Neelam Nandra
Staff Writer

Cal High’s diversity of talent increases every year with new students entering the school. One of the school’s newest talents is a sophomore juggler.

Showcased at the black-light sports rally last month, the elusive juggler, Dragon, who wishes to be called by the stage name, Dragon because he feels it suits him more as a performer.

“I got the name ‘Dragon’ while juggling,” said Dragon. “I have sort of flashing flame-red hair, and I move really quickly, so people started saying that I reminded them of a dragon and it just kind of stuck.”

Dragon can be seen juggling around the quad during lunch. Many Cal students enjoyed Dragon’s performance at the winter sports rally, Dragon’s first official performance for the school.

Dragon first got started juggling when a friend first introduced Dragon to musical theater a few years ago.

“It took me about 15 minutes to get the basic pattern down, but a lot longer to get good,” said Dragon.

Dragon has come a long way since learning days, and now he is frequently seen sharing his knowledge of the craft with anyone willing to learn.

“Sometimes I see him juggling at lunch,” said junior Lauren Liedtke. “It’s cool to see that he stays true to himself and does something that he enjoys, regardless of what anyone thinks.”

A lot of people who have seen Dragon around campus also share these same thoughts and feels that Dragon enjoys pleasing the crowd.

“I like juggling for the same reason many people like weird activities,” Dragon said. “I get to meet some crazy (in a good way) people, hit people with clubs by ‘accident’, and it’s fun to just goof around and have fun with it!”

The most important thing to Dragon is to have fun with juggling because it’s more of a leisure activity used for entertainment purposes.

Dragon’s fans include fellow juggler and science teacher Andrew White.

“He’s awesome. He can do patterns, and many different tricks,” he said.

Dragon’s student audience agreed.

“He is a good juggler, I think he has a lot of potential,” said junior Kiana Kramer. “He really shows off the diversity of talents that we have here at Cal.”

Dragon has many original juggling acts, some of which were showcased at the winter sports rally.

“I didn’t know we were doing it in black light, and then I realized that being in the dark makes you lose depth perception!” said Dragon. “It took me a while to get used to it, so I dropped twice in the first rally, but by the time I did the second one I was pretty much warmed up.”

After the performance, many students responded well to Dragon’s talents that were demonstrated at the rally.

“Dragon was very professional, and I like that he has such a unique talent,” said junior Daniel Hornett.

Student leadership believed it was important to share the diversity of student talents during the latest winter sports rally that was in early February.

“It was important to us in leadership to have someone different perform at the rally, we didn’t want to have the same type of performances we’ve had before,” said junior Kevin Pinney, a leadership student. “I think people responded well having something they haven’t really seen before at a rally.”

Leadership teacher, Eileen Mantz also had a lot of positive feedback on Dragon and his performance.

“The fact that he is doing something that not many students can do really sets him apart,” said Mantz. “It was clear (at the rally) that all the students were supportive of him.”

Incorporating Dragon’s talent into the rally has given Dragon some fame around school that could greatly benefit Dragon’s juggling career.

As Dragon gains more fans around Cal High, Dragon will most likely be asked to do more juggling at different events on campus.

Dragon also has started a club called the Drop Zone, which meets in teacher Anderw White’s room every Thursday at lunch. Anyone interested in juggling or watching can come and learn about the activity.

Dragon’s routines may seem very complex, but are not heavily rehearsed. Dragon does not keep a strict practice schedule as one would assume either.

“I don’t practice, as such. I juggle when I feel like it. But I go play with other jugglers as much as I can,” said Dragon.

Instead of pursuing juggling professionally, Dragon would like to pursue a career geared more towards science if possible.

“I‘m especially keen on field research, so if you know of any chimpanzees who want to hire a juggler/magician, I’m your man!” said Dragon.