Danny The Idiot 28th April/5th May

Started by Graham Lee, April 16, 2008, 10:03:54 AM

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Graham Lee

Danny has kindly agreed to be the next balloon chat member to answer your questions.
http://www.circoridiculoso.co.uk/

Graham Lee
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

Danny the Idiot

#1
Yes - I have!

So think up some good ones!

Danny
Danny Schlesinger
Balloon Excellence Award Winner
https://dannytheidiot.com
https://www.CircoRidiculoso.com
Follow me on Twitter at @danny_the_idiot

Dave

#2
Hi Danny,
As a professional what advice would you give to someone starting out, or wanting to increase their business?
Whats your best and worst twisting experience?
BTW love the pic!
A load of hot air
http://www.davehickory.co.uk

Danny the Idiot

#3
Good one Dave, I'll think of an answer and save it for my allotted week!
Danny Schlesinger
Balloon Excellence Award Winner
https://dannytheidiot.com
https://www.CircoRidiculoso.com
Follow me on Twitter at @danny_the_idiot

Professor T Wist

#4
What is your favourite model to make and what is the most asked for model ?

Dave

#5
Quote from: "Dave"Hi Danny,
As a professional what advice would you give to someone starting out, or wanting to increase their business?
Whats your best and worst twisting experience?
BTW love the pic!
LOL I thought I'll give you some time to think about it :lol:
A load of hot air
http://www.davehickory.co.uk

Graham Lee

#6
Danny,

In another post I think to Mark you said that you'd stopped entertaining children?
Can I ask why you made that decision.
Mind you sometimes when I come home from entertaining the little darlings....... ;)  

Graham Lee
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

Danny the Idiot

#7
Quote from: "Dave"As a professional what advice would you give to someone starting out, or wanting to increase their business?
Whats your best and worst twisting experience?
BTW love the pic!

Danny: Starting out twisting - learn the basic skills really well, practice and keep on learning. Go to Care and Share days, and other balloon jams/ festivals and events. Work in the entertaining side too. Buy books and DVD's and learn from the internet. There is a whole load of info on the web.

Increasing your business - I'm not very good at this side of things so I won't comment.

Best Twisting experience - going to The Millenium Jam in Belgium 2006, meeting some great people like Graham Lee and seeing first hand that balloon twisting has gone way beyond a balloon dog. For me I came back inspired to work on my balloon twisting skills and improve what I do.

Worst Experience - The O2 Centre, London, Christmastime, 8000 kids, me and many other entertainers. I positioned myself next to a main entrance and I was completely swamped with a large crowd of kids and parent waiting for balloons, demanding for me to hurry up before the show started. That was the first set, I moved somewhere else after that!

Photo thanks for the comment, that picture has got me lots of good comments!
Danny Schlesinger
Balloon Excellence Award Winner
https://dannytheidiot.com
https://www.CircoRidiculoso.com
Follow me on Twitter at @danny_the_idiot

Danny the Idiot

#8
Quote from: "Graham Lee"Danny,

In another post I think to Mark you said that you'd stopped entertaining children?
Can I ask why you made that decision.
Mind you sometimes when I come home from entertaining the little darlings....... ;)  

Graham Lee

Danny: Just to clarify I haven't stopped entertaining children. I have stopped performing at kids parties. Why? Because I didn't enjoy it, I would do the odd one and felt unrewarded and frustrated with the parents. I also wanted to concentrate on my balloon show. I have still continued to perform at kids events but not at kids parties. I think you need to be doing that full time and be geared up with all the package to offer parents what they want. For me kids parties were another thing I did and not THE thing I did.

Danny
Danny Schlesinger
Balloon Excellence Award Winner
https://dannytheidiot.com
https://www.CircoRidiculoso.com
Follow me on Twitter at @danny_the_idiot

Danny the Idiot

#9
Quote from: "Professor T Wist"What is your favourite model to make and what is the most asked for model ?
[/color]

Danny: My favourite models at the moment are some from Don Caldwell. The Octopuss, the Monkey and Rabbit hats are complex but look fab. I also like Addi Someli's style of hats which are abstract and colourful and quick.

The most asked for is are models I can't do!!! I also get requests for swords and dogs then steer people to other creations that are more interesting.
Danny Schlesinger
Balloon Excellence Award Winner
https://dannytheidiot.com
https://www.CircoRidiculoso.com
Follow me on Twitter at @danny_the_idiot

Graham Lee

#10
Danny,

What was the thought process behind putting your balloon show together that I saw in London.
Ideas, structure music etc. Has the show been developing over years?
I thoroughly enjoyed your performance at TMJ 2006. Your stage act was so simple but well put together
and you have a lovely comedic presence, in my opinion.

