Juggling - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Juggling is a skill

Skill

A skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills...

involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling

Toss juggling

Toss juggling is the form of juggling which is most recognisable as 'juggling'. Toss juggling is at once: a performing art, a sport, a form of exercise and meditation, a recreational pursuit and often is a hobby....

, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer to the objects they juggle as props. The most common props are balls or beanbags, rings

Juggling ring

Juggling rings, or simply "rings", are a popular prop used by jugglers, usually in sets of three or more, or in combination with other props such as balls or clubs. The rings used by jugglers are typically about in diameter and thick....

, clubs, and special bounce balls. Some performers use more dramatic objects such as knives, fire torches

Torch (juggling)

Torches are juggling props used in many toss juggling routines. Juggling torches are essentially a club or stick on which the 'far' end is an attached wick.- Wicks :The two most common wicks used with juggling torches are:*Kevlar para-aramid*Cotton...

, and even chainsaw

Chainsaw

A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...

s. The term juggling can also refer to other prop-based skills such as diabolo

Diabolo

The diabolo is a juggling prop consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand. A huge variety of tricks are possible using the sticks, string, and various body parts...

, devil sticks

Devil sticks

The manipulation of devil sticks is a form of gyroscopic juggling or equilibristics, and is generally considered to be one of the circus arts...

, poi

Poi (juggling)

Poi refers to both a style of performance art and the equipment used for engaging in poi performance. As a performance art, poi involves swinging tethered weights through a variety of rhythmical and geometric patterns. Poi artists may also sing or dance while swinging their poi...

, cigar boxes, fire-dancing, contact juggling

Contact juggling

Contact juggling is a form of object manipulation that focuses on the movement of objects such as balls in contact with the body. Although often used in conjunction with "toss juggling", it differs in that it involves the rolling of one or more objects without releasing them into the air...

, hooping

Hooping

Hooping generally refers to artistic movement and dancing with a hoop used as a prop or dance partner. Hoops can be made of metal, wood or plastic. Hooping combines technical moves and tricks with freestyle or technical dancing, and is typically accompanied by music...

, foot bag and hat manipulation

Hat manipulation

Hat manipulation is a form of juggling in which the manipulator performs feats of skill and dexterity using a brimmed hat such as a bowler hat or a top hat. Tricks can range from rolling a hat up and down the various parts of the body to throwing and catching the hat in amusing ways. Hat...

.

The word juggling derives from the Middle English

Middle English

Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....

jogelen (to entertain by performing tricks), in turn from the Old French

Old French

Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...

jangler. There is also the Late Latin

Late Latin

Late Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...

form joculare of Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

joculari, meaning to jest. "Juggling" may be used metaphorically, like "multi-tasking," to mean constantly refocusing attention among responsibilities, such as in the title of the PBS documentary Juggling Work and Family.

Ancient to 20th century

The earliest record of juggling, a panel from the 15th Beni Hasan

Beni Hasan

Beni Hasan is an Ancient Egyptian cemetery site. It is located approximately 20 kilometers to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Memphis.While there are some Old Kingdom burials at the site, it was primarily used during the Middle...

tomb of an unknown prince, shows female dancers and acrobats throwing balls. Juggling has been recorded in many early cultures including Egyptian

History of Egypt

Egyptian history can be roughly divided into the following periods:*Prehistoric Egypt*Ancient Egypt**Early Dynastic Period of Egypt: 31st to 27th centuries BC**Old Kingdom of Egypt: 27th to 22nd centuries BC...

, Chinese

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

, Indian

History of India

The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...

, Greek

History of Greece

The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern state of Greece, as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied much through the ages, and, as a result, the history of Greece is similarly...

, Roman

History of Rome

The history of Rome spans 2,800 years of the existence of a city that grew from a small Italian village in the 9th century BC into the centre of a vast civilisation that dominated the Mediterranean region for centuries. Its political power was eventually replaced by that of peoples of mostly...

