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Michael Moschen is an American juggler.
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Michael Moschen is an American juggler.
Moschen was a classmate of Penn Jillette's at Greenfield High School in Greenfield, Massachusetts, class of 1973. The two worked together developing juggling performances immediately after high school. [1]
In 1977, Moschen performed in the first season of the Big Apple Circus. [2]
Moschen is particularly known for crystal ball manipulation. In the 1986 film Labyrinth , the crystal ball manipulations seen to be performed by David Bowie's character were actually done by Moschen, who stood behind Bowie during filming. Since Moschen could not see the objects he was juggling, it took many takes to film the scenes with the crystal balls. [3]
He received a fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation (the Genius Grant) in 1990. [Macarthur Fellows 1]
In 1991, an episode of Great Performances entitled "In Motion with Michael Moschen" focused on his creative process and showed several of his innovative juggling routines, featuring an original music score by David Van Tieghem. Moschen's television appearances also include An Evening at the Pops (with the Boston Pops Orchestra), Maury Povich, Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular, The Tonight Show , Jerry Lewis's MDA Telethon, The Montreal International Comedy Festival (Just for Laughs) on Showtime, Ricky Jay's Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, Sesame Street , The David Letterman Show and PBS's Alive from Off-Center . Moschen is featured on the recent A&E documentary The Mystery of Genius and made his television dramatic acting debut on L.A. Law . He has also appeared on TV in England, Spain, Italy, Chile and Argentina. In 2001, Moschen was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch". [4] [ better source needed ]
Moschen's 2002 talk for the TED Conference describes some of his thought processes. [5]
Cirque du Soleil commissioned Moschen[ when? ] to create a new work for their permanent theatrical circus in Las Vegas, Nevada.[ citation needed ]
Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object or many objects at the same time, most often using one or two hands but other body parts as well, like feet or head. Jugglers often refer to the objects they juggle as props. The most common props are balls, clubs, or rings. Some jugglers use more dramatic objects such as knives, fire torches or chainsaws. The term juggling can also commonly refer to other prop-based manipulation skills, such as diabolo, plate spinning, devil sticks, poi, cigar boxes, contact juggling, hooping, yo-yo, hat manipulation and kick-ups.
Contact manipulation is a form of object manipulation that focuses on the movement of objects such as balls in contact with the body. Although often used in conjunction with "toss juggling", it differs in that it involves the rolling of one or more objects without releasing them into the air.
Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson with George Lucas as executive producer. Based on conceptual designs by Brian Froud, the film was written by Terry Jones, and many of its characters are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The film stars Jennifer Connelly as 16-year-old Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King. In Labyrinth, Sarah embarks on a quest to reach the center of an enormous, otherworldly maze to rescue her infant half-brother Toby, whom she wished away to Jareth.
Pool Sharks is a 1915 silent short film. The film is notable for being the film acting and writing debut of W. C. Fields and also features early instances of stop-motion animation during a game of pool.
A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball commonly used in fortune-telling. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying. Used since Antiquity, crystal balls have had a broad reputation with witchcraft, including modern times with charlatan acts and amusements at circus venues, festivals, etc. Other names for the thing include crystal sphere, scrying ball, shew/show(ing) stone, and more variants by dialect.
The art of juggling has existed in various cultures throughout history. The beginning is uncertain. The first depictions were found in ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome, as well as medieval and modern societies.
Juggling practice has developed a wide range of patterns and forms which involve different types of manipulation, different props, numbers of props, and numbers of jugglers. The forms of juggling shown here are practiced by amateur, non-performing, hobby jugglers as well as by professional jugglers. The variations of juggling shown here are extensive but not exhaustive as juggling practice develops and creates new patterns on a regular basis. Jugglers do not consciously isolate their juggling into one of the categories shown; instead most jugglers will practice two or more forms, combining the varieties of juggling practice. Some forms are commonly mixed, for example: numbers and patterns with balls; while others are rarely mixed, for example: contact numbers passing. Many Western jugglers also practice other forms of object manipulation, such as diabolo, devil sticks, cigar box manipulation, fire-spinning, contact juggling, hat manipulation, poi, staff-spinning, balancing tricks, bar flair and general circus skills.
