Juggling...

A BRIEF HISTORY OF JUGGLING

From "Juggling, the Art and its Artists", by Karl-Heinz Ziethen and Andrew Allen, Berlin 1985.

A great deal of information about juggling has been preserved in the past 4000 years. Unfortunately, most of it has been in bits and fragments and it is often too difficult to piece them together to get an accurate account. Throughout much of history, jugglers were considered outcasts. Although it was a popular form of entertainment, the performers themselves were often not socially accepted. As a result, many references to juggling were made but until recently few were made in detail. Rather than densely listing dates and names, this chapter will give a rough outline of the history of juggling and a few of the more interesting examples.



The oldest known depiction of juggling was found in the Beni-Hassan tombs from the middle-kingdom of the ancient Egyptian civilization. These women jugglers were found amongst acrobats and dancers in one of the crypt's wall paintings. The drawing itself was made about 2000 years before the birth of Christ. After the Beni-Hassan tombs there is a gap of about 1500 years before evidence of juggling reappears in the art of the Greeks. It is difficult to believe that it did not exist in some form during this time. It is much more likely that if any depictions have survived they are simply obscure and unknown to those with a particular interest in juggling. However, between the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. many jugglers began appearing in Greek art, usually as pottery decoration. Juggling was considered a form of recreation by the Greeks and many of its practitioners were women.



From the fourth century A. D. to the present we have a fairly solid line of information. Figurines, pottery, wall-reliefs, and references from ancient writings, including sixteen of Martial's poems, all show that juggling was widespread. The Romans were fond of manipulations with weapons and shields. One Roman, Tagatus Ursus (53-117 A. D.), claimed on his own grave inscription to have been the first to juggle with glass balls.



Juggling was an acceptable diversion until the decline of the Roman Empire, after which it fell into disgrace. There it remained until the end of the Middle Ages. The references to juggling were few and scornful from the fourth to the tenth century Paradoxically, during the same time jugglers appeared in numerous religious paintings and as illustrations in bibles. At this time juggling was usually presented with magic tricks and other skills. The low social standing of these performers prevented it from continuing as a form of recreation. Although they appeared frequently in Christian art, these wandering 'Gleemen' were often accused of having questionable morals or even of witchcraft, the latter of which they were probably innocent.

With the end of the Middle Ages juggling slowly began regaining its respectability. Pierre Gringoire (1475-1538) was known as the 'King of Jugglers' and this title does not seem to have been derogatory. In 1528 the emperor of Hindustan described in his diary a group of jugglers working with wooden rings and in the same year Christoph Weiditz came across jugglers amongst the Indians of Mexico. He made some pen and ink drawings, one of which shows an antipodist. Antipodism was often found in Aztec art and various forms of juggling were practiced amongst many Indians throughout the Americas. It seems that some Indian cultures used it as part of their religious ceremonies, the actual juggling being performed only by the shaman.

Back in Europe, the Town Council of Nuremburg engaged a full time 'Ball-Master' in the 1680, who not only demonstrated his own abilities but also taught the town youths to juggle and to walk the tightrope. Indeed, juggling and rope-walking were often performed together at that time as they are in many circuses today. In the mid-1700's, 'L'incomparable Dupuis' juggled apples while walking a rope, finishing his routine by catching them on three forks - one in each hand and one in his mouth.

At the turn of the nineteenth century, juggling began to develop into the form we know today, as circus and variety became the most popular forms of entertainment. Most of what we know about the performers has been handed down to us in the form of show-bills, many of which obviously exaggerated the feats of the artistes.

Around 1820 the brothers Mooty and Medua Samme appeared for the first time in Europe. These two East Indians worked with Chinese devil-sticks and performed oriental ball manipulation. They were so successful that 'Far East' acts soon became the. fashion of the day. There was a great deal of confusion between American and Asian Indians. Many Europeans added to this confusion by billing themselves as being from India, Japan, or China. One such performer, the German Carl Rappo, billed himself as an Indian and performed oriental manipulations as well as feats of strength with iron balls. One of the genuine Oriental performers was the Burmese Moung-Toon who worked only with his feet and received 'outstanding reviews throughout Europe. The first true Japanese troupe came to the West in 1870 and included the juggler Awata Katsnoshin who performed traditional Japanese ball and stick play from which modern ball manipulation evolved.

By the beginning of this century most jugglers were working in circuses or variety theatres which gave them more freedom to specialize since they no longer needed to perform one-man shows. When variety died and circuses became rarer due to the growth of cinema and the invention of the television, jugglers still managed to find a stage or a street-corner to work on. Since the 1950's juggling has again become a popular form of recreation and perhaps it will remain popular for a while. One thing is certain, juggling remains as hypnotic today as it was forty centuries ago.

Does anybody juggle here?
I used to, but just a bit... I juggled clubs. Three clubs double turn is all I achieved. It's been a long time since I last juggled.
I started juggling balls when I was a child.

HOW TO JUGGLE THREE BALLS

Anybody wanna try?



http://www.jugglingworld.biz/index.php?/Juggling-Tricks/ball-juggling-tricks-page.html

The 3 Ball Cascade is the first pattern/trick that beginners should learn. It doesn't take much time to learn it.

Step 1 - Practice throwing one ball from side to side in an arc that is just above head height, until it is fairly consistent. Throws should not be out from your body, but upwards.

