits (like strength and flex) make learning stuff a lot easier. From a juggler’s perspective, if you can already do backcrosses with clubs and you’re trying to do a box trick involving a behind the back throw, you might say to yourself “oh this is like backcrosses with clubs” vs if you’d never done anything similar to that before.
The second part of this kind of also responds to your second question(s). Regular focused training can help you learn HOW to learn better. I think you’re on the right path though- break down individual tricks until you understand what makes them work, then put those tricks in an order (or a “combo”), then build that into a routine.
I’ll get into this (how to practice, and how i build routines) more in another video because it’s an awesome question, but basically I tend to group similar tricks together (example: my “around the body” section in my routine is traveling under the leg, fast under the legs, behind the back, behind the back takeouts). I think of this as a sentence or a phrase, and I always like to put an exclamation point at the end of my phrase- in this example I finish with something in the same “theme”, so i’ll do a behind the back pirouette.
At least in my head that keeps the tricks from seeming too random and helps guide your audience along. Then for the full act I go from easier tricks to harder tricks, plus variations so it doesn’t get boring (that’s why i stick a balance in the middle of the act instead of doing 4 minutes of 3 box juggling and the balance at the end). Hope that helped!
Well said!
Thanks!