Teaching artist Allison Watman demonstrates the basics of juggling, starting with a simple ball toss and working up to three balls at once. 

Vocabulary You Will Learn:

• None in this video 

Materials You Will Need:

• Three juggling balls or three pairs of rolled up socks

How to Juggle

1. First, take one of the balls, and practice doing a “rainbow throw” from one hand to the other. This means that you’re tossing the ball in an arc - the shape of a rainbow - with your hands around waist level and the ball reaching about the height of your forehead. Your hands should move in a scooping motion, like you’re scooping ice cream, and your feet should be planted firmly on the ground.
2. Once you’ve mastered the rainbow throw, it’s time to try juggling two balls. With one ball in each hand, you’ll use the rainbow throw to toss one ball into the air, then the other. Then you’ll catch the first ball in the opposite hand from which you threw it and the second ball in the same way. It may help to say “throw, throw, catch, catch” to yourself as you go through this step. Make sure you are throwing the balls roughly at forehead height; throwing them too high or too low will make the process more difficult. You will probably drop the balls a lot as you do this - that’s okay! 
3. Once you feel comfortable with juggling two balls, practice starting with your non-dominant hand in addition to your dominant hand. Work on mastering this before moving on to adding a third ball.

4. Now it’s time to add a third ball! Hold two balls in your dominant hand and the other ball in your non-dominant hand. First you will throw the front ball in your dominant hand, then the ball in your other hand, and then finally the third ball. First, just practice tossing the balls in the correct order, letting them drop to the ground. Once you’re comfortable with that, you can work on catching the balls and continuing the juggling pattern. When one ball reaches its peak, that’s when you toss the next ball in the sequence.
5. A few tips to make the process easier:
1. You can juggle over a bed as you practice, so that you’re not constantly bending over to pick up balls from the floor. 
2. If you find that your feet are traveling forward while you juggle, try juggling against a wall.
3. Make sure you're scooping the balls from side to side, rather than out in front of you. 

In this video, Allison talks us through the basic steps involved in juggling, from a simple rainbow toss to juggling three balls at once. If you want to go even further, think about these questions: 

• Allison suggests mastering beginning your juggling pattern with your non-dominant hand in addition to your dominant hand. Why do you think that she suggests this? Did you find starting with your non-dominant hand easier or more difficult?
• Do you think you can juggle with objects that are not balls? What about scarves or pieces of fruit?
• Sometimes teaching a skill to someone else can help us to learn that skill even better. Do you think you could teach a friend or family member how to juggle?
• How long can you juggle without dropping one of the balls? You can try timing yourself and seeing if you can beat your own record!

Accessibility

Don't forget that you can turn on "Closed Captioning" to view the YouTube video with English captions.

More about the Teaching Artist

Allison Watman (she/her) is a professional circus performer and decade-long member of the Give & Take Jugglers based out of Philadelphia. She has performed for countless schools and community events across the East Coast. In addition to being a juggler and aerialist, Allison holds a M.A. in Elementary Education and has worked for the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts and Circadium, America’s first circus college. She has a passion for educating through the arts and empowerment through circus. 

Kennedy Center Education provides resources and experiences that inspire, excite, and empower students and young artists, plus the tools and connections to help educators incorporate the arts into classrooms and learning spaces of all types.

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Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Genesis Inspiration Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;

Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..

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