up a juggling club might be useful in your region , as juggling is an often overlooked aspect of circus education .
CLUBS & CAMPS The core of our programming consists of more than one hundred members spread among six weekly juggling clubs : three recreational clubs , Advanced Club , Elite Club , and Ultimate Club on Thursday nights . Each club level has corresponding standards . To accommodate entry-level Jugheads , recreational standards are to be achieved by the end of one ’ s rookie year , while all other standards are entrance requirements . Each club day offers snack time ( included in tuition ), open juggling ( we carry a very large supply of props ), group warm-ups / drills , a meeting , and either a skill focus or a rehearsal . Our summer camps run mornings and afternoons for the first few weeks of summer . In addition to offering flexible attendance options to Jughead members , camps are our primary recruiting tool . When we give the kids a taste of kinetic skillslearning , our tradition-rich culture and our strong mentorship , they are often hooked . Our average Jughead is a member for about five years , and 79 have graduated from high school as Jugheads since we added 12 th grade in 2005 .
STANDARDS & SHOWS ( AKA SPORT & ART ) We approach juggling as both a sport and an art , focusing entire semesters of our school year on one aspect or the other . Our fall semester features endurance contests , standard testing , workshops , and maximum time to improve . Our spring semester focuses on two shows : our Winter Showcase , with 20 specialty acts ( solos & small ensembles ) and emcees performing their skills in choreographed routines and wellrehearsed skits ; and Juggle Jam , our pinnacle event where every Jughead participates in a variety show production with all-cast routines , weekly club routines , auditiontested specialty acts , a senior presentation , and a slide show highlighting every Jughead by name , portrait , and award .
Some Jugheads thrive in the athleticism of the fall and simply tolerate performing ; others endure just to get to our shows . We ’ ve found this rhythm of programming balances the athletic and the artistic . Even for quiet , nonperforming kids , there ’ s nothing quite as dramatic and fulfilling as having the entire company come together on a stage for two nights in May to celebrate skills intertwined with friendships , looking back to achievements and looking forward to dreams .
DEMOGRAPHICS & LEADERSHIP In our tuition-funded youth juggling company based in a suburb of Minneapolis , we have a wide demographic when it comes to geography , age , and background , with a current boy / girl ratio of 60 / 40 . Student ’ s commutes range from right down the block to 56 miles away , and we draw from 19 cities all around our Metro Area . We officially start with 3rd graders , but every so often an eager 2nd grader ( usually a younger sibling ) is allowed to join . Even my 16-member
Student Leadership Team ( SLT ) ranges in leadership style , from loud class-clown types to quieter , let ’ s-just-focus-on-juggling types . I lead the SLT in a fall retreat and monthly Saturday morning officers ’ meetings to discuss policies , plan events , brainstorm for Juggle Jam , and bring up issues of concern . Elite and Ultimate captains serve as player-coaches in a club with a paid coach but no other student leaders ; assistants work one day a week to earn tuition for Elite Club ; volunteers neither pay tuition nor are compensated other than gaining valuable leadership experience .
TRIPS & SPECIAL EVENTS Whether it ’ s three annual juggling festivals , our all-company “ Jingle Jam ” party in December , or our summer parades , gigs & family picnic , our special events magnify the relationships , virtues , and skills that are honed all year in each of our weekly juggling clubs . I have yet to predict which aspects of our yearly programming resonates most with any given Jughead ; one would think that it would be all about mountaintop experiences like Juggle Jam and the IJA Festival , but even high school-aged Jugheads surprise me by citing our 4th of July Parade appearance or our “ Jingle Jam ” party as their favorite event of the year . Maybe that ’ s because they get a better sense of connectedness when the whole company is informally gathered than when under the euphoric but inevitably stressful Winter Showcase or Juggle Jam .
RECOGNITION Many surveys cite that workers often prefer more recognition to
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