Juggletime

A perennially popular sport, juggling gets the MTV treatment in this clever and quite funny introduction to the subject for children. Juggler Dave Finnigan and musician Joey Kline team up with a dozen kids to demonstrate the basics of juggling using one, two, and three scarves (included with the video). Finnigan appears as Professor Confidence, the amiable dean of instruction for The Juggling Institute. Beginning with a simple song "Throw a Scarf," Finnigan and Kline use a wide variety of musical themes and settings (rock, Latin, country, etc.) in 11 songs with muchos special effects to build from simple exercises in eye-hand coordination up to triple scarf tricks such as "The Elevator" and "The Cascade." Though a juggler by trade, Finnigan's lyrics, which deftly mix instruction with humor, outshine more than a few "professional" children's musician's efforts. And children will quickly identify with the slick editing techniques that are employed in many of the music videos. Juggletime made me smile...a lot...and that's something that this curmudgeon rarely does while watching most children's videos. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: Finnigan's two-hour 1985 Juggling Step by Step video is also available for $49.95.] (Available from: Jugglebug, 7506J Olympic View Dr., Edmonds, WA 98020.)