, Norse

Norsemen

Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

, Aztec

History of the Aztecs

The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. They called themselves Mexica . The Republic of Mexico and its capital, Mexico City, derive their names from the word "Mexica"....

(Mexico) and Polynesia

Polynesia

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...

n civilizations.,

In Europe, juggling was an acceptable diversion until the decline of the Roman Empire

Decline of the Roman Empire

The decline of the Roman Empire refers to the gradual societal collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Many theories of causality prevail, but most concern the disintegration of political, economic, military, and other social institutions, in tandem with foreign invasions and usurpers from within the...

, after which it fell into disgrace. Throughout the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

most histories were written by religious clerics who frowned upon the type of performers who juggled, called 'gleemen', accusing them of base morals or even practising witchcraft

Witchcraft

Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...

. Jugglers in this era would only perform in marketplace

Marketplace

A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...

s, streets, fairs, or drinking houses. They would perform short, humorous and bawdy acts and pass a hat or bag among the audience for tips. Some kings' and noblemen’s bard

Bard

In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...

s, fools, or jesters would have been able to juggle or perform acrobatics

Acrobatics

Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...

, though their main skills would have been oral (poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

and storytelling

Storytelling

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...

).

In 1768 Philip Astley

Philip Astley

Philip Astley was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the "father of the modern circus"...

opened the first modern circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

. A few years later he employed jugglers to perform acts along with the horse and clown

Clown

Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...

acts. Since then, jugglers have been associated with circuses.

In the 19th century variety

Variety show

A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...

and music hall

Music hall

Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...

theatres became more popular, and jugglers were in demand to fill time between music acts, performing in front of the curtain while sets were changed. Performers started specializing in juggling, separating it from other kinds of performance such as sword swallowing

Sword swallowing

Sword swallowing is an ancient performance art in which the performer passes a sword through the mouth and down the esophagus towards the stomach...

and magic

Magic (illusion)

Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...

. The Gentleman Juggler style was established by German jugglers such as Salerno and Kara. Rubber

Rubber

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...

processing developed, and jugglers started using rubber balls. Previously juggling balls were made from balls of twine

Twine

Twine is a light string or strong thread composed of two or more smaller strands or yarns twisted together. More generally, the term can be applied to any thin cord....

, stuffed leather bags, wooden spheres, or various metals. Solid or inflatable rubber balls meant that bounce juggling was possible. Inflated rubber balls made ball spinning easier and more readily accessible. Soon in North America, vaudeville

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

theatres employed jugglers, often hiring European performers.

20th century

In the early to mid-20th century, variety and vaudeville shows decreased in popularity due to competition from motion picture theatres, radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

and television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, and juggling suffered as a result. Music and comedy transferred very easily to radio but juggling could not. In the early years of TV, when variety-style programming was popular, jugglers were often featured. But developing a new act for each new show, week after week, was more difficult for jugglers than other types of entertainers; comedians and musicians can pay others to write their material but jugglers cannot get other people to learn new skills on their behalf.

In the early 1950s, more people began juggling as a hobby. The International Jugglers' Association

International Jugglers' Association

The International Jugglers' Association or IJA is the oldest and largest organization of jugglers. It is open to members worldwide.-Benefits of Membership:* Special from major prop vendors worldwide.* Member prices in the IJA’s ....

began as a club for performing jugglers, but soon non-performers joined and started attending the annual conventions. The IJA continues to hold an annual convention each summer.

World Juggling Day was created as an annual day of recognition for the hobby, with the intent to teach people how to juggle, to promote juggling or for jugglers to get together and celebrate. Traditionally it is held on a Saturday in mid June.

Most cities and large towns now have juggling clubs. These are often based within, or connected to, universities and colleges. There are also community circus groups that teach young people and put on shows. The Internet Juggling Database maintains a searchable database of most juggling clubs.

Since the 1980s a juggling culture has developed. The scene revolves around local clubs and organizations, special events, shows, magazines, web sites, internet forums and, possibly most importantly, juggling conventions. In recent years there has also been a growing focus on juggling competitions

Juggling competitions

Juggling competitions range from friendly and silly games to competitive sports. Most juggling conventions include friendly games such as endurance and gladiators. Since 1969, the International Jugglers' Association has held annual stage championships, judged both on technique and presentation...

