Juggling

In its general sense, juggling can refer to all forms of artful or skillful object manipulation. This includes most prop-based circus skills such as diabolo, devil sticks, cigar box manipulation, contact juggling, and hat manipulation.

Origins and History to 1947 A.D.

The act of juggling pre-dates any recorded history so the exact origins will never be known. The earliest known record of juggling, from the 15th Beni Hassan tomb of an unknown prince, shows female dancers and acrobats throwing balls. Juggling has also been recorded in most other early civilizations including China, India, Greece, Aztec (Mexico) and Polynesia.

Related Topics:
China - India - Greece - Aztec - Polynesia

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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 practicing witchcraft. Jugglers in this era would only perform in market places, 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 king’s and noblemen’s bards, fools, or jesters would have been to juggle or perform acrobatics, though their main skills would have been oral (poetry, music, comedy and story telling).

Related Topics:
Decline of the Roman Empire - Middle Ages - Witchcraft - Poetry - Music - Comedy - Story telling

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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. From then until the modern day, jugglers have found work and have commonly been associated with circuses.

Related Topics:
Philip Astley - Circus - Clown

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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 are 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 rubber balls meant that bounce juggling was possible. Inflated rubber balls lead to ball spinning. Soon, in North America, Vaudeville theatres employed many jugglers, often hiring European performers.

Related Topics:
Variety - Music Hall - Magic - Rubber - Vaudeville

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In the early to mid 20th century, variety and vaudeville shows started to decline in popularity due to competition from motion picture theatres, radio and television. The International Jugglers' Association was formed in 1947 to support professional jugglers. Their annual conventions became a focus for not only professional but amateur jugglers. Since the 1950's there has been a huge increase in the numbers of amateur jugglers compared to performing professionals leading to a very distinct juggling culture.

Related Topics:
Motion picture - Radio - Television - Juggling culture

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The word "juggling" derives from the Middle English "jogelen", to entertain by performing tricks, in turn from the Old French "jogler" and the Latin "ioculr", to jest, and "iocus", a joke.

Related Topics:
Middle English - Old French - Latin

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