Juggler Michael Moschen Performs The Triangle

This is an excerpt from Michael Moschen In Motion, the same amazing pbs special that spawned contact juggling into it’s own little sport.
As a kid, I was lucky enough to catch some of this tape’s segments, including this one. As an adult, Michael has become one of my creative idols, but I have to admit the only reason I was at the taping was because I had heard that “Penn Jillette’s former juggling partner was filming a show”.
After this segment was filmed, a producer came up to me an asked if I’d like to meet Mr. Moschen. I said “yes” and was taken to meet Michael in in the back of the sound stage. Even though I had just seen this man nail an amazing juggling routine, the only thing I could think to ask was “Hey, what’s Penn like in real life?”
The smile on his face faded and he politely answered my question. I was then told that Michael was a busy man, so I said goodbye.
I was 14 and only interested in magic. I had no idea at the time that the finished In Motion video (and the subsequent interviews that followed) would become a huge influence on the rest of my life. Being lucky enough to have seen Michael perform his strange twist on juggling is what influenced me to try unusual things when I first started yo-yoing in my 20s…
I’ll always feel dumb that I had my chance to ask Michael about his craft and inspirations… but all I could ask him about was another performer.

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