Great Interview W/ The Flying Karamazov Brothers

snip..........


DOOR: That seems to contradict the dominant feeling in our culture that juggling isn't an art. We tend to see juggling as juvenile, fringe behavior – the kids in the park do it. If Americans accepted juggling as an art form, would it change us?

MAGID: Yes. One great thing about juggling with other people is that it teaches cooperation. It's not a competitive sport where you're trying to best the other person. You're trying to do everything you can for the other person so that you both can survive. You don't want the balls to fall on the ground, so you give the best pass you possibly can. It's about communicating, reconfiguring, criticizing, and ultimately the goal is to work in sync to complete the design. Juggling teaches a completely different message than what we see on TV. We're not trying to be better than the other person or get on top. What we're trying to do is cooperate on all levels.

DOOR: Is that why juggling is associated with subversive politics? I was thinking more of all the teaching jobs there'd be for jugglers. You know, after school juggling lessons instead of piano or violin.

MAGID: Juggling in itself isn't a subversive act. It opens up the brain and gives you a new sense of reality. There has always been a tension between a magician and a juggler, because a juggler presents the truth. A magician as a performer is about deceit. He's hiding things. He's not doing anything that he's saying he's doing, it's all about what he's getting away with. A juggler is going, "Look! I'm really doing this! Honest, I'm doing this, oh my God, please believe me, I'm really doing this!" A juggler spends a lot of time to accomplish what he or she is showing you. It's real magic. It's something going on in front of your face that's true.

Juggling is about truth and cooperation. It opens up your brain and your heart. It's hard for a juggler to buy into right-wing politics. Left-wing politics aren't necessarily about truth, but right-wing politics require deceit.

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http://www.thedoormagazine.com/karamazov.html