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Poi
Yes, we have poi available for practice!
If you're just starting to learn, here are some suggestions for where to begin.
Beginner-Level Tricks
Two-beat weave
Three-beat weave
Ankle wraps
Three-beat weave with a turn
Butterfly (we suggest you enter and exit butterflies by using ankle wraps, because it will make transitions so much easier down the road)
Wikipedia actually has a pretty decent list of poi tricks, too.
If you're feeling ready for some more advanced things, feel free to go explore.
Suggested YouTube Tutorial Channels:
Juggling
Yes, we have juggling balls, and juggling clubs, and juggling rings available for practice!
We're putting together a list of tricks to start with! You'll find them here soon!
We're putting together a list of our favorite juggling tutorial channels! It will appear here soon!
In the meantime, we suggest you download the app "Juggling Lab," and check out these videos for inspiration:
Juggling a Baby - starts around 2:00
Wes Peden, Volcano vs. Palm Tree - lots of short snippets of fascinating things
Water on Mars - the group that Wes Peden is in- lots of tricks, lots of talent, LOTS of choreography. Shoutout to 1:33.
Komei Aoki - clubs: a mix a juggling and balancing
Basketball with Josh Horton - if you ignore the trick shots, the juggling is actually pretty impressive. Shoutout to 0:50-1:02 with the knives and apple.
Hula Hoops
Yes, we have hula hoops available for practice!
If you're just starting to learn, here are some suggestions for where to begin.
Beginner-Level Tricks
Waist hooping
Vortex
We'll be adding to the list soon!
Also, if you haven't seen the How to Hula Hoop Rap, you should. It's pretty great.
We're putting together a list of our favorite hooping tutorial channels! It will appear here soon!
In the mean time, here are some videos for inspiration:
Ke$ha Hoop Dance
Sydney's Electric Forest Audition - shoutout to 0:51-0:59.
Electric Forest Hoop Troupe
Rachel France, on Ellen - a little less complicated, and a lot less contortionism
Lauren Cole Showcase - quad isolations!
Tetraorbliss - two beat weave with three hoops at 2:11, plus some interesting geometric arrangements, and some casual juggling (is that FIVE hoops?) at 3:13
Dizzy Dynamic
Jillery Hoops - she's in Rochester, NY!
RachaelLust - less dancing, more technically interesting tricks- shoutout to the upper arm hits at 1:02
Steph Payne - using larger hoops. Also, shoutout to 1:14-1:19, an alternative to a dynamic wedge.
Rebecca, Alisha, Shelby - shoutout to 1:02-1:06. Please know that there is more to hoop dancing than this video.
Grace Good, Fantasy - more dancing!
Diabolo
Diabolo resources coming soon!
Spinning Plates
Plates resources coming soon!
Devil Sticks / Flower Sticks
Devil stick resources coming soon!
Begleri
Begleri resources coming soon!
YoYo
YoYo resources to come soon!
Tarot Cards
An honorary circus art! If you would like a personalized tarot card reading, or would like to know more about the cards, come to a Circus Club meeting and ask for Jessica.
Lyra, Aerial Silks, Acrobatic Equipment
We don't have any aerial materials, at the moment. If you're willing to go to Long Island, we suggest you check out Circus Warehouse, which has classes for aerial silks, beginner level and up. In the Geneseo-adjacent area, there's Aerial Arts in Rochester, which offer fitness classes where (we believe) they will teach you basic-to-intermediate aerial movements. If there is enough interest, we might arrange a Geneseo Circus Club field trip there in Fall 2019.
That being said, we've had several people contact us with interest in adding aerial silks to our collection of club-owned supplies. If you know anything about acquiring aerial silks, or what is involved with getting approval for them, or even how to use them, please let us know! Email juggle@geneseo.edu, and please share any resources you've come across that could bring us closer to having these props.
Silk Fans
We borrowed silk fans from a club member last year, and loved them, but haven't gotten a pair for the club yet. If you have any fans (in any condition!) that you would like to donate to us, we would love to take them.
Here's a video to see what it looks like with three people, six fans, and a lot of choreography: Silk Fan Act.
Circus for Everyone
We understand that some people don't have two hands to juggle with, and that some people have joint pain, and some people just can't figure out how to move their hips in a circle to hula hoop. But, have no fear! There is a circus skill for everyone.
We put together a couple of suggestions in case you'd like to learn something on your own, but you're always welcome to come to the meetings and hang out with some friendly people, or swing by and ask for more specific suggestions. We're always happy to teach!
Feel free to read this BBC article about Cirque Bijou, which is a professional circus performing group made up of self-identifying disabled artists. If you come across similar stories, feel free to send them our way, because we're always intrigued by how people adapt to situations to do things they enjoy.
Single Hand/Arm Tricks
Juggling: Two balls in one hand, three balls in one hand, even four balls in one hand. Videos to come soon!
Begleri: an excellent one-handed circus art. Check out the Zac Compilation on YouTube, which features the ThumbChucks brand of begleri. There are lots of tutorial videos if you do a quick search.
Poi: Hold two poi in one hand! Videos to come soon!
Hula Hooping: One-armed Vortexes are super common (and look awesome), and isolations are usually single-handed, although many videos use the other hand for illusion effect.
Low Mobility Tricks
Juggling: As much as we love juggling, there's a lot of bending down to pick up balls when you inevitably drop them while learning. We suggest you start with a different circus art, until you find a friend to toss you balls every time you drop one.
Begleri: an excellent limited mobility circus art. Check out the Zac Compilation on YouTube, which features the ThumbChucks brand of begleri. There are lots of tutorial videos if you do a quick search.
Contact Juggling (Acrylic Balls): Depending on the trick, there is high risk of ball dropping, so it's helpful to have someone around to hand you the dropped one. There are plenty of tricks to start out with that just practice hand dexterity, though. Check out Kuma Films on YouTube for inspiration! Note that upper body mobility is somewhat necessary for contact juggling, but lower body is less necessary as long as you have the means to retrieve dropped props.