Ben Beever
Ben Beever
About his worldrecord and his aims
Interviewed by Daan Yperman, 10-01-2004
- Before starting, congrats on your world record (12b)! How does it feel to be one of the only (and the second) juggler to have flashed 12 balls?
- Thanks. It is quite satisfying to know that no-one has yet (10/1/04) flashed a higher number of balls. Being particularly good at something certainly increases self-confidence.
- Did you have to try that a lot? When did you start thinking 'Maybe (or for sure) I can flash 12'?
- I estimate that I tried about 500 times to flash 12 before it worked (in 2001), but I believed I could do it a few months after flashing 11 (in 1999).
- What was the first thing you've done after flashing 12?
- After shouting "Yes" very loud? Sat down happy. (Then went to the pub for a beer.)
- How do people react to that record?
- Parents and friends were happy for me. When strangers find out, they are amazed, and sometimes they don't believe it. I don't normally tell people about it though, because I don't want them to treat me differently just because I have a world record.
- Do you have the ambition to flash 13? Qualify 11?
- Yes. I have been working on 13 occasionally for the last 2 or 3 years. My best 2 attempts were 10/13 and 11/13, but I am certain that I have the potential to catch all 13, and am hoping to have flashed 13 before the end of 2006 (although I can't promise).
Qualifying 11: This is not a priority, but I expect to achieve this before I stop juggling. - Who do you think will maybe flash 13 also? Will it take a long time?
- I think Peter Bone (UK) has the potential to flash 13 before 2006.
- Some time ago there was a discussion about Jason Garfield on rec.juggling. What do you think about him? What about Anthony Gatto?
- I like to think that Jason's mean and moody image is just pretend, and that really he is a nice guy (I'm an optimist). I have only spoken to him once (at a convention in the UK). I didn't know who he was, but I saw him trying to run a 9 ball cascade. I was quite impressed, but he kept throwing the first ball forward, so I walked up to him and tried to give him some advice on what was going wrong. I got the feeling he would have preferred me not to.
As a juggler he is obviously excellent (much better than me at clubs & rings), and I hope I get a chance to watch one of his routines on video one day.
I went to Anthony's workshop at the British convention in York, and had a brief talk with him there. He seemed quite friendly, but I could detect the competitiveness which made him so determined 'to be the best'. As a numbers juggler myself, I (would) love to watch long runs with 9 balls, and Anthony is pretty much the only person in the world who can do this. Just imagine what he could do with some decent juggling balls! - Who do you think is 'the best upcoming juggler'?
- Zillon and Jon Udry (both from England) are the two most amazing young jugglers I've known over the last few years. By the time they are 18 (in several years time), they could both be flashing 11.
- Who has inspired you during your juggling-career?
- Mike Day (on Tomorrow's World), Sean Gandini, Graham Currie (my current Bridge partner), and Colin Wright have all been big influences on my juggling.
- What does your family/friends say about the fact you juggle?
- My family think it's rather strange, but most of my friends are jugglers themselves.
- How long do you practice (on average)?
- 2 - 4 hours per week.
- Do you always juggle alone, or also in groups?
- I juggle alone for 1 - 2 hours / week, and with other jugglers for 1 - 2 hours / week. Most of my practice is with solo ball patterns, but I also enjoy club passing (forced passing sequences in particular).
- Do you juggle to music? If yes, what music?
- I very much enjoy juggling to dance music (trance, techno, happy hardcore, drum & bass etc), not just because I enjoy listening to this type of music, but the speed of the music fits well with 5 - 7 ball juggling patterns.
- What country do you think is the greatest country for jugglers? Why?
- I've heard Tonga has some amazing women who use the shower pattern to do up to 8 nuts. However I don't really know enough about the jugglers of any countries other than the UK to make a valid judgement. One thing I do know is that since the 'discovery' of Barnesy bags (the balls I, Peter Bone, and Luke Burrage use), British jugglers have had a lot of success.
- What's the best convention you have ever been to?
- The 2002 European convention in Bremen, Germany was probably the most enjoyable one I've been to, although Rotterdam the year before was also excellent. My other favourite conventions are the Bristol and British conventions.
- What trick do you find the greatest?
- I find the 5 ball Mills Mess really beautiful to watch and very pleasant to juggle, but my favourite has to be the [9876]33 quadplex from a 7 ball cascade.
- What kind of juggling props do you use?
- 50g, 80g & 110g Barnesy bags (cloth underfilled with millet) and 76g underfilled Fluozies. I'm hoping to get some underfilled suades soon. I am very disappointed with the balls available from juggling shops - they are always filled to bursting point (and they usually do within a few months), so that they are likely to bounce out when you try to catch them. If any juggling shops are reading this, please please make underfilled cloth / suade balls, so that we can catch them more easily.
- Do you do other things concerning the circus?
- I ride a snakeboard, and do trampolining occasionally (up to double somersaults). One of my main issues with trampolining is that there is less acceptance of variation or creativity. For example, after I had done a back somersault with half twist to seat drop, I was told not to do it again because "it's not a move". I can see why care needs to be taken with sports like trampolining, but it's rather off-putting to be told that there are only certain acceptable moves. I do still enjoy watching it though, and I recently saw a Cirque-de-Soliel trampolining finale which was fantastic. I'm not very good with other props like diablo, devilsticks and unicycle, but I very much admire the skills of people who are.
- What's a fantastic website that you think quite a low number of people know about?
- Pogo.com is great for games (including free online bridge), but if you mean juggling sites, I only use the IJDb and the sites that it links to.
- What do you want to say to all starting jugglers?
- Juggling is one of the richest pastimes there is - it will improve your artisticness, dexterity, reasoning, concentration, co-ordination, strength, fitness, and confidence. So don't let anyone tell you that juggling is a waste of time. If you are interested in the mathematical side of juggling, have a look at my 'Guide To Juggling Patterns' article on the IJDb website.
- Do you want to say something else to jugglers?
- Experiment!
Much love,
BenThank you very much!!!
You are very welcome.
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