. Juggling today has evolved and branched out to the point where it is synonymous with all prop manipulation. The wide variety of the juggling scene can be seen at any juggling convention.

Juggling conventions or festivals form the backbone of the juggling scene. The focus of most juggling conventions is the main space used for open juggling. There will also be more formal workshops in which expert jugglers will work with small groups on specific skills and techniques. Most juggling conventions also include a main show (open to the general public), competitions, and juggling games.

Popular forms of juggling

Juggling can be categorised by various criteria:

Objects juggled

Balls, clubs, rings

Juggling ring

, diabolo

Diabolo

s, devil sticks

Devil sticks

The manipulation of devil sticks is a form of gyroscopic juggling or equilibristics, and is generally considered to be one of the circus arts...

and cigar boxes are several types of objects that are commonly juggled. Other objects, such as scarves, knives, pineapples, flaming torches and chainsaws, may also be used.

Method of juggling

The classical and best known form (toss juggling

Toss juggling

) is throwing and catching objects in the air without touching the ground. Bounce juggling is bouncing objects (usually balls) off the ground. Contact juggling

Contact juggling

is manipulating the object in constant contact with the body.

Performance style

This may include the gentleman juggler — using everyday objects such as hats, canes, plates, wine bottles and cigars; comedy juggling — the juggling skill is secondary to the comic character and jokes of the performer; sport themed — the performers dress in sporting attire and juggle sports equipment such as tennis racquets, footballs, or even snooker balls; traditional circus style — presenting pure skill with precision, skill and panache. Cultural extensions of the traditional circus style include: Chinese circus — using mainly rings and badminton racquets, fantastic costumes, concentrating on numbers juggling; Russian folk — colourful costumes and characters, unique props with acrobatics.

Number of objects juggled

In trick juggling, the main aim is to perform exceptionally skilful and impressive manipulations with the objects juggled. Numbers juggling, by contrast, has the goal of juggling as many objects as possible.

Number of jugglers

Juggling is most commonly performed by an individual. However, multiple-person juggling is performed by two or more people. Some method of passing between the jugglers is used — this can be through the air (as in toss juggling), bounced off the ground, simply handed over, or numerous other ways depending on the objects and the style of juggling. For example, two club jugglers may stand facing each other, each juggling a 3-club pattern themselves, but then simultaneously passing between each other. Back-to-back juggling is also possible, and other configurations.

Sport Juggling

Juggling is sometimes done as a sport (competing in competitions such as The World Juggling Federation

World Juggling Federation

The World Juggling Federation is the world's only organization devoted to the promotion and advancement of the sport of juggling.-History:...

). Organizations such as the WJF promote sport juggling and reward pure technical ability and give no credit for entertainment, or for juggling with props such as knives or torches.

The object, method, style and number of jugglers can vary. For example, a single juggler could be juggling different objects (say a ball, a club and an orange), could start by toss juggling them, then start bouncing the ball as part of the routine, and finally start passing the objects back and forth with a second juggler.

Juggling world records

Toss juggling and club passing world records are tracked by the Juggling Information Service Committee on Numbers Juggling (JISCON). The records listed on the JISCON page represent the longest runs with each number and prop that have been authenticated using video evidence. The JISCON records for each prop (as of November 2010) are:

Rings/Plates: 13 rings for 13 catches (Albert Lucas
Albert Lucas
Albert Lucas is an American juggler born in 1960 to Albert and Yvonne Moreira. He is notable for juggling while ice skating, setting numbers juggling records, and promoting sport juggling.- Career :...

in 2002),
Balls/Beanbags: 12 beanbags for 14 catches (Alex Barron in 2011),
Clubs/Sticks: 9 sticks for 9 catches (first Bruce Tiemann in 1996, now includes three others).

