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The word juggling derives from the Middle English jogelen to
entertain by performing tricks, in turn from the French jongleur
and the Old French jogler. There is also the Late Latin form joculare
of Latin joculari, meaning to jest.[1] "Juggling" has
come to mean, colloquially, any activity which requires a constant
refocusing of one's attention from an overall goal to multiple
subsidiary tasks, for example "Juggling Work and Family",
the title of a PBS documentary, [1] [2] This colloquial meaning
is similar to the non-computer use of the word multitasking.
Contents
1 Origins and history
1.1 Ancient to 20th century
1.2 20th Century
2 Popular forms of juggling
3 Juggling world records
4 Venues
4.1 Circus
4.2 Variety theatres
4.3 Renaissance and medieval fairs
4.4 Street Performance
4.5 Sport juggling
4.6 Space
5 Juggling notation
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
8.1 Organizations
8.2 Resources
8.3 References
Origins and history
Main article: History of juggling
Ancient to 20th century
This ancient wall painting (c. 1994-1781 B.C) appears to depict
jugglers. It was found in the 15th tomb of the Karyssa I area,
Egypt. According to Dr. Bianchi, associate curator of the Brooklyn
Museum "In tomb 15, the prince is looking on to things he
enjoyed in life that he wishes to take to the next world. The
fact that jugglers are represented in a tomb suggests religious
significance." ... "round things were used to represent
large solar objects, birth, and death."The earliest record
of juggling, a panel from the 15th Beni Hassan tomb of an unknown
prince, shows female dancers and acrobats throwing balls. Juggling
has been recorded in many early cultures including Egyptian, Chinese,
Indian, Greek, Roman, Norse, Aztec (Mexico) and Polynesian civilizations.[2],[3]
In Europe, juggling was an acceptable diversion until the decline
of the Roman Empire, after which it fell into disgrace. Throughout
the Middle Ages 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. Jugglers
in this era would only perform in marketplaces, 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 bards, fools, or jesters would have been
able to juggle or perform acrobatics, though their main skills
would have been oral (poetry, music, comedy and storytelling).
In 1768 Philip Astley opened the first modern circus. A few years
later he employed jugglers to perform acts along with the horse
and clown acts. Since then, jugglers have been associated with
circuses.
In the 19th century variety and music hall 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 and magic.
The Gentleman Juggler style was established by German jugglers
such as Salerno and Kara. Rubber processing developed, and jugglers
started using rubber balls. Previously juggling balls were made
from balls of twine, 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
theatres employed jugglers, often hiring European performers.
20th Century
Main articles: Modern Juggling Culture and Juggling convention
In the early to mid-20th century, variety and vaudeville shows
decreased in popularity due to competition from motion picture
theatres, radio and television, 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.[citation
needed] The International Jugglers' Association 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 conventions form the backbone of the juggling scene.
The focus of most juggling conventions is the main "hall":
a large space 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
A street performer juggling torches in Devizes, WiltshireMain
article: Forms of juggling
Juggling can be categorised:
Objects juggled
such as ball juggling, club juggling and rings, as well as diabolo,
devil sticks and cigar box manipulation. Other objects, such as
scarves, knives, pineapples, flaming torches and chainsaws, may
be used.
Method of juggling
the classical and best known form (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 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 rackets, 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 rackets, 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). Organisations 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 between themselves and a second
juggler.
Juggling world records
Juggling world records are tracked by the Juggling Information
Service Committee on Numbers Juggling (JISCON). All the records
listed on the JISCON page represent the longest runs with each
number and prop that has been authenticated using video evidence.
As of September 2006, the records for each prop are:
Rings/Plates: 13 rings for 13 catches by Albert Lucas in 2002.
Balls/Beanbags: 12 beanbags for 12 catches, first done by Bruce
Sarafian in 1996.
Clubs/Sticks: 9 sticks for 9 catches, first done by Bruce Tiemann
in 1996.
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) to denote a pattern where each prop is thrown and
caught at least twice. The JISCON records for qualifying runs
are:
Rings: 10 rings for 64 catches by Anthony Gatto in 2005.
Balls: 10 beanbags for 23 catches by Bruce Sarafian in 2001.
Clubs: 8 clubs for 16 catches by Anthony Gatto in 2006.
Circus
Juggling is often used in circus arts, such as in Jennifer Miller's
Circus AmokJugglers commonly feature in circuses, often dressed
up as clowns and perform this art with objects ranging from bouncy
balls to scarves. Many circus jugglers are from Russia 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, Andrii Kolesnikov, Evgenij Biljauer
and Viktor Kee (featured in Cirque du Soleil productions).
Venues
Variety theatres
Variety theatres still do business in Europe, particularly in
Germany. In North America the closest thing to variety shows are
in casinos, 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 and the
USA have also produced some of the greatest jugglers from the
past 50 years, most notably Francis Brunn from Germany and Anthony
Gatto from the United States.
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).
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
by organizations such as the World Juggling Federation. Sport
juggling competitions reward pure technical ability and give no
extra credit for showmanship, or for juggling with elaborate props
such as knives or torches.