Graham Lee
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

Danny the Idiot

#11
Quote from: "Graham Lee"What was the thought process behind putting your balloon show together that I saw in London.
Ideas, structure music etc. Has the show been developing over years?
I thoroughly enjoyed your performance at TMJ 2006. Your stage act was so simple but well put together
and you have a lovely comedic presence, in my opinion.


Graham Lee

Thanks Graham. I began with a 10 minute cabaret piece that you saw at the TMJ show. I performed that at comedy clubs, cabarets and variety shows (and still do!). In the back of my mind I knew there was a full length balloon show, and in 2003 began to research and develop material. It grew to 20 mins and inflated further to one hour. I then went to Avner the Eccentric (Avner Eisenberg) in the States and he gave me directorial advice and slimmed the show down to 35 minutes by cutting out and editing. I then spent more time developing the show to the state you saw it in last November. It still has a way to go. It needs to be slicker and I will be changing the ending, tweaking and polishing!

The thought behind the show was to use circus skills that I had, like juggling, and apply them to balloons. I wanted to add some theatre & comedy to balloons. Give them characters, and celebrate these big inflatable shapes of colour. I then researched balloon stuff on the internet and started finding out about magic, eccentric dance, and began forming this surreal world on stage.
My goal is always to be simple, pack small and play big, have a show I can tour anywhere in the world (ie not dependent on language). I feel I perform best when I'm not speaking. I also try to adapt and develop things that I 'borrow', like the sword swallow. I did start off with a story, but after working with Avner we change it to the numbers format that it is now.

Thanks Graham for your comment about my lovely comedic presence. Much appreciated.  :oops:
Danny Schlesinger
Balloon Excellence Award Winner
https://dannytheidiot.com
https://www.CircoRidiculoso.com
Follow me on Twitter at @danny_the_idiot

Bad to the Balloon

#12
Quote from: "Danny the Idiot"
Quote from: "Graham Lee"Thanks Graham. I began with a 10 minute cabaret piece that you saw at the TMJ show.


Got a clip we can see?? Youtube?
Mark Byrne
AKA Mark the Balloon Guy
Tampa Bay\'s The"Original" Balloon Guy for over 20 years
"Bad to the Balloon"
http://www.balloonguy.net
http://www.youtube.com/theballoonguy
http://www.myspace.com/markballoonguy

Danny the Idiot

#13
Quote from: "Bad to the Balloon"Got a clip we can see?? Youtube?
[/color]

Yes  - but not of the 10 minute act. This is from my whole show.
//http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj7WGSPMCp0

enjoy...
Danny Schlesinger
Balloon Excellence Award Winner
https://dannytheidiot.com
https://www.CircoRidiculoso.com
Follow me on Twitter at @danny_the_idiot

Danny the Idiot

#14
for those of you who want to know more - I've copied this from another section....
 8-)
A Deflated History of...

Danny Schlesinger

I went to Fool Time Circus School in Bristol (now Circomedia) and trained in clown, circus skills, impro and basic theatre techniques. Then I went to Ecole Lassaad in Brussels for two years training in movement based theatre. In addition have also done a heap of clown courses, mask classes, acting, and magic.
1997 saw Danny create a ten minute cabaret act Danny and his Yellow Balloons. It was very well received in many cabarets, burlesque nights, comedy clubs and circus shows. During 2003 balloon ideas were developed to a twenty minute piece Inflated Ideas touring with Circus Bites - new circus by young companies. The aim was to research artistic content, style and to develop physical comedy with balloons.
A full length solo show was developed and first seen in Spring 2006, touring to Windsor Arts Centre, the West End Centre, Aldershot and London's Diorama Arts Centre.
Further development with Avner Eisenburg (Avner the Eccentric) took place during August 2006 to create "Lighter than air" . The reworked show was then performed at Celebration Barn Theater, Maine USA and then autumn 2007
Danny has been performing in theatre, circus and street as well as TV and films for over 15 years.

On the balloon sculpting front, I still feel I have a way to go. I got bored with one balloon sculptures and balloon modelling. Then I went to TMJ 2006, I was amazed how far it has gone and continues to go. So I bought some DVD's and have been doing hats and wearables since.

Any questions – I'm on Balloon Chat 28th April to 5th May! :lol:

I have many versions of a biog so, apols if its sounds a bit formal. ;)
Danny Schlesinger
Balloon Excellence Award Winner
https://dannytheidiot.com
https://www.CircoRidiculoso.com
Follow me on Twitter at @danny_the_idiot