A juggler is a person who practices object manipulation for entertainment, sport or recreation. Famous professional jugglers have come from many countries and have performed their skills live in circuses, variety theatres, casinos, cruise ships, festivals, street venues and on television. The following is a list of jugglers who are notable for professional success as a performer, world records, official competition titles or the invention of patterns or tricks.
Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object or many objects at the same time, most often using one or two hands but other body parts as well, like feet or head. Jugglers often refer to the objects they juggle as props. The most common props are balls, clubs, or rings. Some jugglers use more dramatic objects such as knives, fire torches or chainsaws. The term juggling can also commonly refer to other prop-based manipulation skills, such as diabolo, plate spinning, devil sticks, poi, cigar boxes, contact juggling, hooping, yo-yo, hat manipulation and kick-ups.
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured in numerous stage and television shows, such as Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, and is currently headlining in Las Vegas at The Rio. Jillette serves as the act's orator and raconteur.
Juggling clubs are a prop used by jugglers. Juggling clubs are often simply called clubs by jugglers and sometimes are referred to as pins or batons by non-jugglers. Clubs are one of the three most popular props used by jugglers; the others being balls and rings.
Ra-Ra Zoo was an English-based contemporary circus theatre company, active, a seminal group who created self devised physical theatre performance for theatres using comedy and circus skills. Founded by Sue Broadway, Stephen Kent, David Spathaky and Sue Bradley while they were all working and staying together at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 1984.
Toss juggling is the form of juggling which is most recognisable as 'juggling'. Toss juggling can be used as: a performing art, a sport, a form of exercise, as meditation, a recreational pursuit or hobby.
La Nouba was a Cirque du Soleil show that ran for 19 years in a custom-built, freestanding theater at Disney Springs' West Side at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was a contemporary circus performance featuring acrobats, gymnasts, and other skilled performers. The show's creation was directed by Franco Dragone, who also directed many of Cirque du Soleil's earlier shows. Its title derives from the French phrase faire la nouba, meaning "to party" or "to live it up".
Vladimir, known as Vova, and Olga Galchenko were a brother and sister juggling team originally from Russia, active from approximately 2001 to 2009. They specialized in club juggling, particularly technical solo juggling, technical club passing and numbers club passing.
Sword swallowing is a skill in which the performer passes a sword through the mouth and down the esophagus to the stomach. This feat is not swallowing in the traditional sense. The natural processes that constitute swallowing do not take place, but are repressed to keep the passage from the mouth to the stomach open for the sword. The practice is dangerous and there is risk of injury or death.
The art of juggling has existed in various cultures throughout history. The beginning is uncertain. The first depictions were found in ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome, as well as medieval and modern societies.
Since the late 1980s, a large juggling culture has developed, revolving around local clubs and organizations, special events, shows, magazines, video sharing websites, Internet forums, juggling competitions and juggling conventions. Populating the scene are many juggling celebrities who are notable for being good or creative jugglers, entertaining performers, convention organizers, experts in their field, having a strong presence online or just for having an interesting personality, character or style.
When you pulled out three balls in 1973, what was going through people's minds was, 'I saw a deformed midget do that once.' But when you pulled out three balls in the '80s, it was, 'a guy in my dorm room used to do that.'
The International Jugglers' Association or IJA is the world's oldest and largest nonprofit circus organization, and is open to members worldwide. It was founded in the United States in 1947, with the goal of providing, "an organization for jugglers that would provide meetings at regular intervals in an atmosphere of mutual friendship." Although its focus lies on juggling, its programs also support other circus disciplines.
Enrico Rastelli was an Italian juggler, acrobat, and performer.
The Passing Zone is an American comedy-juggling duo comprising Jon Wee and Owen Morse. Wee, originally from Minnesota, and Morse, a California native, met at a juggling convention in northern California in 1986 and decided two years later to team up. Since then, the Passing Zone has won 18 gold medals from the International Jugglers' Association (IJA) and holds five Guinness World Records.
Juggling balls, or simply balls, are a popular prop used by jugglers, either on their own—usually in sets of three or more—or in combination with other props such as clubs or rings. A juggling ball refers to any juggling object that is roughly spherical in nature.
Michael Carey Goudeau is a juggler and an ex-circus clown who graduated from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. He is a writer and was an executive producer for the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.
Andrew Van Buren is a British multi skilled performer, illusionist, plate spinner and showman who specialises in presenting large-scale illusions, plate spinning routines, magic, juggling and circus style skills in all type of performance venues.
Steve Mills was an American juggler and unicyclist from Morristown, New Jersey. He was the inventor of the "Mills' Mess" juggling pattern. Mills was taught to juggle by Ron Graham, a juggler and mathematician.
The Berousek family is a Czech family, originally from Vilémov, with members who have been circus performers for two centuries. Skills include comedy, puppetry, acrobatics, equestrianism, bear training, tight rope walking, and juggling.
Burt Blague is a 4th generation artist, circus performer, comedian, director, teacher and producer.
Vincent Bruel was a French juggler. Born in Toulouse, he studied and taught at Le Lido, and is known for his experimental approach and studies on the practice of juggling.