Torches, dipped in gasoline and ignited by lighters, swirled around. The fire spun rapidly and with ease, whirling through the air with a hissing sound.
The crowd watched in awe, later erupting into cheering and clapping.
“Sometimes I get nervous right before, but not usually,” Peter Ramon, 19, said. “It’s pretty exciting to perform, so that kind of helps.”
Ramon, a UF chemical engineering freshman, was one of three fire jugglers from Objects in Motion who performed as part of a Mardi Gras event hosted by UF’s Inter-Residence Hall Association on Thursday night.
The event, which about 100 people attended, also featured henna tattoos, voodoo doll decorating, palm readings, a live jazz band and food catered by Reggae Shack Cafe.
Ashley Richey, vice president of IRHA, said juggling fire on campus has been allowed before, specifically at the Mardi Gras event two years ago.
However, precautions had to be taken for safety.
Richey said the performers couldn’t be on the grass and had to be a certain distance from the street.
Zak Bedell, president of Objects in Motion, said the club does at least three guest appearances per semester.
Bedell said this is not the first time Objects in Motion has been asked to perform with fire on campus, but that it is the first time the club has had a permit.
Overall, he said he was “really excited” for the event and added, “I’m very proud of all my jugglers.”
UF graduate student in the Digital Worlds Institute Ian Elsner, 23, left, and electrical engineering junior Matt Feldman, 20, juggle fire outside the Broward Hall basement Thursday Night. Read the story at alligator.org.
