Bravo Juggling presents: Stick Heroes / 2011. 05.

The first female interviewee of our Stick Heroes series is Nikki Snijders, the five-time Dutch devilstick champion, excellent 2-stick player who likes using acrobatic elements in her performances. Her life is devilstick, even her fiance asked for her hand in marriage after a show on the stage.

Name:

Nikki Snijders

Age:

22

Nationality:

Dutch

Place of living:

Leeuwarden

Your job/school:

University of Groningen: Master: arts, culture and media

How many years have you been juggling with sticks:

I think for about 8 or 9 years.

Number of juggling sticks you have:

Well, I think it's best that I don't count the sticks I use for giving workshops and also not all my broken sticks. I have 8 devilsticks, 3 firesticks and 1 lightstick. I have to say I almost never use the firesticks and used the lightstick just ones.

Your juggling achievements (prize / performance / trick that you are proud of / etc.):

- Dutch devilstick champion for 5 times in a row (from 2006 till now).
- Several open stages at juggling conventions and galashow in Aachen (Germany).
- Performances in the Netherlands in theatres, outside areas, gyms and stuff like that.
- I have a sponsor.
- I'm proud of the skill level with 2 devilsticks I got after one year seriously training with 2 (summer2008-2009). I became very motivated at the EJC in Karlsruhe.

Other juggling equipments you play with:

I can juggle 5 balls and do a couple of siteswaps and I can juggle 4 clubs and pass with 7. But I've to say I'm a lot more devilsticker. Next to devilsticking I do wire walking, a bit of acrobatics and I train german wheel for about 1,5 month now.

Are you a member of any team/group/club/association?

No, there isn't really a place for that where I live. But fortunaly or livingroom is quite big so I can practise almost everything at my own place. After the summer I hope to start a little juggling club in a schoolgym nearby.

Why did you learn to use this juggling tool and where did you first meet with it?

The first time ever I saw a devilstick was in a local park in Oldenzaal (where I grow up). Circus Keaphoj (Denmark) set up their tents there. In that time I was a member of the local youthcircus and we would have a guest-performance with Keaphoj during that week. They had a devilstickact. All I can remember of it was that they could do the propeller and that I had never seen that before and wanted to learn that. A couple of weeks later I visit a circusshop with my mother and a friend and bought my first devilstick and a tutorial book. I started at the first page and worked through whole the book because I wanted to learn all the tricks in there. The last trick was the double propeller, I've learned that when the book was already covered in dust.

Where did you learn playing with devilsticks?

In my bedroom at my parents place or outside. I can't remember I ever broke something so I think I was quite careful. I also went outside a lot with my friends who also bought devilsticks. We learned it together, which always helps in motivation I think.

Which trick did you find the most difficult to learn?

The tricks I'm working on right now are the hardest tricks so far, but I'm still very motivated to let them succeed. I can't really remember learning the single or double propeller. I know it took quite a long time before I started to try the double