Each of these records is what is known as a "flash", meaning each prop is thrown and caught only once. Some jugglers, and some juggling competitions, do not consider a flash to be "real juggling" and use "qualifying juggle" (a term taken from the International Jugglers' Association's Numbers Competition). The qualifying algorithm is (No. of hands used)x(No. of props), for example the qualify for two people passing 12 clubs would be 48 throws and catches (12 props multiplied by 4 hands). The JISCON records for qualifying runs are:

Rings: 10 rings for 47 catches by Anthony Gatto
Anthony Gatto
Anthony Gatto is an American juggler who holds several juggling world records. He began performing in Las Vegas at the age of ten and is currently performing with the Cirque du Soleil show La Nouba. Previously, he was touring with the Cirque du Soleil Kooza show...

in 2005,
Balls: 10 balls for 26 catches by David Ferman in 2011,
Clubs: 8 clubs for 16 catches by Anthony Gatto
Anthony Gatto
Anthony Gatto is an American juggler who holds several juggling world records. He began performing in Las Vegas at the age of ten and is currently performing with the Cirque du Soleil show La Nouba. Previously, he was touring with the Cirque du Soleil Kooza show...

in 2006.

Venues

Circus

Jugglers commonly feature in circuses, with many performers having enjoyed a star billing. Many circus jugglers are from Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

and other Soviet block states, products of circus schools. Other traditions are represented, such as Chinese acrobatics schools, and traditional circus families that are often Latin American or European. Some of the greatest jugglers from the past 50 years are from Eastern Europe, including Sergei Ignatov

Sergei Ignatov

Sergei Ignatov is a Russian juggler. He is famous for his numbers juggling, and for being "The Poet of Juggling"....

, Andrii Kolesnikov, Evgenij Biljauer and Viktor Kee (featured in Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...

productions).

Variety theatres

Variety theatres still do business in Europe, particularly in Germany. In North America the closest thing to variety shows are in casino

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

s, in places like Las Vegas, where jugglers perform alongside singers, comedians and others. As with circuses, the demand for jugglers to perform in variety theatres and casinos is far lower than jugglers seeking work, meaning only the best, most dynamic performers find regular work in the top venues. Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

and the USA have also produced some of the greatest jugglers from the past 50 years, most notably Francis Brunn

Francis Brunn

Francis Brunn was a German juggler.Brunn took up juggling in 1939, joining a traveling show that played all over Europe. He moved to America to join the Ringling Brothers circus and twice performed for Dwight D. Eisenhower...

from Germany and Anthony Gatto

Anthony Gatto

Anthony Gatto is an American juggler who holds several juggling world records. He began performing in Las Vegas at the age of ten and is currently performing with the Cirque du Soleil show La Nouba. Previously, he was touring with the Cirque du Soleil Kooza show...

from the United States, and Wes Peden from the US.

Renaissance and medieval fairs

Renaissance and medieval fairs in North America and in Europe can also offer short-term performance venues for professional jugglers. With the increasing popularity of such venues (and with the continued success of Medieval/Renaissance themed restaurants) the ancient art of juggling finds a home.

Street performance

In some places, especially tourist destinations such as Spain, Cyprus, and London, entertainers perform on the street (busking

Busking

Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...

). Street performers often include juggling and comedy in their shows. Well known locations for this kind of street performance include Covent Garden in London, and Faneuil Hall in Boston.

Sport juggling

Juggling has, more recently, been promoted as a competitive sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

by organizations such as the World Juggling Federation

World Juggling Federation

The World Juggling Federation is the world's only organization devoted to the promotion and advancement of the sport of juggling.-History:...

. Sport juggling competitions reward pure technical ability and give no extra credit for showmanship

Showmanship (performing)

Showmanship, concerning artistic performing such as in Theatre, is the skill of performing in such a manner that will appeal to an audience or aid in conveying the performance's essential theme or message....

, or for juggling with elaborate props such as knives or torches.

