Hey guys...I did a search for some rola bola "stuff" and I didn't find anything too recent. Are you guys not doing anything with this, or are ya just keeping it to yourself

For the Rola Bolers, I have a few questions:

First of all, I'm finding the learning curve going from a tube to a bowling ball is like night and day. Is this normal?

Secondly, I'm looking for more "stuff" to do whilst balancing on said rola bola. I guess this is where performer creativity comes into play, but if anyone can point me in the right direction or get some juices flowing, that would be fantastic.

Finally, I'd like something to set the rola bola on to make me more visible to the audience. Besides a roadcase, any ideas on this?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks guys!

Learning to RB on a ball is really hard, so yes you'll find it much more difficult than a bog standard board.

Look at skating tricks and convert them into RB tricks. I've seen a few skaters get on the RB and pull off some awsome stunts. You might also like to have a look at http://www.thejimshow.com he uses a RB in his show, some really nice stuff.

I've mainly seen a table used (I have done this myself). Only problem is that tables can be difficult to carry around. Also think about stacking the RB. Use more than one tube / board. My friend does his RB on top of a step ladder.

For tricks:

Passing a hula hoop from one side to the other...or two hoops.

One foot stationary balance...standing in the center.

Stacking 2 rola bola cylinders on top of each other at 90 degrees is the same balance as the bowling ball.

You can build a stake using 2 cylinders on end and add another board. Step up to it while on the rola bola.

Jumping rope....jump and rotate 180 degrees or 360 if you feel lucky.

Put one cylinder on end and the second on top and then the board. Must keep a very small balance.

As for up off the ground:

Table, a board between two chairs, I even played with using my case as the board.

Just a few to get you started.

Kevin

Rola Bola is a great pack small play big bit. You can do a lot on it. personaly I don't think the ball is as cool as doing a rola stack (tubes boards doesn't matter) the trick you do on the board isn't as important as having a good build.

Learn to ride it on one foot. that's a great trick.

Anton

Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to make sure my insurance is paid and start practicing some of this stuff

Thanks again!

I was wondering, if someone knows how long it takes to learn to balance on a rola-bola, while juggling. I can juggle and balance at the same time, and I can juggle on a rola- bola- but I can't do this three things at once.

Simple answer is quite a while. Everybody is different and it depends on how much time you put into it. I managed to do a club balance/juggle/rola for about 6 throws after about 30 minutes of trying and haven't managed to get much beyond that several months later (although I haven't tried that hard). My technique though was to get the board completely still and then just think of it as a normal club/balance. This works until you have to shift slightly and then you are screwed.

Try asking Phil_Blackmore if he still appears on this forum.

Nigel

Nigel is right...it is very difficult. You can try doing a static balance like a spinning ball on a mouth stick or using a balance pole.

Kevin

"Hey guys...I did a search for some rola bola "stuff" and I didn't find anything too recent. Are you guys not doing anything with this, or are ya just keeping it to yourself

Secondly, I'm looking for more "stuff" to do whilst balancing on said rola bola. I guess this is where performer creativity comes into play, but if anyone can point me in the right direction or get some juices flowing, that would be fantastic."

I have a wintersports/alpine them. My board is an old shortened snowboard. I juggle a duck in lederhosen, a skipole, and a bottle (apres ski bottle). Later I balance the duck on a pole and juggle the skipole, a skilift t-bar
and a bottle. I am still working on this maeterial and I want to build it up to more. Scriptwise and trickwise I mean...

I think if you want a them you culd have a a skate board? There is so many things you could juggle nd talk about...and make it funny...

Why can't I quote? I tried to quote Jeff and it did not work.

Ive got some old ideas in the closet for the rola bola but heres the deal... Juggling only needs to look good. Having some sort of huge dangerous looking stack (possibly improvised looking) and juggling 3 radom objects could give you a much better result than juggling on the board while doing a chin ballance.

The dangerous stack is way easier and would probably garner the same reaction if not better. I have a friend who is one of the best/most exciting performers alive and all he "realy does" is juggle 3 knives at the end of his show. that's the only skill he uses but he dresses it up quite a bit and it takes down the house.

Mika what kind of performance are you looking to do?

Anton

The problem with the Rola Bola is there are not a ton of tricks to be done. Most acts either do a stack of cylinders and or other objects. I worked with a guy who did a rigged stack of 5 objects. You can stack a cylinder vertically with another cylinder on top horizontally and then another vertical cylinder. Not very difficult but looks good. Just requires you to hold a small balance. You can stack cylinders at right angles to each other to create a 360 degree balance. Harder than it looks IMHO.

Or you can create a stack of boards on top of a single cylinder. This is best done by never leaving the board but building the stack and climbing up to the next level. 3-5 levels is the norm. Use 4 glasses or cans or other similar objects to add the height than add a board and climb up.

Or if you are feeling adventurous put the 2 stacks together. Saw an act that used all glasses and boards and then built a stack of glasses and balanced this on his head on top of the stack.

One of the best rola bola routines I have ever seen was a clown gag by Jeff Taveggia. He built the stack from paint cans and a tool box and stool to be able to reach and change a lightbulb. Great theatre!

Kevin



For other trick see my previous post.

Oh...and I think I have seen or maybe just dreamt it...but modifying so skate board moves to the rola bola.

K

There's the traditional Chinese stuff: two methods. Balancing on one foot on the board, kick a bowl up to your head, catching it in another bowl already up there (am I making any sense at all?)

OR. very long rola bola board. Balancing on two feet, lever the board like a seesaw or teeterboard to launch a previously placed bowl, again, catching it on the head.

Carlo Gentile does it this way; he studied in Wuqiao. I pronounce that: WooKyO. That's probably incorrect, but a lot funnier. See his video at fooltimecircus.org

I saw a rola bola act in the Chinese circus 'ERA' that used glasses and boards to build up to a four stack (single roller, but four boards with glasses as spacers) then balanced on one foot, and kicked up bowls to his head. You could see he wasn't comfortable with the stack that night. He was really muscling through. Anyway, he does one bowl, then two bowls, then three, then four, then he kicks up a tea cup (traditional) then the spoon. As soon as the teaspoon lands in the teacup, his weight goes forward and the stack collapses underneath him. Boards went flying and glasses broke, but he was fine. And he did, technically, finish his last trick, so hopefully nobody beat him.

-Brian

Hmh, I like theidea of stacking boards, but I don't like to carry all these things around. Also the skateboard would be to much to carry. I like the idea of 4 glasses under a board so it is one stack on which I put my snowbola.

Instead of glasses you can use your shaker cups!
that's what I do.

Heres the thing about not carring a bunch of stuff around. If it means doing a better show by all means bring more stuff. When people are paying you should pull out all the stops.

Anton

p.s. anyway whats a few boards in the bottom of your trunk. not much inho

And if you use cans or cylinders for the stack you can get them to fit inside each other to take up less space. I saw a guy use tin cans of different sizes.

I also remembered playing with using a chair as the stack. Similar to a chair stack.

Kevin

Wow, this took off...i'm glad I'm not the only cat on the block looking for rola bola tricks...

Yeah, carrying around a few extra props isn't a problem...a few extra boards isn't gonna make the ol' Aveo stall goin' uphill too much ;-)

Btw Larry, I hate I missed ya in Bristol...I really wanted to go...The guys said you did a great job!

I just painted some cans red. And now I am going to have the board cut. And Anton as you asked, I have a comedic speaking act...mika