SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — "I'm going to wait for the wind to die down a little bit," award-winning juggler Noah Malone says, seven balls balancing between his two hands.
Malone, 15, a Santa Cruz High School sophomore, stands in the middle of Frederick Street Park, focused. He exhales, while positioning himself so that he's not staring directly into the sun. Then he quickly throws all seven balls into the air — a feat often considered the "black belt of juggling" in terms of skill level — and he makes it look easy, natural.
Each ball flies in a perfect arc, none bumping into each other. And, as if to enhance the difficulty level, Malone catches six balls with his hands before catching the final ball on the back of his neck, magnet-like. Half a dozen visitors to the park have stopped to watch the impromptu performance.
"Crazy," a nearby man marvels.
It's just another practice session for Malone and his two juggling compatriots, Chris Garcia, a University of California-Santa Cruz sophomore, and Robin Johnston, 15, a Santa Cruz High School sophomore, who have come together to hone their skills.
Garcia has three diabolos in hand, bouncing them around a string, while Johnston works on clubs and his own seven-ball routine.
Moments later, Malone is throwing five clubs behind his back, which he calls his "hardest trick." His girlfriend, Julia Weltchek, 14, sits nearby, smiling.
"I'm amazed by how good he is," she said.
Malone is coming off of a championship summer, involving first place victories at both the World Juggling Federation Festival in Las Vegas and the International Jugglers Association convention hosted in Sparks, Nev.
In both instances, Malone — who won more than $600 in prize money — went through a preliminary qualifying round before competing against about 10 other jugglers. In Las Vegas, Malone took first place in the five-ball freestyle division, while in Sparks, Malone won in the "Under 18" Juniors Division. Participants were judged on stage presence, audience interaction, crowd response and overall routine. Malone, who has juggled for about four years, attributes his victories to the response he elicits from the crowd.
"I just try to be as natural as possible and bring some excitement," Malone said. "People say that there's a charisma I have. It's not about cheesy smiles. My routine is cheerful and light, but also has some technical moves. It involves not only crazy difficulty, but risk. There's got to be risk."
Garcia, a San Jose, Calif., resident who runs the University of California-Santa Cruz Juggling Club and founded the annual Santa Cruz Juggling Festival — and who performs under the name Draco the Juggler — said that Malone continually defies his expectations.
"Noah is probably one of the best jugglers in California and he's only age 15, so that's incredible," Garcia said. "He's up there with some of the most elite jugglers of the world, competing against some tough competition. He has a lot of passion for it."
Johnston, who often performs with Malone, said that he's happy with his choice of partner.
"I've been there the whole time with Noah, watching him win everything,"
Johnston said. "It's hard to think about our lives without juggling."
Santa Cruz is a supportive community for jugglers, Malone said, adding that he, Johnston and Garcia occasionally venture to Pacific Avenue to perform for the masses.
Malone, who practices an hour a day on clubs and an hour on balls, is working toward his next big gigs, with the White Album Ensemble on Sept. 11 at a benefit for the Soquel High School fund, and then at the 18th Annual Portland Juggling Festival on Sept. 24.
Malone may eventually set his sights on Cirque de Soleil, he said, although he might pursue other areas of interest, including hip-hop, which he works on with Johnston.
"Juggling is great," he said. "But it's just one part of who I am."
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.