The 2009 Berkeley Juggling and Unicycling Festival
that's not a moon, it's a juggling festival
When
- Friday, September 18th 5pm to midnight
- Saturday, September 19th 9am to midnight
- Sunday, September 20th 9am to 5pm
Where
Berkeley High School
1980 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA
Greetings! The 2009 Berkeley Juggling and Unicycling Festival is nearly here, and we hope you can join us for our most exciting festival yet.
We have a new, larger venue, later hours, a show packed full of talent and, best of all, you! Whatever your game and however well you play -- whether you're just throwing that thrilling first beanbag or working on throw seventeen in a 5-ball Mills Mess, learning to pass or practicing 8-club three count, jumping downed trees or tottering along a wall on your girlfriend's unicycle -- the Berkeley Juggling and Unicycling Festival is the place to be. Meet some of the best jugglers and unicyclists on the West Coast and watch in awe as they ply their craft. Pass along the joy and teach someone a new trick. And if you're lucky enough to be just starting your journey with the circus arts, you couldn't find a better place to pick up the basics. Read on, and join us September 18th at Berkeley High School to kick it all off...
Locations, Maps and Transportation
i can take you as far as tashi station...
As you may have heard, we had some last-minute hiccups with our venue this year. Never fear! The variety show will maintain its traditional stage at King Jr High School, but we managed to secure a larger, more centrally located gym at Berkeley High School for daily juggling, unicycling and general fun. This relocation, though undoubtably an inconvenience for those of you accustomed to driving straight to King, means that we can finally keep the gym open until midnight on Friday and Saturday!
In addition to the extra space and late hours, our new location puts us closer to downtown Berkeley with it's pleathora of shops and restaurants, and is a mere two blocks from the downtown BART station. We encourage all attendees to carpool and use public transit if at all possible. Saturday morning, Berkeley has a large Farmer's Market just across the street with great food and a public plaza for any attendees who want to sample local produce and the Bay Area sunshine.
Berkeley High School
primary festival venue
1980 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA
King Jr High School
variety show stage
1781 Rose St.
Berkeley, CA
Variety Show
great show kid, that was one in a million!
The Berkeley Festival's public variety show has become a community event, attracting over 400 attendees last year! We work hard to provide a show with a variety of acts from the full spectrum of circus arts, and this year promises to be our best ever: after a two year absence, Frank Olivier will be returning as emcee, and together we have assembled a selection of performers from the incredible pool of talent here in the Bay Area.
The show is family friendly, fun for all ages and the best entertainment value you can possibly imagine! All show proceeds go directly to funding the Berkeley Juggling and Unicycling Festival and supporting circus arts in our community. This year, we are partnering with Climate Theater to make our event even greater! Aside from arriving with your props and positive spirit, attending the show (and convincing your friends to join you!) is the best way to support our efforts.
BJUF Variety Show
When and Where and How Much?
- Saturday, September 19th at 7:30pm doors at 7:10pm
- King Jr High School, 1781 Rose St., Berkeley, CA
- $10, General Admission
Franklin Olivier developed his unique off-beat brand of humor in San Francisco's comedy clubs, and has shared the bill with Dana Carvey, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and many others. After three years on the Broadway hit show "Sugar Babies", Olivier has a growing number of television appearances including The Tonight Show, Comic Strip Live, and shows for PBS, HBO, BBC, Disney and more. He also headlines Las Vegas, comedy and theater festivals, and performs countless corporate shows.
With a background in music and theatre, Louise began training aerial silks in 2005. She performed on both coasts with Firefly Aerial Acrobatics and taught silks and static trapeze at The New York Circus Arts Academy. She currently resides in the Santa Cruz mountains with her rockin' husband, Corbin Dunn. She can be found teaching silks classes at Gravity Arts in Santa Cruz.
Draco the Juggler (Chris Garcia) was influenced and taught under the style of Matt Hall, a Japanese teacher and amazing juggler at his school, Silver Creek High. Draco was the vice president and president of the SC Jugglers his junior and senior year. After high school he became the 2008 CA Diabolo Champion upon winning first place at the Cal State Yoyo Contest in San Francisco. He is now head organizer of the UC Santa Cruz Juggling club and head organizer of the Santa Cruz Juggling Festival.
Hang onto your hats, Ryan, the current World Freestyle Unicycle Champion, is about to blow you away with a demonstration of freestyle unicycling at the highest levels!
Michael Davis is the original comedian/juggler of the New Vaudeville. For over 25 years he has entertained audiences with his wit and skill on the television, broadway stage and countless corporate comedy shows.
This eclectic and versatile Juggling Quartet combines stunning new age club passing with creative choreography and hilarious antics in an awe inspiring new stage routine that won them the 2009 IJA Team Championships Bronze Medal.
Kaori Matsuzawa has been riding unicycles for 13 years with unmatched grace. She was a competitor and a unicycle coach in her native Japan, and is now a full-time student at a California university. Kaori has won world championships in individual free style and pairs freestyle, and has been runner-up in group freestyle. She was also featured on Dan Heaton's "Defect" DVD. Kaori occasionally teaches unicycling in different countries and states.
Jean-Paul was born in Algeria, Africa to fourth-generation circus performers (trained in the European tradition) who passed on their art to their family. At the young age of 5, he made his debut as the youngest high-wire performer in the world in London, England. This was the start of a long and distinguished career showcasing his talents in numerous European and American circuses and variety shows. In terms of his current work, he prides himself on his shows being a variety act for all age groups–sophisticated humor for the adults and sight humor for the younger set.
Noah Malone is 14 years old and has been juggling for nearly three years; moving quickly from basics with a set of gift beanbags to practicing two hours a day. Noah won a five ball best trick competition medal in 2009, and came in second place at the World Juggling Federation 2007 training camp.
Practitioners of functional, organic movement coupled with a deep mind-body awareness for fitness and fun. The Athletic Playground will be showcasing the fruits of their labor.
The Stanford Juggling Research Institute presents their latest findings from the cutting edge of geeky, scientific juggling. We'll award a special prize to audience members who draw correct casual diagrams for all the patterns SJRI juggles.
Perhaps best known for his riveting performance in a supporting role in the cult horror classic, "It's Alive", at the tender age of eleven, Dan is also a first class juggler, a crack comedian and rather inventive with a simple can of tennis balls,