(日本語はこちら) The routine we call the Pagoda of Bowls involves the kicking or tossing of bowls onto the performer’s head in an increasingly tall tower of bowls. We don’t know much about the origins of this trick. The earliest evidence we have is the following illustration of a Chinese juggler from 1901. We don’t know that he tossed or kicked …
Back Rolls With Four Hoops: A Super-Rare Trick
(日本語はこちら) The genre of hoop juggling and rolling was invented by William Everhart, whom you can read about by clicking here. He was the first person to juggle three hoops by rolling them down his back, as you can see in the following video. Everhart never did back rolls with four as far as we know, but it wasn’t long …
The Seven Types of Juggling Skills
(日本語はこちら) Every year or so, another online debate regarding the definition of juggling seems to pop up. There are still many in the juggling community who believe that the only correct definition of juggling is the tossing and catching of three or more objects in a continuous pattern. What they’re describing is one type of juggling: toss juggling. While it …
Willy Jaeger – Balance King: A Pictorial Collection
(日本語はこちら) Willy Jaeger is best remembered today as the father, coach, and manager of Jenny Jaeger, one of the greatest jugglers of all time. However, he was a well-known and talented juggler in his own right, performing throughout Russia and Europe. Wilhelm “Willy” Basil Jaeger was born on the 25th of February, 1882 in Doblen, Latvia. He specialized in complex …
Diabolo and Femininity
(Haz clic aquí para español.) (日本語はこちら) Cartoon made in prison by Robert Wood. Diabolo fever was so great that it had an enormous impact on the culture of 20th century European society, especially in Paris, the epicenter of diabolist madness. The toy changed women’s customs to “develop and enhance femininity.” Cartoons of women playing diabolo. The San Francisco Call, on …
Innovative Mouth Stick Tricks – Part 3
(日本語はこちら) Juggling tricks with mouth sticks are certainly having a Renaissance. Mouth stick work by jugglers has its origins with Japanese Daikagura and European pipe balancing tricks. You can click here to learn more about Daikagura and here to learn more about pipe balancing. Jacques Sandre balancing one pipe on another (1760) Below is video of Houraiya Koiki’s amazing work …
Old Juggling Prop Catalogs – Part 6
(日本語はこちら) In 2016, I wrote a series of eJuggle articles showing prop catalogs from the 1890s to the 1940s. You can click here, here, here, and here to see them. Then, I published the Devere catalog in 2021, which you can see by clicking here. I’ve recently found three more catalogs or advertisements for juggling props not included in the …
Tennis Racket Juggling Acts: A Video Collection
(日本語はこちら) Tennis rackets have been a popular juggling prop for well over a century. Their similarity to clubs and familiarity to the general public make them an obvious choice for many performers. Many jugglers throughout history have used tennis rackets in their acts either as their primary prop or as one of many props they use. Well-known jugglers from history …
Diane Shelton: Baton Twirler, Juggler, Veterinarian, and Scientist
(日本語はこちら) Diane Shelton wasn’t born into a circus family, despite some newspaper accounts saying that her parents were trapeze artists. Instead, she was born in 1946 in Sweden ,where her Navy captain father was stationed. She and her family moved back to the USA when she was one and settled in the San Francisco, CA area. She was of Irish …