...that I shouldn't have. Now what?

Assuming you mean that you dropped a ball during your cups and balls routine, I would say that you keep going.

Pick it up...

I usually have 5-6 balls. Not a problem to retrieve another one and continue.

Did your voice change?

Donnie... I am waiting for the rim shot to follow.

Dave... Am I getting your posting correct that you have balls stashed in case one goes astray or are you using extra balls for the X Ahead Principle?

I myself have just picked up the drop ball and just moved along.

Thanks,
Bruce

I was doing a chop cup routine (nice cup btw Donnie) in a restaurant and in loading the 1st ball the 2nd ball droped to the floor. I turned around agentleman at the table behind picked up the ball, I PRODUCED THE 1ST LOAD BALL, he gave it to me. I loaded th 2nd ball produced the 2nd load everybody was suprised. KEEP GOING.

I have more than I need just for such an occasion.

Thanks Dave!

Bruce

Make sure it never happens again.

Is that realistic? Just asking, I don't, obviously, have the experience.

A quarter century ago, I learned a lesson in martial arts from one of the best teachers I ever had. When you mess up, keep going. The way she said it was "if you screw up your forms, screw them up pretty."

If you drop a ball, you may have to ad-lib a bit. Go ahead and acknowledge it if you have to. "Geez, I dropped the ball on that one!" Ask someone to pick it up for you and use the distraction to casually load a surprise load. "Now, where were we? Woah! Where did that come from?"

Tommy Wonder, on his L&L tape, addresses the idea of what to do when you drop a ball. Imagine the dutch accent. "Oh, if it falls off the table, you can do all sorts of things because everyone is looking at the ball." He mimes shoving things into the cup while looking at the floor. Marc DeSouza's cups and balls performance on HIS L&L set, he loads the wrong ball in the final sequence. He just keeps going. He mentioned it only briefly in the explanation, but the lesson to me was loud and clear. He could have done a re-take but he is enough of a pro to just treat it as a non-issue.

In general, if you mess up when practicing, this is a golden opportunity to practice what to do when you mess up in performance. I tend to think that the difference between a professional and an amateur is not that the pro never makes a mistake. It is that the pro makes a non-issue of the mistake. The mistake does not stop the performance.

Oh, and if there is a really awkward part of your routine where you do tend to drop balls, try rethinking that part and streamlining it so you are less likely to be in a clumsy spot.

-Patrick

For the correct audience, I might use Donnie's quip posted earlier.......

The advice given here is good if you drop a ball. But it is certainly not unrealistic to strive to never let it happen again.

Understood. Thanks!