So a Yo-yo performance. Thats what you do when you get up on stage at a contest, right? Apparently not. Turns out the twitchy, tech heavy style most people use to compete doesn't work with non-yoyo crowds. I've been slowly working my way into the world of public performing for a while now. I started with markets. I would have a table selling Yo-yos and entertaining children as their parents came by. What I discovered is that you get about 30 seconds of interest on fast, technical tricks. Then they move on, bored, because there really isn't anything for them to relate to. "Walk the dog" The war cry of the uninitiated, and the last thing someone throwing a 100 plus dollar yoyo wants to hear. But its what people know and can relate to. Its what they have seen and can connect to. When you are putting on a show for a crowd, rule number one is connect with the audience. If they feel they are part of the act, they watch, they get interested. I've only done a couple performances where I was scheduled and paid to yoyo. It was kind of stressful! I've found the best way to start, is with the old fashioned stuff. Stick your unresponsive yoyo on your belt. Grab a looper or, better yet, a fixed axle and rock the baby, walk the dog, loop a few loops and for goodness sake, take a trip around the world. If you can, learn a few 2 handed looping tricks. My most recent performance I decided I'd learn enough 2a to fill 2 minutes. I managed it. I would have come dead last in a contest, but the crowd at it up. Start with one hand, build up to two, do some loops, hop some fences, walk a pair of dogs, and don't forget the Eiffel tower! By the time the song changed and I pulled out my unresponsive yoyo, they were ready. I only used 1 of my 'contest' worthy combos. The rest were the unresponsive basics. Matrix, Eli Hops, Arm Grind, Boing-e-boing. Whatever else you do, don't forget the gyroscopic flop and mach 5. We get jaded on those beginning tricks, but try to remember how cool it was the first time you saw them done. The uninitated. You start somewhere, and if you are lucky, by the end of your show, there are a few people in the audience who have said to myself "I used to be able to do that", or "I think I could get the hang of that" and decided to go pick up a yoyo tomorrow. Even better, a few who actually do. You just made the world a better place. At least a little. Or you just had a blast, and gave a few people something to reminice over. Either way, time spent yoyoing is never time wasted. And hey, if you do get people interested, feel free to send them my way ;)
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