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
while Garriott was visiting the International Space Station as
a Spaceflight Participant in October of 2008. Their juggling of
objects while in orbit was featured in 'Apogee of Fear', the first
science fiction movie made in space by Garriott and 'Zero-G Magic',
a magic show also recorded in space by Chamitoff and Garriott
at that time.
Juggling notation
Main article: 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 communication of 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 (email and the internet).
Ladder Diagrams track the path of all the props through time,
where the less complicated Causal Diagrams only track the props
that are in the air, and assumes that a juggle has a prop in each
hand. Numeric based notation systems are more popular and standardized
than diagram-based notations. They are used extensively in both
a written form, and for those "fluent" in juggle-speak,
in normal conversation.
Animation of 3 ball cascade , also known as a Siteswap 3Siteswap
is by far the most common juggling notation. In its most basic
form, vanilla siteswap, each pattern is reduced to a simple sequence
of numbers, such as "3", "97531" or "744".
However, vanilla siteswap can only notate the most basic alternating
two-handed patterns, with no deviations from a very strict set
of rules. If one of these rules is broken, say an extra hand is
added, the same string of numbers will result in a wildly different
pattern than first conceived. For slightly more complicated patterns,
extra rules and syntax are added to create synchronous siteswap,
to notate patterns where both hands throw at the same time, and
multiplex siteswap, to notate patterns where one hand holds or
throws two balls on the same beat. Other extensions to siteswap
have been developed, including passing siteswap, Multi-Hand Notation
(MHN), and General Siteswap (GS).
Beatmap is a numeric notation which can notate any number of
hands or juggling props, and in any rhythm, with no added complexity
to its basic structure. Within beatmap it is possible to notate
not only the balls in a pattern, but also the hands or arms of
the juggler, as well as the position, location or orientation
of the body of a juggler. Luke Burrage, the inventor of beatmap,
claims[citation needed] that beatmap can more accurately describe
more patterns than all ladder diagrams, causal diagrams, mills
mess state transition diagrams, vanilla siteswap, synch siteswap,
passing siteswap and multi-hand notation combined. So far use
of beatmap is very limited, as most jugglers and all juggling
software understand only variations of siteswap.
References
Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989: juggling entry
Prof. Arthur Lewbel's Research in Juggling History
The JIS Museum of Juggling's Ethnography section
External links
Organizations
The International Jugglers' Association (IJA) — worldwide
community of jugglers united.
The European Jugglers' Association (EJA) — European community
of jugglers united.
The World Juggling Federation (WJF) — private company aimed
at promoting competition-style juggling.
Resources
The Internet Juggling Database - includes a juggling forum, club
and event listings, a video database and numerous articles.
Juggling Information Service - dated but has a huge amount of
information.
Juggling Tutorial - detailed instructions and videos.
The Passing Database - including videos
rec.juggling - juggling newsgroup; active community
Juggling balls - learn to juggle with balls (including videos)
How to juggle - Learn to juggle in 3 easy steps (including videos)
References
A Glossary of Juggling Terms
JIS Numbers Juggling Records - List of world juggling records.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juggling"
Juggling generally means the manipulation
of more than three objects at the same time.
We have included on this page a number of circus skills
which do not strictly come within that meaning but are generally
seen as 'juggling' skills - throwing and catching an object
using hands or other objects. Below is a description of
these various skills. Please read these if necessary and
then click on the link below to go to that section of this
page.
Juggling :
- used as a general term to include the manipulation of
objects by hand, feet, head and body. The objects manipulated
can include balls, clubs, poi, diabolo, devil sticks, cigar
boxes, hats, canes, plates and many other uncommon objects.
The term juggling can also mean the specific act of throwing
and catching more than three objects at any one time. Jugglers
are people who therefore manipulate objects in a way which
defies gravity keeping one or multiple objects in the air
or balanced or rolling on their body.
Fire Juggling : - Please go
here for our fire act page
which goes into detail about the various fire skills. Fire
jugglers generally are jugglers who perform with props that
have a wick that is soaked in a fuel which is lit. The fire
juggling props can include fire torches, fire devil stick,
fire poi, fire staff, fire diabolo, fire eating sticks and
more.
Diabolo : - a large 'yo-yo' shaped
object is thrown and caught on a string between two handsticks
Devil Stick : - a long tapered
stick is caught and thrown between two handsticks
Cigar Box Juggling : - Usually
three cigar box sized boxes. The boxes are thrown and caught
using the other boxes.
Contact Juggling : - Usually
larger balls (one or more) that are rolled over the hands,
arms, body and head
Hat Juggling : - the throwing
and catching of hats using hands, feet, body and head
Club Swinging : - the
swinging of two clubs around the body, arms and legs
Poi : - similar to club
swinging but using a weighted object attached to a swivel
handle by a chain or cord
Plate Juggling : - the manipulation
of plates and other crockery with hands, arms, feet and
body
Multi Performer Juggling : - one of the above skills using
more than one person to create a larger and visual spectacle
of skill. The most common perfomance is the passing of juggling
clubs or fire torches |
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