the argonaut
6
10.18.13
Exercise your body and mind The Juggleers welcome both inexperienced and veteran jugglers jared jonas rawr Juggling isn’t just for carnivals and clowns anymore. University of Idaho student organization The Juggleers brings carnival magic and wonder to the UI campus. Club presidents Cory Williamson and Carlin Mitchell, who founded the organization, said they are seeing the biggest turnout since the club began a year and a half ago. “We have an emailing list of fifty, but we see about ten of them per week,” Williamson said. Meeting once a week, the members hone their skills and help their fellow jugglers practice. The organization has a wide variety of equipment at their disposal, ranging from juggling balls to clubs and everything in between—though no flaming torches or chainsaws. Williamson said juggling may seem like an impossible feat of hand-eye coordination to some, but inexperienced
jugglers are highly encouraged to show up. “If we have someone new, we kind of welcome them,” Williamson said. “We try to make it very stress free.” Juggling isn’t just about the spectacle of performance though, it works as a great stress relief to some, said Mitchell. “Juggling is the exercise of body and mind,” Mitchell said. Juggling becomes meditative escape to those who are passionate about it, Mitchell said. “We find we perform better just in life after juggling,” Williamson said. Campus meetings aren’t the only thing on The Juggleers’ plates. The organization is hoping to spread their enthusiasm for juggling throughout Moscow. “A goal of ours has always been community outreach for The Juggleers—like how can we get into the elementary schools and middle schools and start teaching kids to juggle,” Mitchell said. The members promote juggling through variety shows they put on in elementary schools and other community programs. Most recently, they hosted a workshop for high school kids to come learn to juggle, Williamson said. With both Williamson and Mitchell graduating by the end of this year, they said they are grateful to have such a great turnout this year to carry on the club activities and are hoping to expand their roster even more. “Even if somebody thinks that they have a remote interest in learning how to juggle, (we) highly encourage them to come,” Mitchell said. Jared Jonas can be reached at arg-arts@uidaho.edu
jessica greene | rawr
Juggleer Club member Michael Atkinson practices his juggling moves with the rest of the club. The Juggleers meet from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Friday on the Theophilus Tower lawn.