Most people wouldn’t think of paper as being a good material with which to make juggling props, but doing so has been done with reasonable success.
In the 1870s, Henri Agoust famously juggled a wad of paper, a wine bottle, and a cannonball. Paul Cinquevalli, the first juggler to truly become an entertainment superstar, did a version of this that included the wad of paper, bottle, and cannonball, with the addition of a raw egg.
Carlo Cerato of Italy has invented what he calls “3D scarves” out of very light sheets of foam. These props slowly float down and allow for some wonderful visuals, as you can see in the following videos.
Fabrice Dominici of France has figured out how to juggle paper airplanes, as you can see below.
Fabrice Dominici also juggles small airplanes made of tissue paper, which you can see in the next video. They simply float down slowly without turning in a large circle.
An old trick that can be done with cigarette paper is to spin a piece on your fingertip like a propeller. Check out the following videos to see the trick and learn how it’s done. It can also be done with a small piece of thin newspaper.
There is also a way to make juggling clubs from newspaper and tape. You can see how below.
As you can see, paper can be used to make an assortment of juggling props.
David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).