On Saturday, the closest to June 17, World Juggling Day is celebrated. The holiday is unofficial, but invariably celebrated among professionals and lovers of this genre of circus art. It coincides with the founding date of the International Jugglers’ Association (IJA), created in 1947.
However, juggling and the history of its appearance and development are associated not only with the circus and spectacular entertainment, which are widely popular among the majority of the population and especially among children. This is not only a genre of circus art, but also a sport.
The essence of juggling is simple – is the skillful manipulation of various objects, of which there can be three or more. The most common items used by jugglers are clubs, balls, sticks, poi, diabolo, rings and others. However, not all people are given an idea that is simple in meaning. To develop juggling skills, today there are entire techniques and exercises, and achieving a high level of skill, as in any sport, is achieved not only with certain physical abilities, but also through hard work and training.
It is known that the art of juggling existed back in Ancient Egypt, as evidenced by the found wall drawings. But in the army, certain skills in using edged weapons led to the development of combat juggling associated with the ability of individual warriors to skillfully juggle several swords, sabers or other types of edged weapons at the same time. Often, before the start of a battle, such warriors demonstrated their skills in front of the enemy formation, introducing a demoralizing factor into its ranks.
However, the entertainment of the process determined its main direction of development in the future. Until a certain point, jugglers performed in rich houses and on the streets during the holidays, earning their own food and performing to the delight of the audience. Everything changed with the advent of professional circuses. It was then that jugglers found a place to realize their skills and talents, and the circus became their place of work.
These days, juggling has gained new popularity among ordinary amateurs who want to learn at least the simplest skills of this art. This gave impetus to the emergence of clubs.
The professional environment of jugglers is united by organizations whose activities are aimed at developing juggling techniques and organizing competitions, including at the international level. Such organizations include the International Jugglers Association, the World Juggling Federation and the Russian Sports Juggling Federation.
Juggling classes promote the development of reaction, motor skills, vision (including lateral vision), dexterity, memory, coordination, etc.
There are several types of juggling, the features of which are determined by the principles of manipulation, the number of objects used for juggling, the types of objects, and the number of participants in the process. Even individual sports games have appeared based on juggling.
In everyday life, we can encounter the art of juggling and in bars, where bartenders juggle dishes to prepare them while making drinks.
On the holiday itself, demonstration performances, competitions and master classes are traditionally held all over the world, with the assistance of juggler organizations.