Step 2 - Hold one ball in each hand. Toss one as before. As it reaches its peak, toss the other ball inside the first one, to the same height. (most people at this point, are known to panic after the first ball is thrown and pass the ball from their weak hand, but this is a habit you MUST break!)

Step 3 - Two balls should be held in your strong hand, and one ball in your weakest. You start by throwing from the stronger hand. When the first ball peaks, toss from the opposite hand. When this ball peaks, throw from your first hand, and keep going...

not really sure what my contribution to this thread should be......

but the only word that occurs to me is 'gorgeous'

Glad you both like this stuff. I've always felt attracted to it.

SJ, what juggling most requires, I think, is practice. But if you say you're useless at it I won't argue that hehe

Catherine wrote:'gorgeous'

That's a "very Irish" adjetive, isn't it?

yes, my lovely Spanish chica....

as you are well aware there are a lot of gorgeous people in Ireland

and they do love their cloying.....and healthy....and onomotopoeic......fulsome adjectives....almost buxom......words

there's a lot more to gorgeous than can be described at length........

my particular take on it........is probably more close to what people describe as an earthly Nirvana......

I love the word 'gorgeous' and those it describes

guacamayo wrote:

Catherine wrote:'gorgeous'

That's a "very Irish" adjetive, isn't it?

By the way I just remembered when I was juggling in St Stephen's Green for fun and a man told me "why don't you go to the street and juggle there?". But I was too bad at it to do that, I could have injured someone... Another man told me not to leave my bag so far from me. And those are my adventures hehe

Oh, Jesus Christ.....someone who knows St Stephen's Green or Grafton Street.....or ya know fukkin Dublin......

that's something that can't really be described......too coherently (for me) although you've done a good job at it......

it's true - there's something primordial about Dublin......that not many people have experienced.....

thanks for that....guacamayo.......I don't appreciate those things.....(which made me) as much as I should

I can't wait till you describe the rest of the world in such eloquent terms as you have done so far......

pick up your tent - go somewhere (not Edinburgh)

I have never been able to juggle , I admire those who can.

I to

THat's why I want to go there, because it seems a beautiful city.
She was kidding me but anyway she doesn't recommend me to go there.

I haven't been to Edinburgh.......so it's totally stupid of me to give an opinion

I know some people say it's a great place to live

I just really see that she would be swapping much by moving to there from where she is now

for a visit - yeah, definitely - but to live?

Juggling is not an art.

Captain Hi-Top wrote:Juggling is not an art.

Close the thread.

I don't even care but I'm not so sure about it.

Wiki:

Art historians and philosophers of art have long had classificatory disputes about art regarding whether a particular cultural form or piece of work should be classified as art. Disputes about what does and does not count as art continue to occur today

Definitions of art
Defining art can be difficult. Aestheticians and art philosophers often engage in disputes about how to define art, and most disputes about an individual art pieces value revolve around the very definition of art.

By its original and broadest definition, art (from the Latin ars, meaning "skill" or "craft") is the product or process of the effective application of a body of knowledge, most often using a set of skills; this meaning is preserved in such phrases as "liberal arts" and "martial arts". However, in the modern use of the word, which rose to prominence after 1750, “art” is commonly understood to be skill used to produce an aesthetic result (Hatcher, 1999).

Britannica Online defines it as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others". But how best to define the term “art” today is a subject of much contention; many books and journal articles have been published arguing over even the basics of what we mean by the term “art” (Davies, 1991 and Carroll, 2000). Theodor Adorno claimed in 1969 “It is self-evident that nothing concerning art is self-evident any more.” It is not clear who has the right to define art. Artists, philosophers, anthropologists, and psychologists all use the notion of art in their respective fields, and give it operational definitions that are not very similar to each other's.

The second, more narrow, more recent sense of the word “art” is roughly as an abbreviation for creative art or “fine art.” Here we mean that skill is being used to express the artist’s creativity, or to engage the audience’s aesthetic sensibilities. Often, if the skill is being used in a lowbrow or practical way, people will consider it as craft rather than art. Likewise, if the skill is being used in a commercial or industrial way, it will be considered design instead of art. On the other hand, crafts and design are sometimes considered applied art. Some thinkers have argued that the difference between fine art and applied art has more to do with value judgments made about the art than any clear definitional difference (Novitz, 1992).

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I think juggling fits the different definitions above.

Juggling is certainly a very difficult skill . I enjoy watching jugglers.

This trick is cool

http://www.kingscascade.com/3BallBehindBack.html

Behind-the-Back



Behind-the-back throws can really add visual appeal (as well as difficulty) to any juggling trick.

Instructions:

This is a trick that you definitely want to first practice with only one ball. Start with a single throw behind the back. Your release point will be somewhere in the middle of your lower back. You may find it easier and more accurate to throw from higher up your back or further across the other side. Try different releases and find what works best for you.

You want the ball path to go over your opposite shoulder and land in the natural catching position of the other hand. You don't want to have to reach way out or turn your body to make the catch. Practice both hands.



Backcrosses - This is the ultimate behind-the-back trick. It's consecutive behind-the-back throws on every throw. This pattern may not seem very difficult, but it is.



Here's this guy doing it with clubs.



I gotta try