Written by Janica Unruh
Published November 11, 2007

Janica Unruh is a senior Professional Writing major at the University of Oklahoma. She is happily married to a very nerdy engineer. She enjoys writing more than breathing, but refuses to give up the latter.

Randomly, my husband had the intense desire to learn how to juggle. He bought a book, and I sewed him three small beanbags. He practiced, hit the cat in the head when he dropped one, and practiced some more.

Shortly after, a friend of mine, Rachel Yang, invited us to see the Taiwanese Diabolo Dancers perform in Edmond, Oklahoma.

The diabolo, which originated in China in the 12th century, is somewhat like a giant yo-yo that passes between two sticks connected by a string. The word is actually pronounced the same as the Spanish word for devil, Diablo, and is sometimes referred to as the "devil on two sticks." Yang told me they call it this because when you're practicing, as with my husband and his beanbags, the diabolos often come down and smack you on the head.

When we saw the Taiwanese dancers, they performed the art of Diabolo as well as a mix of traditional and modern dance. They twirled the diabolos on their sticks, threw them more than 20 feet in the air, caught them on the string, and flung them from one dancer to another, all the way across the auditorium.

The entire performance was incredible. The only thing I could say to my husband while we watched them throwing and catching and twirling was, "And you want to learn to juggle!"

The Taiwanese Dancers are trained from when they are very young. Diabolo combines hand-eye coordination, balance, and rhythm into a complex art. They dancers have to master all three.

The show my husband and I watched was entitled "OCEAN HEART." It took place completely underwater, with the diabolo dancers lying behind a silk screen representing ocean currents. When the sun rose and shone off the water, the dancers awoke.

Not a minute of the show was boring. The two and a half hours flew by. I sat literally on the edge of my seat, mesmerized by how skilled the dancers were and how easily they could catch the yo-yos flying at them, sometimes in the dark!

Most of the performance was the intense dancing I have just described, but there was a lot of comic relief as well. Young performers dressed as clowns chased around a boy dressed as a clown fish. No matter how many times he tried to practice with the diabolo, they would steal his and run. It may have been directed towards children in order to keep them interested, but I have to say that I laughed my head off at the theatrics these kids could express.

The Taiwanese dancers came through America and Canada on a month-long tour, but if you ever find them performing in your area, I would highly suggest seeing them. The show was so entertaining I almost want to force my husband away from juggling and get him a diabolo.