Juggling Fest

For more than four decades, the Isla Vista Juggling Festival has had to – pardon the expression – keep a lot of balls in the air in order to produce the annual event that began in 1977. Rumor has it that the IV weekend extravaganza is the longest running jugglers festival held at a single location, although shifting venues within the UCSB environment, between several different buildings and two off-campus locations in the park, has been one of the factors at play. (The fest takes place this year at People’s Park, adjacent to Embarcadero Hall, from Friday through Sunday, May 10-12.)

Then there’s attracting and managing all the various participants – which include not only jugglers but also such related arts as unicycling, diabolo, devil sticks, clowning, magic, poi, and more – from all over the world to gather in Santa Barbara to juggle together, attend workshops, and compete in juggling games. 

Finally, not in the least, there’s shuffling around the dates, as the festival has roamed around the calendar, mostly landing on Easter weekend, and, more recently, Mother’s Day weekend – the result of trying to coincide with quieter times on the UCSB campus to have easier access to buildings while also avoiding competing events and other related festivals.

“Between when we first started in the 1970s and now, a lot has changed,” explained Matthew Thornley, a veteran local juggler who has been heavily involved in the festival since the early dates. “We were the only juggling festival back then. Now there are lots of others, and flow festivals, things like Lucidity and Firedrums, that we need to avoid having a conflict with. It’s getting harder to find weekends that are free.”

So perhaps it’s understandable that when all the dust settled, there wasn’t time to put together the public show that presents a lot of the acts on stage on Saturday night and is the biggest draw for the non-jugglers among us.

So if you’re not actually a juggler, why should you go?

Well, first of all, keeping the informal activities going straight through on Saturday night means more chance to interact up close and personal with the artists, most of whom are only too happy to have onlookers ask questions or simply show appreciation. More time also means a few more workshops to compensate, Thornley said, including in the areas of Club Spinning, Juggling to Music, and Ball Juggling Fundamentals – all among Thornley’s own specialties.

“I only announced those that I can do personally,” he explained. “But I’m sure there will be others. And if someone comes up to the front desk and asks if anyone can teach them how to juggle, we always do that. Usually one-on-one. Jugglers are pretty friendly people.”

No show on Saturday night also means another evening of “late night fire,” Thornley said, explaining that the category includes “fire jugglers, torchers, and whatever lighted props people bring to juggle after dark. And people also have glow props – poi balls, hula hoops, staffs, and even fire-eaters. We never know who is going to show up.”

If it sounds like the festival is rather loosely organized, that’s exactly right, and partly the point, Thornley said. “Anybody who wants to have a workshop, or organize a competition, can do so without any red tape,” he said. “We often fly by the seat of our pants.” (Some of the games have complex patterns that are fascinating to view, while others, including “Guts,” are close to contact sports.)

On the other hand, producing an entirely free event likely means a reduced donation to the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center, the beneficiary in memory of Patty Laney, a local activist and juggler who became a victim of violence towards women, sparking the festival 43 years ago. Still there are t-shirts for sale, a raffle with lots of prizes, and people can make donations, Thornley said. “Maybe we’ll pass the hat. But please don’t juggle it.”

For hours, details and more, visit www.sbjuggle.org.

‘Romeo’ and Renewal 

The Santa Barbara Symphony opens the concluding concert of its 65th anniversary season with Tchaikovsky’s take on Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy, Romeo & Juliet, a piece that has been praised throughout the years for its depth and emotional resonance. Continuing the theme, the symphony will also present Elmer Bernstein’s eclectic, post-Romantic “Songs of Love and Loathing,” a 20-minute song cycle comprised of seven texts from various sources, drawn from the Bible, from ancient Moroccan and Pali sources, and from poets of the 12th, 17th, and 19th centuries. The Santa Barbara Symphony premiered the work from the then-Montecito-dwelling famed film composer in 1989 under conductor Varujan Kojian; 12-year veteran Nir Kabaretti, who recently announced a three-year contract extension with the symphony, now leads the ensemble and soloist mezzo-soprano Leann Sandel-Pantaleo, who previously debuted with Opera Santa Barbara as the title role in Bizet’s Carmen. Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 closes the concerts, set for 8 pm Saturday and 3 pm Sunday at the Granada.

New Dimension in Dance 

State Street Ballet’s perennially popular Modern Masters performances at the New Vic, slated for Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, features seven new contemporary pieces from seven different choreographers, including several by State Street’s own dancers stretching into creating short works, and two from the directors of Visceral Dance Chicago and Eisenhower Dance Detroit. Both of those companies will also be represented by dancers, who get the opportunity to perform in multiple and unexpected styles that fall well outside the boundaries of classical ballet.

‘Prendidos Flamenco’ in Montecito 

Visiting flamenco artists Alfonso Losa, who Dance Magazine called “One of the icons of the 21st century flamenco,” and Vanesa Colomo star in a show two months before Fiesta from famed Santa Barbara dancer/teacher Linda Vega and her professional dance company will also perform in the evening where the team of artists includes Antonio Sanchez, Ismael De la Rosa Gonzalez, Manuel Gutierrez, Andres Vadin, and Diego Alverez “El Negro.” Prendidos covers different “palos” (styles of flamenco) with its three basic pillars: song, guitar, and dance. Catch all of it in the 7:30 pm show Friday, May 10, at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall.