By Esteban Velez The “strongman jugglers” of the 20th century fascinated the entertainment world with each of their performances. Their incredible displays of strength captivated audiences eager to discover the limits of human power. Today, this technique has declined in popularity. Karl Rappo is considered the first “power” juggler. He was followed by jugglers such as Paul Cinquevalli, Paul Conchas, …
The Tragic Robbery of Karl Rappo
By Esteban Velez Karl Rappo is considered one of the first modern jugglers (one of the first jugglers since Philip Astley created the modern circus around 1770). He was born Karl Von Rapp on May 14, 1800 in Innsbruck, Austria. He trained in gymnastics in his youth, which gave him great strength. His artistic career began when he joined …
Herr Troba – The Second Cinquevalli
By Esteban Velez Herr Troba was a German juggler and strongman who achieved many of the feats of Paul Cinquevalli. The European press of the time called him “the second Cinquevalli”. Not much is known about his life, except that in his childhood he practiced acrobatics, which helped him perform strength juggling acts. The following article, published in Leslie’s …
Chinlone: From Royal Juggling to National Sport
By Esteban Velez Chinlone is believed to be over 1500 years old. Its literal translation is “round basket.” Initially, this form of juggling was an artistic activity to entertain royalty. In the 19th century. Jugglers in Myanmar practiced Chinlone with several balls (made of hand-woven rattan) balanced on various places on their bodies. Rattan balls for Chinlone game. Moung …
Dot Burdett – juggler and tightrope walker on the rolling globe
By Esteban Velez Dorothy “Dot” Kelley Burdett was born on April 1, 1920, in Kansas, USA, to Bessie Roseanna and Earl Osborn Kelley. She was the second of eight children. She married William David “Small” Burdett on August 19, 1936, in Audubon, Minnesota. The duo performed together as “The Burdetts.” Dot was a juggler and tightrope walker; she also did …
Katie Sandwina – Tightrope Walker and Strong Woman
Katie Sandwina is considered one of the strongest women in history. She was able to match and/or surpass the feats of the strongmen of her time. In addition to her incredible talent, Katie was a faithful activist for women’s rights. Her real name was Katharina Brumbach. She was born in Germany on May 6, 1884, although it is believed that …
Photos of Sylvia Brumbach, strongwoman juggler
Sylvia Schneider Brumbach is a juggler and performer who performs amazing strength routines in her performances such as breaking a board using her hands, juggling heavy balls or cannon balls, etc. She was previously an assistant at a knife throwing act where her father and family members were involved. Images of Sylvia Brunbach at Blackpool Tower Circus 2006, UK. Photos …
The Tragic Story of Léa d’Asti
(Haz clic aquí para español.) The following story is about Léa d’Asti, a juggler, tightrope walker, and Music Hall artist in Paris. She was born Léa Laforge and died voluntarily on March 7, 1905 by gas asphyxiation in her room. Her life was not documented, only the press published short articles about her death. Parisian newspapers speculated about the reasons …
300 Articles on eJuggle
(Haz clic aquí para español.) For the past 7 years I have had the honor of writing for the best juggling magazine in the world: eJuggle, the magazine of the International Jugglers Association (IJA). I started as a juggling hobbyist, writing thoughts, ideas, and empirical research on a blog I created for free on Tumblr. I was inspired, of course, …