IJA eNewsletter – May 2024

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www.juggle.org		    IJA eNewsletter
   May 2024Editors: Don Lewis & Martin Frost
(ijanews@juggle.org)

CONTENTS

  • Bill Giduz, 1952 – 2024
  • 2024 IJA Festival in Green Bay
  • Four Day Intensive on “Mastering Form and Flow in Juggling” with Cyril Rabbth
  • Online voting open for 2024 IJA Board of Directors Election
  • Renewing your membership online
  • 2025 IJA Festival Director — Call for letters of interest
  • Visit Lambeau Field in Green Bay
  • IJA Board meetings
  • Latest articles in eJuggle

 

 

Bill Giduz, 1952 – 2024  by Martin Frost and Don Lewis

Bill Giduz

Bill Giduz shepherded the growing IJA into the modern era through his many years of selfless dedication to the organization, including giving the IJA a professional look by creating Juggler’s World magazine and then editing and publishing it for nearly two decades.

Bill invented, named and popularized joggling, including setting up the first IJA joggling competitions and running them for years, in the process making joggling a staple of IJA festivals.

He was IJA life member #1 and the IJA’s biggest promoter. In addition to publishing Juggler’s World, he served as IJA President, Board member, Affiliates Director, Joggling Director, World Juggling Day organizer, and IJA photographer, and was one of the first to receive the IJA’s Extraordinary Service Award.

Below are links to a number of tributes to Bill Giduz, plus an article by the quiet man who has been a major force in juggling. On Facebook you’ll find several professional jugglers who credit Bill with quietly helping them along the way.

Bill Giduz joggling

 

 

 

 

2024 IJA Festival in Green Bay  by Afton Benson, 2024 Festival Co-director

IJA 2024 Festival Green BayIJA 2024 Festival Green Bay

Less than a week left to pre-register for the 2024 IJA Festival in Green Bay, WI, and you are not going to want to miss a minute of this festival.  But no worries if you cannot join us for the whole week, we’ll have gym passes available onsite!  View registration and pricing.

Highlights for 2024

Interstellar Open Stage  An open stage for up and coming performers of all ages.  Interested in performing?  Want more information?  Check out the event page here.

Exclusive 77th Annual IJA Sweaters  You must pre-order the sweater to ensure you get one.  If you already registered and didn’t purchase a sweater but would like to, email treasurer@juggle.org.

Status wristbands  A new, optional, way for folks to communicate if they are taking a break or if they are down to juggle.  They will be available at the Registration desk.  If someone is wearing a wristband and the Gold side is out, they may be down to interact!  If the Black side is showing they are taking a break, so check back later.

Disc Golf Outings  The IJA will have custom disc golf discs on site at the festival and will be coordinating two outings during the week to local disc golf courses.

Toby Walker  Toby will be attending the IJA and will be delivering a variety of workshops for all festival attendees.  Special thanks to Unna Med for ensuring that these are accessible to all attendees.

Club YJA  The IJA’s Youth Juggling Academy (YJA) will be holding youth focused workshops Tues-Fri from 10am to Noon.  Sign up here.

Juggling Education Recognition  Benjamin Domask-Ruh will be doing a 4-day workshop intensive on how to teach a week-long juggling curriculum.  Attendees will receive a recognition letter from the IJA for attending this workshop.

International Flow Space Station (IFSS)  Fun in Motion is sponsoring your late night fun and entertainment, with a glow-worthy event fueled by our interplanetary commUnity.  The IFSS will be equipped with the latest and greatest LED juggling and flow-arts tools to light up your practice and glow up your flow!  Fri & Sat evenings starting at 10pm.

That’s a huge list of highlights!  These are all in addition to the brilliant workshops and events we have planned throughout the week.  Register now for the best deal on your Event Package, festival shirt, exclusive workshops, merch, and show tickets.

Festival Workshops

Matt and Lisa Hall are coordinating workshops at the festival this year.  We’re still looking for people who want to Teach a Workshop.

View the current workshop schedule (a work in progress).

