Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer to the objects they juggle as props. The most common props are balls or beanbags, rings, clubs, oranges, apples, and special bounce balls. Some performers use more dramatic objects such as knives, fire torches, and even chainsaws. The term juggling can also refer to other prop-based skills such as diabolo, devil sticks, poi, cigar boxes, fire-dancing, contact juggling, hooping, foot bag and hat manipulation.
The word juggling derives from the Middle English jogelen (to entertain by performing tricks), in turn from the Old French jangler. There is also the Late Latin form joculare of Latin joculari, meaning to jest. "Juggling" may be used metaphorically, like "multi-tasking," to mean constantly refocusing attention among responsibilities, such as in the title of the PBS documentary Juggling Work and Family.
Jay Gilligan is a professional juggler and performer from Arcadia, Ohio currently performing and living in Europe. Jay is a teacher of juggling and works at many circus schools overseas. He has been called one of the best living jugglers by writers at the usenet group rec.juggling. He has performed in many European countries and every state in America. Jay toured American cities in the summer 2006 and summer 2007 with the Shoebox Tour. Jay is also the main teacher of juggling and creator of the juggling program at the University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm, Sweden.
Michael Moschen is a juggler. He received a Fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation (the so-called "Genius Grant") in 1990, has appeared on TV on PBS, and done ads for Motorola. Cirque du Soleil commissioned Moschen to create a new work for their permanent theatrical circus in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Moschen is particularly known for contact juggling. In the film Labyrinth the crystal ball manipulations seen to be performed by David Bowie's character were actually done by Moschen, who stood behind Bowie during filming. Unfortunately for Moschen, this meant that he could not see the objects he was juggling, and it took many takes to film the scenes with the crystal balls.
A classmate of Penn Jillette at Greenfield, Massachusetts High School, class of 1973, Moschen and Jillette worked together developing juggling performances immediately after high school.
In 1991, an episode of Great Performances entitled "In Motion with Michael Moschen" focused on his creative process and shows several of his innovative juggling routines. Moschen's television appearances also include An Evening at the Pops (with the Boston Pops Orchestra), Maury Povich, Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular, The Tonight Show, Jerry Lewis's MDA Telethon, The Montreal International Comedy Festival (Just for Laughs) on Showtime, Ricky Jay's Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, Sesame Street, The David Letterman Show and PBS's Alive from Off-Center. Moschen is featured on the recent A&E documentary The Mystery of Genius and made his television dramatic acting debut on L.A. Law. He has also appeared on TV in England, Spain, Italy, Chile and Argentina. In 2001, Moschen was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch".
Chris Bliss is an American stand up comedian and juggler. He majored in comparative literature at Northwestern University and the University of Oregon before dropping out to pursue a career in juggling.
Bliss decided not to pursue the conventional route of circus style juggling. Instead he chose to blend popular music with tightly choreographed fast paced moves. While numbers jugglers seek to juggle more and more objects, Bliss chose to be a technical juggler, and to juggle only three balls. It is this combination of a simple juggling style and his choice of popular music that made Bliss a big hit, culminating in him being chosen as the sole opening act for Michael Jackson on his 1984 Victory Tour.
Following on from this success, Bliss expanded his brief juggling act to include stand-up comedy. His act now comprises both stand-up elements and juggling.
In 2006 Bliss enjoyed widespread fame when an online video of his juggling finale became a viral internet sensation. The five minute video shows his energetic finale where he juggles 3 balls to Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End by The Beatles. The video was widely circulated via email and blogs with an estimated 20 million viewings within the first 40 days alone. Total views to date are estimate to be over 80 million.
Ellen Philpotts-Page (born February 21, 1987), known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno. She won back-to-back Austin Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress for her roles in Juno and Hard Candy.
She is also known for her starring roles in Inception, Super, Smart People, Whip It, and as Katherine "Kitty" Pryde in X-Men: The Last Stand. In addition, Page received attention in Canada for award-winning roles in Pit Pony and Marion Bridge, as well as television shows Trailer Park Boys and ReGenesis.
In 2008, Page was nominated for Time's 100 Most Influential People list and placed #86 on FHM's Sexiest Women in the World list, and moved up to #70 for 2010. In June 2008, Page was named on Entertainment Weekly's future A-List stars list.
Page was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the daughter of Martha Philpotts, a teacher, and Dennis Page, a graphic designer. She attended the Halifax Grammar School until grade 10, spent some time at Queen Elizabeth High School, and graduated from the Shambhala School in 2005. She also spent two years in Toronto, Ontario studying in the Interact Program at Vaughan Road Academy, along with close friend and fellow Canadian actor Mark Rendall. Growing up, Page enjoyed playing with action figures and climbing trees.
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