Ivan Pecel is a living reminder to his audiences that without risks a person may have a hard time succeeding or achieving their goals. On Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Pecel came to perform for both students of Longwood University and also the residents of Farmville in Jarman Hall.
Throughout the show there were jokes made by Pecel and a big part of his performance was based on his interactions with the crowd. This included randomly scaring the crowd or individuals in the crowd, getting volunteers to come on stage and even reading questions off his Twitter feed.
Typically, many performers will ask their fans to follow them on social media, Pecel took that a step further by using his twitter to answer questions and talk with the crowd. The posts online ranged from silly comments to serious questions about him or the performance. Pecel also shared with the crowd about what is was like to be a juggler and a performer in general; especially when it came to the training and practice required to succeed at this profession.
“I really like anything that has to do with the audience, it’s different every time,” said Pecel.
While the balls, pins, knives and torches were twirling from his hands into the air; the voices from the crowd followed his pattern. Throughout the show, jokes and words of wisdom were thrown in the air, the same way the objects were juggled.
To a juggler the unexpected has to be expected, the tricks are hard and the crowds are tough; but to have a good performance a juggler needs to accept his past mistakes and learn to move forward.
The knives and fire were only a few of the stunts pulled on stage, other dangers included a bowling ball, a hatchet and a person. At one point during the show an audience member was asked to lie down while their face was covered with toilet paper and to hold a balloon. As the audience member is on the ground, Pecel walked over top of him while juggling large sharp knives, then popped the balloon the audience member was holding.
“My favorite part of show, when he juggled fire, it’s life threatening and exciting,” said sophomore Raven Laibstain.
A reminder to students that Pecel described that it is okay to be different and to make mistakes. Those mistakes won’t ruin a person’s life and a person can come back from anything if they are determined.
Ivan Pecel performed a thrilling juggling act in Jarman this past Friday, Nov. 4th.
Ivan Pecel performed a thrilling juggling act in Jarman this past Friday, Nov. 4th.
Ivan Pecel performed a thrilling juggling act in Jarman this past Friday, Nov. 4th.