The IJA workshops add a magical touch to a week of juggling.  You can help spread the magic by teaching a workshop.

 

 

Four Day Intensive on “Mastering Form and Flow in Juggling” with Cyril Rabbth

July 10-13, 2024, 1pm – 4pm
Cost: $200.  Space is limited to 20 — Register for the workshop now

Cyril is a French artistic juggler living in America who has worked with world-class jugglers, notably Nadejda Akopovna Akvits at the Moscow Circus School and Italo Medini at the Ecole National du Cirque d’Annie Fratellini.  They have been performing for 30 years, with Cirque du Soleil, Absinthe in Las Vegas, and beyond.  While performing an average of 10 shows a week for a total of over 10,000 shows, he developed a series of exercises and routines to stay healthy and avoid injuries, all the while improving his skills.  This workshop is an intensive exploration of the tools he learned and developed to be optimal, grounded, and efficient in his juggling practice.

You will learn a series of comprehensive tools to structure and advance your juggling practice:

  • Optimize your body posture by uncovering deficiencies and making targeted corrections.
  • Master physical exercises to support your juggling practice, strengthen your body, and reduce the risk of inflammation.
  • Improve your number of catches by increasing your endurance, and progress to more advanced techniques.
  • Explore beyond the usual pointers and take a deep dive into your nervous system, visual field, and muscle chains to stabilize your juggling patterns.
  • Develop your creativity through guided exercises around research, performance, and composition at the end of each session.

You will work on each category every day and progressively increase the level of difficulty.  The workshop structure is designed to be adapted and tailored to you and your goals.  In the end, you are the one in charge of picking and choosing from the myriad of information, to decide which ones work for you.

Head to the Workshop page for details.

 

 

Online voting open for 2024 IJA Board of Directors Election  by Martin Frost

The annual IJA election for members of the Board of Directors takes place at the IJA Festival in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The nominees are listed below.

The IJA Board of Directors is comprised of seven people who make policy and collectively decide on the direction of the IJA.  Each director is elected for a two-year term.  There are four director positions up for election this year, so IJA members can vote for up to four people in this election.  The nominees are listed below, and their candidacy statements are on the IJA website.

WHO CAN VOTE?

All regular, life, youth, and family IJA members who are at least 13 years of age as of July 11, 2024, can vote.

HOW DO I VOTE?

You can vote at the fest on Thursday, July 11, 2024, or you can vote online from now until 11am CDT on July 11, 2024.  Voting either way is easy and only takes a minute or two.  Voting at the festival ends thirty minutes after the Annual General Meeting is adjourned.

You can use the following link to sign in and vote online now.  It will ask you to enter your IJA username and password and then it should take you to the voting page.  (If it doesn’t take you there, after signing in, go to IJA 2024 election and cast your ballot there.  If you have any trouble signing in, use the login form at the bottom of ym.juggle.org.)

NOMINEES

Here are the nominees for member of the IJA Board of Directors.  You can view their candidacy statements online at www.juggle.org/business/candidates/.

  • Benjamin Domask-Ruh
  • Jonathan Perry
  • Sofia Noethe
  • Noel Yee
  • Albert Lucas

 

 

Renewing your membership online  by Martin Frost

To renew your IJA membership, go to: juggle.org/renew and sign in.  If that takes you to the Manage Profile page, you don’t need to renew yet.  Otherwise it will lead you to updating your profile and then to paying your dues.

If you have any trouble signing in to renew, use the login form at the bottom of ym.juggle.org.  And if you still have trouble after trying that, click on CONTACT US at the top of any IJA page and use the form to report the issue.

 

 

2025 IJA Festival Director — Call for letters of interest  by Ross Berenson, IJA Board Chair

Call for letters of interest for the 78th annual fest happening during the week of July 14-20, 2025.

Are you passionate about curating unforgettable experiences for the juggling community?  Do you thrive in dynamic environments where creativity and organization intersect?  Join our team as a Festival Director and play a pivotal role in shaping the 2025 IJA Festival in Evansville, Indiana.  The IJA would love to hear from those who are interested!

