Australia's funniest juggler James BuSTAR comes to UK

To celebrate World Juggling Day, June 14, here's a picture of Australia's Got Talent star James BuSTAR, who'll be bringing his mix of comedy and record-breaking juggling skills to the Glastonbury Festival later this month.

A graduate of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus School in Albury, Wodonga, BuStar's show mixes hilarious audience participation with crowd-pleasing juggling props such as axes and bowling balls. He's also proved adept at garnering media attention by setting such obscure world records as the most raw eggs juggled while hula hooping.

An example of his humour: "If you're wondering what to get someone for Christmas, give them a fridge and watch their face light up when they open it."

As well as Glastonbury, BuSTAR will be appearing at the Gaiety Theatre, Ayre, from July 18 - 26.

For more UK dates, and videos of the man in action, visit his website.

Grab your balls!
For World Juggling Day

And for 15 Juggling Facts for World Juggling Day, click here!

20 Juggling Facts for World Juggling Day, 15 June, 2024

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.

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.

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.

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.

How to Juggle in Five Easy Steps for International Juggler's Day, April 18, 2016

Grab your balls!
And learn to juggle!

If you’ve ever wanted to juggle then International Juggler's Day (April 18) or World Juggling Day (June 20, 2016), is the day to start.

Juggling is great for improving hand and eye coordination and is said to improve creative thinking by uniting the left and right halves of the brain. Here are five tips to get you started.

Sand-filled Juggling Balls
won't roll bounce away when
you drop them

1 - Invest in a set of soft leather, sand-filled juggling balls. They’re easy to catch and won’t bounce away when you drop them.



2 - Go outside where you won’t hit anything with a flying ball.



3 - Practise throwing one ball in an arc from hand to hand, with your hands a couple of feet apart, just above waist height, and the ball reaching head height. As you get used to it, begin moving your hands in a circular juggling motion with each catch and throw.

Juggling
It takes balls!

4 - With a ball in each hand, throw the right ball in an arc towards your left hand. Just before it reaches your hand, throw the left ball to your right hand. Don’t place the ball in your left hand as that will make it harder to progress to three balls. Catch both balls and repeat until confident.



5 - Once you’ve mastered two balls, begin with two balls in your right hand and one in your left. Throw one ball from right to left. Before it reaches your left hand, throw the left ball to your right hand. Before it reaches your right hand throw the second ball to your left hand. Before it reaches your left hand, throw the ball in your left hand to your right hand.

Keep doing this and... hey, you’re juggling!

Jasper King
tries not to become a burnt
Chipolata
- a picture from
Circus Mania

It takes a lifetime of practise to juggle like Jasper King of the Chipolatas (left). Read his story and the stories of trapeze artists, sword swallowers, tiger trainers, clowns and showmen in Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus.

Click here to buy Circus Mania from Amazon.

"Circus Mania is a brilliant account of a vanishing art form."
- Mail on Sunday.

15 JUGGLING FACTS for the World Circus Day, 16 April, 2022!

Saturday 16 April, 2022 is the 12th World Circus Day! To celebrate, here are 15 Juggling Facts!

1 - The earliest depiction of juggling is painted on an Egyptian tomb dating from almost 2000 years BC.



2 - Ancient Chinese warriors would show off to their enemies by juggling before battle.



3 - George Washington watched John Bill Ricketts juggle on horseback in America’s first circus.



4 - Bounce juggling became possible with the introduction of rubber balls in the late 19th century.



5 - Clubs are easier than balls to juggle on a unicycle because they require less accuracy to catch.



6- 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.



7 - Juggling burns 280 calories an hour.

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.

8 - 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.



9 - Enrico Rastelli (1896 - 1931) is considered greatest juggler of all time, being able to juggle ten balls at once.



10 - 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.

Starr Juggler
One of the stars of
Circus Starr, the circus that
helps kids.
Click here to read the story.

11 - Foot-juggling with a person is known as a Risley act after the 19th century American pioneer of the style Richard Risley Carlisle.



12 - Britain’s first juggling superstar, Paul Cinquevalli made his debut at Covent Garden in 1859.



13 - Rings are the easiest prop to juggle in large numbers because they’re light and it’s easier to hold several.



14 - Scarves are the easiest item to begin juggling with.



15 - The International Juggling Association was formed in 1947.

2nd Edition out now!

For interviews with jugglers, clowns, tiger trainers and all things circus, click here to buy Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus - described by the Mail on Sunday as "A brilliant account of a vanishing art form."