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The Chipolatas Read about them in Circus Mania |
1 -
The earliest depiction of juggling is painted on an Egyptian tomb dating from almost 2000 years BC.
2 - Comedian
W.C. Fields began his career as
The Eccentric Juggler.
3 -
Ancient Chinese warriors would show off to their enemies by juggling before battle.
4 -
George Washington watched
John Bill Ricketts juggle on horseback in America’s first circus.
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Sand-filled juggling balls
won't bounce away when you drop them |
5 - Juggler
Paul Cinquevalli was nicknamed the
Human Billiard Table
6 -
Bounce juggling became possible with the introduction of rubber balls in the late 19th century.
7 -
Clubs are easier than balls to juggle on a
unicycle because they require less accuracy to catch.
8-
Charles Hoey was the first man to juggle with four clubs - but he couldn’t stop without dropping them, so the curtain had to come down while he was still juggling.
9 - Juggling burns
280 calories an hour.
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The Melvilles show how to juggle with
the dinner plates in a great DVD called
Variety Turns of the Post War Years
Read my review here. |
10 - Germans such as
Salerno (Adolf Behrend) introduced the
‘gentleman juggler’ style that became popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, wearing formal evening clothes and juggling with dinner party items such as plates, bottles, loaves of bread, hats, canes and chairs.
11 -
Enrico Rastelli (1896 - 1931) is considered greatest juggler of all time, being able to juggle ten balls at once.
12 - Jenny Jaeger is the only person ever to juggle with ten balls in daily performance
.
13 -
Antipodism is another name for
foot-juggling in which the juggler lies on his or her back to spin and flip objects (or another person) with their feet.
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Hoop juggling
at Britain's oldest circus building
the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome.
Read about the 100-year-old
venue in Circus Mania |
14 - Foot-juggling with a person is known as a
Risley act after the 19th century American pioneer of the style
Richard Risley Carlisle.
15 - Britain’s first juggling superstar,
Paul Cinquevalli made his debut at
Covent Garden in 1859.
16 -
Rings are the easiest prop to juggle in large numbers because they’re light and it’s easier to hold several.
17 -
Scarves are the easiest item to begin juggling with.
18 - The
International Juggling Association was formed in
1947.
19 - The word
juggling comes from the Middle English word
jogelen, meaning to entertain by performing tricks.
20 - Juggling is celebrated on
World Juggling Day, June 15 this year.
For more about jugglers, trapeze artists, sword swallowers, tiger trainer, clowns, ringmasters and showmen, read Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus (Peter Owen Publishers). Click here to buy Circus Mania from Amazon.
"Circus Mania is a brilliant account of a vanishing art form."
- Mail on Sunday.