14.1.2010 von Ines.

This afternoon I took some pictures of our Natooke bicycle and juggling equipment shop. We are currently getting various products delivered and waiting for a lot more that we ordered before the Chinese New Year holiday. I uploaded all pictures of how our store looks like today to this webalbum.

Geschrieben in Natooke, Juggling, Fixed Gear, China | Keine Kommentare »

16.11.2009 von Ines.

As every Monday night the Beijing Jugglers group met at the bar called Yugong Yishan. Today probably due to the very icy cold weather not many people came.

Fede was mainly juggling balls.

And I tried some tricks on a static bike for a performance in Tokyo where I will only have 3 times 4 meters.

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14.11.2009 von Ines.

The “DiVINE” CD Release Party of Jess was so great! Such a good concert, great performance and nice vibe in the venue with energetic afterparty. Here are some pictures of Jess with Sarah Vossler (background vocals) and Zac Courtney (drums) and other musicians:

The Italian juggler Federico Moro did a ball juggling performance with up to 5 balls choreographed to a new song of Jess.

After playing all the new songs that are on the Divine CD then Meiyouwenti Records brought some reggae music with the DJ Oscar who gave us a nice grove for dancing.

There was a nice article about the concert published in the Global Times. Check it out!

Geschrieben in Performers, Music, Juggling, Beijing | 1 Kommentar »

31.8.2009 von Ines.

Today was the last day before Fede will go to Africa. And I am going to go to Europe in 3 days. So this was the last Beijing Jugglers Group meet-up until September 23rd.

But also for some other jugglers it was the last time with us in Beijing. Like our multi-talented Joe that had just spent 4 hard weeks at the Chinese National Circus School in the South of Beijing to increase his acrobatics, staff juggling and 5 ball juggling skills. He was in Beijing for almost 1 year and now had to go back to the USA to continue his studies.

It was a sad juggling evening. But in 3 weeks we will start again.

Geschrieben in Juggling, China | Keine Kommentare »

18.8.2009 von Ines.

Yes, here it is: The first bicycle shop in China focused on fixed gear bikes! The logo is a green banana and the name is NATOOKE

This store is dedicated to urban cycling. You will not find a bike with gears in this shop, so no road bikes nor any mountain bikes. All bicycles are single speed and mainly have a fixed back wheel, meaning no ability to coast. Like the bikes used in the velodrome these are track bikes with horizontal dropouts in the back end of the frame to be able to adjust the chain tension. This is extremely suitable for cycling in the flat and nicely paved Beijing urban city. The shop has all the different parts required to build up a fixed gear bike like the fixed gear hubs, flipflop hubs, cogs, lock rings, rims, tires, seat posts, saddles, stems, handle bars, handle bar grips, chains, cranks, chain rings, pedals, cages, toe clips, straps… Each customer can chose what brand, what style and which color he prefers so that we can put together that one-of-a-kind unique bike.

This shop also has a huge selection on urban cycling accessories, like T-shirts, lights, bags, reflective bag covers, anti-pollution masks and other things related to cycling in the metropolitan areas.

The NATOOKE store is even more unique: It is the world’s first shop dedicated to fixed gear bikes and juggling equipment! You can find anything here around the topic of juggling: Different sizes, weights and colors of juggling balls, glow balls, contact balls, acrylics, juggling rings, juggling clubs, devil sticks, diabolos, poi, fire juggling equipment, staff, yo-yos, frisbees, rola bolas (also known as balancing boards) and many more fun toys to play with. This is the best juggling equipment that you can get in all of China. It is mainly imported from Europe.

This fixed gear bike and juggling store is located in the center of Beijing city in the trendy new hutong called Wudaoying. That is right next to the North Second Ring Road just West of the famous Lama Temple. There are 2 subway lines that have a station here as well as many bus lines. So if you do not yet have a bike you can easily come by using public transport. Here is a map of the location of the NATOOKE shop indicated by the small green banana:

Geschrieben in Performers, Green, Natooke, Cycling, Juggling, China, Asia, Fixed Gear, Beijing | 1 Kommentar »

13.8.2009 von Ines.

My friend Xiao Lu dropped by the shop today. He had the typical fixed gear injury a few weeks ago: Two of his fingers got squished between the chain and the cog while he was helping a friend fix his flat rear tire. But he was lucky none got really chopped off. He showed me his new fixed gear bike. Unfortunately he cannot really ride it as his fingers need to heal first.

In the evening Jess and her 3 band members had again a concert in Yugong Yishan. Jess was playing some of her new songs that her and the band are currently recording for her new upcoming songwriter CD. Fede did some glowball juggling during one of the songs. My small camera is not good enough to take pictures in such low light environments.

Geschrieben in Performers, Music, Juggling, Fixed Gear | Keine Kommentare »

12.8.2009 von Ines.

The juggling workshop in the big space called “The Orange” in the Village is great. The ceiling is so high and whatever you are practicing - like my friend Jib spinning staff - you always have enough space.

Today the finger fitness pro Greg Irwin showed up. He does special finger isolation training for musicians and magicians. It is amazing how he can coordinate each finger muscle. There are some great videos online.

Geschrieben in Juggling, Beijing | 1 Kommentar »

11.8.2009 von Ines.

I am fed up with the rain in the evenings and therefore the missing bike trick training. So I asked Fede to come out with me at 8:30am for joint training. What a beautiful morning: Blue skies, clean air and sunshine. The place we went to is quite nice. All the Chinese that come for a workout leave at around 8:30am so we have the complete space for ourselves.

I brought my pink Cinelli track bike with my new pink Oury grips. They are so comfortable. This place is not perfect for doing tricks on fixed gear bikes, but it is fine for what I wanted to practice.

In the evenings there are some Chinese guys that have whips for exercise. Fede has bought one and is now learning the art of whipping. Whenhe does it right it makes a really loud noise.

Geschrieben in Juggling, Fixed Gear | Keine Kommentare »

25.7.2009 von Ines.

Outside Beijing in Shunyi area between the never ending construction sites of new multi villa compounds a mall complex for brands had their grand opening. Fede and me were booked as performing artists to entertain the visitors with juggling tricks, slapstick, unicycling and bike tricks.

Jess and some other musicians were booked to play jazz music for the VIP guests. Jess received professional make-up and hair-do by the stylists of the models.

The Chinese fashion world seems strange to me. The models must be considered beautiful and handsome by somebody, or? I still wonder who likes their “fashion” clothes like for example the horrible cream colored skirt with black dots of the model on the left side of the picture. Or their ugly shoes that they have problems walking in. I might just not understand Chinese fashion.

The place was quite crowded and it was fun to do some bike tricks there.

Jess looked amazing in that silk cocktail dress and with a real flower in her hair.

Afterwards back in the city I met visiting friends in an outdoor “beer garden” style venue. It was the first time I got some mosquitoe bites this summer. But as always they were gone right away.

Geschrieben in Natooke, Performers, Juggling, Fixed Gear | Keine Kommentare »

20.7.2009 von Ines.

Tonight we had the weekly Beijing Jugglers meeting in Yugong Yishan. It was special because Jess Meider and Fede Moro practiced their joint performance: Jess playing the guitar and singing her own beautiful “Moon Song” while Fede has a crystal ball to do contact juggling to the music. It looks just like the moon.

Geschrieben in Performers, Music, Juggling | Keine Kommentare »