Red's Dream is a 1987 American animated short film written and directed by John Lasseter and produced by Pixar. The short film, which runs four minutes, stars Red, a unicycle. Propped up in the corner of a bicycle store on a rainy night, Red dreams of a fantasy where it becomes the star of a circus. Red's Dream was Pixar's second computer-animated short following Luxo Jr. in 1986, also directed by Lasseter.
Since the late 1980s, a large juggling culture has developed, revolving around local clubs and organizations, special events, shows, magazines, video sharing websites, Internet forums, juggling competitions and juggling conventions. Populating the scene are many juggling celebrities who are notable for being good or creative jugglers, entertaining performers, convention organizers, experts in their field, having a strong presence online or just for having an interesting personality, character or style.
When you pulled out three balls in 1973, what was going through people's minds was, 'I saw a deformed midget do that once.' But when you pulled out three balls in the '80s, it was, 'a guy in my dorm room used to do that.'
Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour is a 2003 television documentary miniseries starring Penn & Teller. The program was created by the CBC in association with Channel 4 Film. Ric Esther Bienstock was series producer and writer. She also directed the China episode.
Toby Froud is an English-American artist, special effects designer, puppeteer, filmmaker, and performer. He rose to prominence for his role as the baby who was wished away to the goblins in the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth. He became a puppeteer, sculptor, and fabricator for film, television, and theatre. He wrote and directed the 2014 fantasy short film Lessons Learned. He was the design supervisor of the 2019 streaming television series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Labyrinth is a soundtrack album by David Bowie and composer Trevor Jones, released in 1986 for the film Labyrinth. It was the second of three soundtrack releases in which Bowie had a major role, following Christiane F. (1981) and preceding The Buddha of Suburbia (1993). The soundtrack album features Jones' score, which is split into six tracks for the soundtrack: "Into the Labyrinth", "Sarah", "Hallucination", "The Goblin Battle", "Thirteen O'Clock", and "Home at Last".
In contact juggling, poi spinning, hooping and other types of object manipulation, an isolation is an illusion whereby a prop appears to float in space, with the performer's hands and body moving around it. In reality, the performer is supporting the prop, and countering his or her movement relative to the prop.
Jareth is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1986 musical fantasy film Labyrinth. Portrayed by David Bowie, Jareth is the powerful and enigmatic king of the goblins to whom protagonist Sarah Williams wishes away her baby brother Toby. Jareth gives Sarah thirteen hours to retrieve the baby from his castle at the centre of an enormous labyrinth, during which time he sets obstacles in her path and tries to entice her away from her quest.
Losharik is a 1971 Soviet animated film. It was directed by Ivan Ufimtsev, with the screenplay by Gennady Tsyferov and Genrikh Sapgir.
Toby Philpott is an English puppeteer best known for his work in motion picture animatronics during the 1980s in such films as The Dark Crystal and Return of the Jedi. Born into a family of entertainers, Philpott dropped out of school and traveled the world during the 1960s, squatting in various locations and surviving off money he earned from his work as a street performer, which included juggling, fire eating, magic shows, clowning and acrobatics. He began his film career after Jim Henson personally selected Philpott to work on the 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal, in which he worked side-by-side with Henson.
Michael Bruce Davis is a comedic American juggler. He came to nationwide attention in the United States in the early 1980s, appearing on NBC's Saturday Night Live six times, the only professional juggler to perform on the show.
The Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball, shortened to LOJ or simply known as the Labyrinth Masquerade Ball, is an annual masquerade ball and cosplay event in Los Angeles, California. The ball was first held in 1997.
Vincent Bruel was a French juggler. Born in Toulouse, he studied and taught at Le Lido, and is known for his experimental approach and studies on the practice of juggling.
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