An interview with Mike Moore, Juggling Festival director
The University of Guelph’s juggling club is producing a juggling festival in the University Centre on August 26 and 27. The Jugglers Of the University of Guelph (JOUG) have also invited popular jugglers, Jorden Moir and Matan Presberg, to perform at War Memorial Hall.The Ontarion interviewed Mike Moore about his interest in juggling and the festival. Moore is a PhD candidate in chemistry education at the University of Guelph and the director of the juggling festival.
Mirali Almaula: What is your association to juggling at U of G?
Mike Moore: “I was one of the four founding executives that revived the old circus club on campus into a juggling club starting back in 2008.”
Video of Mike Moore juggling by Alora Griffiths
MA: What do you like about juggling and what do you think audiences enjoy about juggling?
MM: “I like pushing juggling in ways that it hasn’t gone before: developing novel movements, varying existing tricks in new ways, etc. I think audiences like seeing things that they’ve never seen or never thought of. I think it’s similar to doing academic research though, in that there needs to be a balance of familiarity and novelty. In research, projects must be (with rare exceptions) rooted in the current literature, and extend beyond it. With juggling, a performance should show something new and interesting, but still be comprehensible.”
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(Photo by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion)[/caption]
MA: When did you start juggling?
MM: “I learned to juggle between matches in a tennis competition around 2004 or 2005. I didn’t have anything better to do!”
MA: When did you start the juggling club?
MM: “I co-founded a high school juggling club about a year later because a friend asked if I were interested in doing so. Similarly, I figured, ‘Why not?’”
MA: How did your interest in juggling begin?
MM: “My real interest in juggling grew from the seed planted by my tennis coach, watered by the community of my high school juggling club, and fertilized by a sense of competition. I’m sure it also helped that I met a woman named Emily on my third day of going to U of G — September 2008 — because she was and is an amazing juggler. We got married last October!”
MA: Where do you perform juggling around Guelph?
MM: “The club has performed all over Guelph for many reasons, including to raise money for charities — the food bank, several fundraisers for cancer treatment development like Relay for Life, etc., international student organizations (ISO, Chinese Students’ Association, One World), after school programs, school barbeque fundraisers, orientation week events, and more. We keep busy!”
MA: Why have you organized a juggling festival?
MM: “The festival started in 2015 when a handful of juggling friends were planning to visit from Rochester. I thought it would be nice to throw a bit of a juggling party, which turned into a small festival. I ran a similar “mini-fest” last year, and finally decided to really go all-in this year: We’re having our first show and inviting some really spectacular guests!”
Video of Mike Moore juggling by Alora Griffiths
Those interested in juggling can learn how to juggle and learn tricks at the Juggling Festival.
Photo by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion.