Up in the air

Working as the "kid-check" guy at Chuck E. Cheese wasn't exactly what Eugono "Iggy" Isiorho considered exciting. The high school job where he earned $5.50 an hour making sure kids were with their parents wasn't making his time worthwhile. Kicking plastic balls back into the ball pit area was pretty boring for him -- until he started picking them up and tossing them around.\nAfter that, he began juggling anything he could get his hands on.\n"When I started out, I would go into locker rooms and get a hold of those locks that nobody claims," he said. "I'd start throwing around locks -- basically anything that resembled a juggle-able object."\nIsiorho, a junior studying computer science, brought his interest with him to IU where he is now the president of the juggling club. Involved since his freshman year, he adds that his klutziness hasn't kept him from improving his favorite skill.\nLaughing at his need to toss things around, Isiorho admits that his practicing juggling has actually got him into trouble.\n"Through doing this, I've worked up my reflexes so I'm good at catching things out of the blue. One time I did that and wound up catching something on fire -- you can really be as klutzy as you want and still be a good juggler," Isiorho said. "I have enough split pants to prove it."\nSince 1985, the IU juggling club has been teaching students and Bloomington residents the tricks of the trade.\nEighteen-year-old Lyz Farrellee, a recent Bloomington South High School graduate, has been attending the club's activities for the past two years. Her interest was fueled during one of her yearly summer trips to Rhode Island.\n"Two summers ago, the Big Apple Circus came and performed at an abandoned airfield and I went to go see them everyday," Farrellee said. "I just saw the jugglers and wanted to learn more about it and then researched and found information about IU's club. Then, I just showed up and they taught me how to juggle."\nHer involvement with the club earned her a role in the IU Opera Theatre's production of "Faust" and she also performed with her fellow jugglers during the half-time show of an IU women's basketball game. The club has also been involved with family night activities through RecSports and has put on a number of shows for BloomingKids. \nNot only is Farrellee interested in toss juggling, but she has taken interest in contact juggling as well. Instead of throwing things in the air, contact juggling is the art of manipulating objects (typically balls) so that they roll across, around and over the body.\nFarrellee admits that she has some out-of-the-ordinary interests. She wants to learn how to fire breathe and notes she can ride the unicycle as well.\n"We have nothing to do with clowns, though," said club treasurer, David Heald. \nNineteen years ago, Heald took hold of his high school friend's interest in juggling and hasn't stopped since. Now a member of IU's club, he tries to spread his knowledge about the trade to others who attend.\n"Jugglers are like the opposite of magicians," he said. "While magicians don't want to let their secrets be known, jugglers like to share their skills -- we're hobbyists, not performers."\nHeald said the skill levels of club members shouldn't intimidate those who are interested in joining. "It's a skill you need to practice, and that's what we're here to do. Jugglers are really friendly people, and here you can do it at any level of skill you want and at any level of commitment you want," Heald said. "It's just something interesting and different to do."\nIsiorho agreed. \n"It's fun to belong to the club, but if you really want to be good, you definitely need to practice," he said. "If you miss a dance step, that's pretty easy to cover up. If you drop something while juggling, everyone knows you made a mistake."\nFarrellee can also attest to the importance of practice.\n"I learned to juggle clubs here and for a couple weeks I practiced four hours a day, everyday. I was just motivated for some odd reason," she said.\nAside from weekly juggling meetings where members toss around everything from rubber balls to American and European clubs, the organization also has 'video parties' where participants meet to watch movies and share juggling tips and tricks. The group also recently went to see the National Acrobats of Taiwan perform at the IU Auditorium. These activities give the juggling club social benefits, Heald said.\nWhen the weather turns warmer, the club plans to practice outside in Dunn Meadow. There, members hope to entice those who pass by into joining.\n"Not everyone knows that they have the ability to juggle. Practicing and just tossing things around really helps out your hand-eye coordination," Isiorho stressed. "You just need two hands and two eyes, and this is the perfect place to learn"