MONDO Juggling and Unicycle Arts would like to thank you for supporting our festival. We put on the MONDO festival for you and we're glad you can enjoy it with us.
Please check your prop bags, car trunks, and favorite hiding spots to see if you are missing any of the following items.
MONDO 23 held its first Minnesota MONDO Kendama Championship on Sunday, Feb 19th.
The competition began with a Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Ladder Battles. Battle Ladders are speed events to determine which competitors can complete 6 specified tricks in order as quickly as possible.
Congratulations to the Battle Ladder winners: Jon Atwell (Beginner), Joe Spitzenberger (Intermediate) and Ben Thompson (Advanced).
Beginner Ladder:
1st Place - Jon Atwell
2nd Place - Trent Bosak
3rd Place - Patricia Wilton & Dan Plante (tie)
Intermediate Ladder:
1st Place - Joe Spitzenberger
2nd Place - Shane Kohlmeier
3rd Place - Mike Nieland
Advanced Ladder:
1st Place - Ben Thompson
2nd Place - Matt Jorgenson
3rd Place - Shane Kohlmeier
The Best Trick Award was won by Jon Atwell, who combined his kendama and unicycle skills for a unique finish.
Many thanks to Sweets Kendamas and Robin Westacott for sponsoring the event and donating the prizes.
On a related note, Ben Thompson, winner of the Advance Battle Ladder, and his passing partner Doug Sayers also tied the passing record at MONDO 2012 with 14 passes of 14 clubs.
Here's some more information about the Kendama Competition. The timed trials will require the completion of a set of tricks (ladder) in order. The trick ladders are as follows.
Beginner ladder
Big cup
Little cup
Candlestick
Big cup orbit
Big cup clack big cup
Spike
Intermediate ladder
Swing spike earth
Little bird in
Big cup kenflip big cup spike
Airplane jumping stick
Around the universe
Gunslinger spike
Advanced ladder
Jumping stick orbit
Around the USA
Lighthouse flip Kenspike
Lunar in
UFO
Spacewalk fullflip in
Some great examples of some of these tricks can be found here. The folks at Sweets Kendamas would be more than happy to demonstrate these tricks at the festival if any clarifications are needed.
The Danger Committee is an incredible combination of juggling, knife throwing, spine tingling thrills and hilarious comedy. They have performed on national television and at theaters, festivals and corporate events across the country. Their unique blend of the hilarious and the dangerous while performing unbelievable feats of skill has made The Danger Committee one of the most talked about new acts in the country. They have taken on national notoriety on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, and have since had multiple appearances on national television and stages from New York to Las Vegas.
This year, MONDO is pleased to welcome two unicycle special guests from Switzerland: Emilie Stegmüller and Philipp Henestrosa
Emilie is 19 years old and has been unicycling for about six years. She was taught by her father who is a professional clown. Soon after, she met Julien Monney, her coach, and Philipp Henestrosa, her unicycling pairs partner. In 2007, Julien brought Emilie and Philipp to Japan for their first unicycling trip. Since then she has traveled frequently with her unicycle to practice, compete, and especially to meet new people and share with them. She has traveled to Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. Besides unicycling she is studying Chinese and Japanese at college.
Philipp Henestrosa, 20, has unicycling world champion titles in several disciplines. He has taught the art of unicycling to over 800 children and adults. Currently, he has finished programming an application for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (Unicyclingcenter) for providing a new way of learning and mastering unicycling (available in the App Store at the end of February). He is looking forward to meeting you and is open for every question.
Emilie and Philipp will be teaching several workshops at MONDO 23 and will also be featured in the MONDO Spectacular Variety Show held on Feb 18th at Central High School in St. Paul, MN.
An exciting new competition has been added to Mondo XXIII.
Kendama workshops will be held at MONDO on both Friday, February 17th and Saturday, February 18th. A kendama competition will be held on Sunday, February 19th beginning at 1pm at the Gangleohoff Center of Concordia University in St. Paul.
The competition will include:
Timed Trials - Beginners
Timed Trials - Intermediate
Best Kendama Trick (as determined by audience applause)
The Minnesota 2012 Kendama Championships are co-sponsored by Sweets Kendamas, the first American manufacturer of this Japanese toy. Sweets Kendamas is based in Bloomington, MN.
A list of the required tricks for both the beginner and intermediate timed trials will soon be posted to this website.
We are pleased to announce a special guest for MONDO XXIII.
Jack Kalvan will be joining MONDO from sunny California. He will be teaching workshops as well as performing in the MONDO Spectacular variety show.
"For over 15 years, Jack Kalvan has amazed audiences around the world with his unique mix of juggling and other odd skills, performing more than 3,000 shows in over 200 cities. From street performing to performing arts theaters and corporate motivational speaking. From the White House in Washington, DC to the Wintergarten in Berlin. Cruise ships, fairs, casinos, television and movies... Jack has done it all."
It's time to register for MONDO XXIII. You can save money on admission, show tickets and t-shirts by registering early. Registration packets need to be in the mail by January 20th, 2012. More information can be found on our registration page.
Also, our artists are hard at work on this year's t-shirt. The shirts will be green and the design will look a lot like this.