Responsibilities:

  • Organize the week long festival.
  • Oversee all aspects of festival planning, from conceptualization to execution, ensuring seamless coordination and exceptional attendee experiences.
  • Collaborate with the board, volunteers, artists, vendors, sponsors, venues and local partners, to align on goals.
  • Develop and manage budgets, timelines, and resources.
  • Choose to lead a team of your choosing, providing guidance, support, and clear communication to ensure everyone is aligned with the festival’s vision and objectives.
  • Craft shows that highlight the vibrant spirit of our community and embody the core values of our organization.  Let’s showcase the very best of who we are and what we stand for!
  • Implement comprehensive marketing and promotional strategies to drive attendance and enhance the festival’s visibility and reputation.
  • Evaluate the success of the festival through post-event analysis and feedback collection, identifying areas for improvement and innovation.

Past festival directors are here to cheer you on and help guide you whenever you need it!  While some parts of the festival, like the competitions and shows, are tried and true favorites, there’s also plenty of room for you to toss in your own ideas and make this experience unique!  So, let’s team up and have a blast creating something unforgettable, together!

If you’re excited about the position and eager to learn more, don’t hesitate to reach out to the IJA Chair.  Send a letter of interest stating why you’d like to be the Festival Director, any experience you have organizing events and volunteers, and any ideas on how you’d make the festival great!

 

 

Visit Lambeau Field in Green Bay  by Mike Sullivan

Lambeau FieldTAKE IN BREWS AND VIEWS AND SEE THE SISTINE CHAPEL OF FOOTBALL

Jump on the IJA’s happy fun bus tour and pub crawl in Green Bay and visit world-famous Lambeau Field to start the week!

We have a few seats left on this great way to explore your IJA festival home for the week and tour one of the world’s most iconic stadiums.  Our bus will take us for a visit to all our IJA festival venues and the best close-by bars and restaurants, as well as the amazing National Railroad Museum and legendary Lambeau Field for a VIP tour.

During our festival week, you’ll have a special opportunity to tour Lambeau Field, the Packers Hall of Fame, the Packers Pro Shop, and even go down to field level and see where so much NFL history has been made, up-close.

It’s an incredible experience, whether you’re a Packers fan or not.  Even non-football fans will be impressed by it all, and it’s something you will always remember about your week in Green Bay.

The Lambeau Field tour is just one stop among several on the special IJA pre-fest bus tour of Green Bay, set for Monday afternoon, July 8.

We’ll depart from the Hyatt Hotel at 1pm and visit all our festival venues, including The Meyer Theater, the KI Center, many area restaurants and bars, the riverfront Hagemeister Park dining area, Lambeau Field and the amazing National Railroad Museum.

Lambeau FieldWe’ll slake our thirst along the way with a pint or two of some great local Wisconsin brews, including plenty of time at Lambeau Field and the 1919 Kitchen and Tap.  By dinner time, we’ll be back near the Hyatt for a final draft and optional group dinner at one of the great casual restaurants near the hotel.

Tickets for all this, including our custom charter bus, admission and tour at Lambeau Field, our tour of the National Railroad Museum, and two local drafts at our pub stops, are just $85 each.  Best of all, you’ll be with dozens of your new (or old) juggling friends!

Be sure to make your travel plans so you arrive into Green Bay in time for our 1pm CT departure on Monday afternoon!

Get your tickets now in the IJA Store.  Sign in to your IJA account and then look for 2024 Green Bay Bus Tour & Pub Crawl and Lambeau Field.

Any questions?  Please email vendors@juggle.org.

See you on the bus!

Mike Sullivan
Tour Organizer

 

 

IJA Board meetings  by Ross Berenson, IJA Board ChairIJA Board meetings

IJA Board meetings are open to all IJA members and are hosted on Zoom.  To find out the times of this month’s vision and business meetings, or to attend, please email ija.chair@juggle.org and say which meeting you’re interested in.

 

 

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