Albert Lucas

Albert Lucas

Albert Lucas is an American juggler born in 1960 to Albert and Yvonne Moreira. He is notable for juggling while ice skating, setting numbers juggling records, and promoting sport juggling.- Career :...

created the first sport juggling organization in the early nineties - the International Sport Juggling Federation, which promotes Joggling

Joggling

Joggling is a competitive sport that combines juggling and jogging. People who joggle are called jogglers.The most common objects used in joggling are juggling balls, or sometimes juggling clubs, but any set of three or more objects can be used. The juggling is usually done in a three-ball cascade...

and other athletic forms of juggling.

Space

Juggling has been performed in space despite the fact that the micro-gravity environment of orbit deprives the juggled objects of the essential ability to fall. This is accomplished through 'two-person' juggling passing multiple objects between them. Juggling in space was demonstrated by Greg Chamitoff and Richard Garriott

Richard Garriott

Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...

while Garriott was visiting the International Space Station

International Space Station

The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

as a Spaceflight Participant

Spaceflight participant

Spaceflight participant is the term used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Russian Federal Space Agency for people who travel aboard space missions coordinated by those agencies who are not part of the crew...

in October 2008. Their juggling of objects while in orbit was featured in 'Apogee of Fear

Apogee of Fear

Apogee of Fear is an unreleased science-fiction narrative motion picture made in space. Filmed by Richard Garriott from a script and production elements he contracted from fantasy novelist Tracy Hickman, the film's principal photography was accomplished during Garriott's time aboard the...

', the first science fiction movie made in space by Garriott

Richard Garriott

Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...

and 'Zero-G Magic', a magic show also recorded in space by Chamitoff and Garriott

Richard Garriott

Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...

at that time.

Juggling notation

Juggling tricks and patterns can become very complex, and hence can be difficult to communicate to others. Therefore notation systems have been developed for specifying patterns, as well as for discovering new patterns.

Diagram-based notations are the clearest way to show juggling patterns on paper, but as they are based on images, their use is limited in text-based communication. Ladder diagrams track the path of all the props through time, where the less complicated causal diagram

Causal diagram

A causal diagram is a graphical tool that enables the visualisation of causal relationships between variables in a causal model. A typical causal diagram will comprise a set of variables defined as being within the scope of the model being represented...

s only track the props that are in the air, and assumes that a juggler has a prop in each hand. Numeric notation systems are more popular and standardized than diagram-based notations. They are used extensively in both a written form and in normal conversations among jugglers.

Siteswap

Siteswap

Siteswap is a notation used to describe juggling patterns. It encodes the number of beats of each throw, which is related to their height, and the hand to which the throw is to be made...

is by far the most common juggling notation. Various heights of throw, considered to take specific "beats" of time to complete, are assigned a relative number. From those, a pattern is conveyed as a sequence of numbers, such as "3", "744", or "97531". Those examples are for two hands making alternating or "asynchronous" throws, and often called vanilla siteswap. For showing patterns in which both hands throw at the same time, there are other notating conventions for synchronous siteswap

Siteswap

Siteswap is a notation used to describe juggling patterns. It encodes the number of beats of each throw, which is related to their height, and the hand to which the throw is to be made...

. There is also multiplex siteswap

Siteswap

Siteswap is a notation used to describe juggling patterns. It encodes the number of beats of each throw, which is related to their height, and the hand to which the throw is to be made...

for patterns where one hand holds or throws two or more balls on the same beat. Other extensions to siteswap have been developed, including passing siteswap, Multi-Hand Notation (MHN), and General Siteswap (GS).

Juggling Difficulty
Proficiency in juggling takes considerable hand eye coordination as well as a degree of muscular endurance. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks to learn the rudimentary techniques of three ball juggling, and from there months to master various tricks such as reverse, under the foot etc. It has been suggested that juggling is good for mental health as it recruits brain cells and motor units.

Ancient to 20th century

20th century

Popular forms of juggling

Juggling world records

Venues

Circus

Variety theatres

Renaissance and medieval fairs

Street performance

Sport juggling

Space

Juggling notation

See also

Organizations

Resources