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Win The Crowd by Steve Cohen gives strong advice on capturing an audiences attention. If you do two things that are a bit similar to begin with then the audience may lose interest slightly, so introducing yourself after the sponge ball routine is a good idea.
I would do something with a spec second and keep the ropes until midway or just before the finale.

The routine's comming along nicely at the moment. I've gone more for the Ska Revival type music, Madness, Bad Manners, that kind of thing as it fitted better and was easier to cue.

So this is it so far,

music starts with something very cheesy (Queen Kind of Magic or something similar and then scratches into some upbeat ska)

Open with sponge balls ending with a vanish
Sponge balls then appear under three cups and into a cups and balls routine
At the end of the cups, the balls change colour (from pink to one orange, one blue and one yellow)
The balls placed into a specs and an multiply into 6, two of each colour.
A nice comedy effect from Mark Wilson's book (can't remember the name). The balls are placed in a bag and two spec come up and are invited to pick a ball from the bag, both specs always pick the same colour ball.
The audience sees the bag is now empty.
I then pull a 8ft pole out of the too small bag, decide that's not what I want and put it back. Then pull out a length of rope and procede with Tabary's rope routine.
On to some rope work with a couple of volunteers (not decided exactly what yet)
Some TT and silk work (again not decided what)
Lights dim, music slows and then some D lite work finishing with a flash from a finger flasher.

What do you think, is it a worker?

maybe some flash paper/powder for the finish? finish big i reckon...

Looks good lady of mystery, you seem to have got the routines running well into each other rather than going from one routine to the other.

Could you maybe get a file uploaded of you doing this to see what the actual show is like?

I think you're right with the big finish, Abraxus. I'll need to read up on flash paper and powder as I've never really used it before.

I'll see about getting a vidoe together when I've got it finished. Can 't make any promises there though as I really do hate performing for cameras.

Yeah fair enough I'd be the same in front of a camera. Good luck with the routine anywho

how about change it round a liitle then...dont use the flash paper if you're not used to it, unless you've got the time that is...

ignoring the flash, why not just finish on the rope stuff? that's bright and visual...

and maybe shift the tt and silks to the start, and turn the silks to spongeballs and continue as you've written?

I do like the idea of using flash, I've got plenty of time to put this together so will probabaly try to work something out using it.

I'll have a try with moving the TT and silks earlier on. I've been having trouble working out a way to introduce the silks, so appearing them right at the start might be a good way to go with it. Good thinking there, sir!

i reckon its the easiest way in...empty hands showns, then silks appear, then you're up and running arent you...dead simple...

visually, a rolled up silk changing to a ball works...
as does a length of silk changing to a rope...

i've only used flash paper myself, but theres lots of old booklets on different applications of it at cards4magic.co.uk, the book section...

if, and only if it would work, i'd quite like to see it go like this:
length of silk *flash*
length of rope *flash*
length of silk again (different colour) *flash*
a load of sponge balls flying everywhere...

magicdiscoman is probably your best bet for adivce on that kinda thing i reckon...