Seven white beanbag balls start as a pyramid in his hands.
As he sits down to chat, each of the white balls makes the trip easily from hand to hand, tapped on a foot here and there, then dropped intentionally to the pavement. That’s before Michel Burnett has even offered to show off his juggling skills.
“I can probably do it with my eyes closed,” the 15-year-old says, then proves it with a little three-ball pattern.
In a self-taught system of trial and error, plus creating his own take on traditional tricks, the North Saanich teen created a routine with clubs, rings and beanbag balls that will go on display internationally this summer.
The Grade 9 Stelly’s student will compete in the World Juggling Federation competition in Springfield, Illinois on July 8 during the three-week convention.
“This organization is something I’ve been looking up to since I started seven years ago,” Burnett said. Last summer he found himself starting on the seven-ball skill and decided if he upped his game, he’d be ready to create a competitive routine for this summer’s competition.
He mapped out a routine and recorded it to prove his capability, earning a place among the competitors.
“There’s going to be all the jugglers I’ve idolized in the same room as me, practising,” he said of the convention where he hopes to catch up with world-champion juggler Vova Galchenko.
Until he hits Illinois, Burnett plans to practice three hours a day, six days a week, taking only one day off.
“If you overwork yourself you might ruin a bit of the skill, I’ve found,” he explained.
Getting to this competition has been seven years in the making. As an eight-year-old he was intrigued by a Cirque du Soleil video at school — that ironically didn’t have juggling as part of the show — but inspired his goal.
“That’s where I’m headed,” he said of the world-famous circus.
He’s spent the years between training, tweaking, and enjoying the people and the sport.
“It’s a fun activity — to juggle — I enjoy it a lot,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in the juggling community and they’re super nice. And you can aspire to these big competitions and perform.”