Imagine taking elements of the greatest juggling tricks of all time performed by other jugglers, and combining them together into one act. This is the legacy of Alberto Sforzi. He was born in 1942 in Italy to a circus family.
Alberto Sforzi trained six hours per day throughout his career. This allowed him to develop one of the most technically demanding routines of all time, copying tricks from greats such as Brunn, Montego, Rastelli, Ignatov, Trixie, Tasso, Horn, and many others. Some of amazing feats in his 35-minute act included: an eleven-ring flash, kicking up cups and saucers to his head while balancing on a slack wire, performing a modified Brunn Finish on a unicycle, and juggling six rings while balancing a pedestal on his head and spinning a ring on his leg – all while jumping a rope spun by others. He performed many other astounding tricks on the slack wire (including hoop rolls with rings and a combination trick while juggling six balls) and unicycle, as well as routines with three clubs, devil stick, six plates, ping pong balls with the mouth, and more. He learned not only to kick a spoon up to his forehead in a balance, but could also flip the spoon to balance on the opposite end with just a flick of his head.
Sforzi did not achieve the level of fame that many of the other top jugglers of his time because he remained almost exclusively with one venue, Cirque Medrano, his entire career. Some career highlights included juggling for the Pope, and being the subject of a well-received documentary film L’Equilibrio Del Cucchiano.
Alberto is now retired and living in Italy. In 2013, he received the Historical Achievement Award from the International Jugglers’ Association.
Let’s take a look at some photos and videos showing Alberto Sforzi’s amazing skills.
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).