Ministry

Play Juggling – New Sil-X 100mm Contact balls

News Flash:
Play Juggling just phoned us to announce that the new Sil-X 100mm is now in production.

The Ministry are super excited about these as we were involved in their development, and had the first 2 pre-production prototypes in November.
Drew developed his dream ball, then handed it over to J9 and Ed for testing and refinement.*

Review coming soon, but the pre-review says: Buy one. If you are into 1 ball contact juggling especially body rolling, this thing can double your consistency!

*Nope, we don’t get any money for it, but, like you we do get to play contact with a lovely ball.

80 ball Palmspinning – Liu Zhi

80 balls can be done!

Liu Zhi From China is trying to get into the Guinness record book.

Auto translated Article from Mop news.

4 balls on each layer with, a specially made plate between each layer which holds the balls together, a total of 20 layers makes a stack over 1 metre tall.

“80 ball has not reached the limit….” says Lui Zhi.

🙂
MoM

Hangar Fun / The End of the Hangar

The Hangar [WEBSITE LINK] is a circus studio in East London that the Ministry of Manipulation has called home for many years. Today, June 20th, the residents of the Hangar must leave the studio to make way for the 2012 Olympic developments.

Ryan Mellors lived and trained in the Hangar for 3 years. Drew was a regular visitor, and much of ”Multiball Contact” was drafted during his stay in the studio during the winter of 2005. Jeanine came to visit us during the summer, and Colin and Ed became regular guests in 2006.

The Hangar is documented in the following videos.
Hangar Workshop
Hangar Workshop (promo)
Contact at the Hangar (Available via In Isolation DVD)
Ryan Practice

And of course, most famously, Hangar Fun.

Enjoy.

From all of us at the Ministry, we bid a fond farewell to this magical studio.

Ministry Workshop – Vienna 2007

Ryan Mellors

Ryan Mellors lead an official Contact Juggling and Manipulation workshop in Vienna on May 16th, 2007.

Workshop Description:

What is manipulation? How can we tell if an object is isolated, and how do we correct our technique? How can we build more complicated illusions? And how can we use these techniques in our performances?

This one day intensive workshop is aimed at all levels of jugglers/circus performers interested in developing new material with a single prop. Through group work and individual skill-builing, Ryan Mellors (Canada / England) will lead exercises in movement and manipulation, assisting the students in developing new material and giving them a basic foundation in movement techniques such as mime, bodypopping, liquid and other illusional movement styles.

Contact Juggling techniques will be taught with 1 ball and this will serve as the basis for a lot of the exercises, but students will be encouraged to move beyond the ball and integrate their own props into much of the workshop. Jugglers of all skill levels and dancers are invited to attend, and they are encouraged to bring whatever props they wish to develop material with.

UPDATE: Video is done!
Check THIS PAGE for an article detailing the workshop experience.
For more Info: contact David

The Dot Org Xmas Tree

Dot Org Xmas Tree
Thanks to Keri for this year’s Tree image

The Tradition of the Xmas Tree Videos:

– Every year www.contactjuggling.org members create new video greeting cards for each other, and place them under the sacred DotOrg Xmas tree to be opened on Xmas morning.

– If you want to release a video on christmas morning (whatever time that is for you!), Post your link to the forum in THE ContactJuggling.Org THREAD.

Be sure to check the Ministry Blog in the days after Christmas for the best of the Xmas Tree submissions… a whole new batch of contact juggling videos to accompany your new christmas props 🙂

Anna Haraszti – Writings on manipulation

The Ministry’s Anna Haraszti discusses her process for creating her solo from ‘In Isolation.’ Her full essay can be read here:

“Playing is getting lost in a world that has no, or very little connection with everyday reality. Creating a world of its own it allows us to be in the moment and, every now and then, to dissolve or disappear in the process.

In my interpretation, contact juggling happens when the body is in harmony with the ball: when technique is not necessarily what defines the movement, but where the body finds its own ways to relate to the object, alters already acquired technique, or blends in with the smoothness of the ball’s flow in space.

…

Contact with other contact jugglers has been one of the most inspiring aspects of contact juggling for me over the years. in my experience sharing elements of technique, a range of possible approaches, viewpoints and, most of all playing time, is what can ultimately promote the continuous dynamic development of any art-form; meaning, that perhaps the future of contact juggling depends on the way people inspire, motivate, influence, or even critique one another. True enough, creativity needs to be given sufficient time and space to grow – however, we create our own opportunities, and through them our own realities as well.