Is there a easy routine that I can learn with three balls? I want to add this to my show. I have been working on it for about a year and can do 3 balls (no tricks). can someone point me in a good direction.
Thanks

There are several books and DVD's dedecated to ball juggling that are availible at ebay, but I must emphasize that you should only attempt to perform your routine in public when it is second nature to you, or you might imbarras yourself.
Al Angello

That is why I need a routine to start out working on. What can you you suggest?

I have been thinking about how to help you get what you are looking for, and all I can reccommend that will work for sure is a juggling club near you. If yoy go to http://www.jugglingdb.com click clubs, and country to find the nearest IJA affiliate near you. Honestly the only real way to get you on the right track is to be face to face with a serious juggler, a perfect situation would be a regional festival, and there are very many is attend a local convention for a weekend. There you will face a gym full of accomplished jugglers to learn from. PM me if I can help you more to find a regional festival.
HAVE FUN
Al Angello

Flourish Dude: I usually recomend Danceys book about ball juggling, it is great and teaches a lot of different tricks to do. Some are really difficult, others are simple as apple pie. Learn som nice quick starts and a cuple of body moves (audience gets that kind of tricks.) Work out a good finish, and start practising that routine only.

When you've mastered every technical bit, start workin on a story to go with the routine. Talk about whatever, how dogs walk, why lades go two to the toilet and men as single, whatever really. Find tricks that underline what you're saying. That way you have a routine that will work for any audience, even though you do simple things.

Hope that helps.

/Ark

Thanks!

I've always found it amazing that juggling - unlike magic - can be learned much better from a book than from video. I would go with Ark's suggestion, it's an excellent resource.

MMilan7
Welcome to the magic Café. The juggling group here is a small group of friends, and it is good to hear your opinion. I find it even more amazing about juggling is that when you come face to face with another juggler that there is an exchange that allows you to take your game up a notch without saying a word, sort of well if he can do that so should I.
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Al Angello

Hi guys,

I have also been working on juggling. It is so much fun!! When I could juggle with three balls it was so exciting.

I have been working on my kids show and want to include juggling too.

I live in Japan and learnt from watching a Japanese video on juggling. It is a great video with lots of techniques to work on. When I practice I generally practice what I already know as well as one new technique. This seems to be working well for me. However, I sympatheize with Flourish Dudes situation I don't yet have a "routine" together.

Can't wait to include this in my kids show. My fear is that kids will say, "I can do that" or "let me try"...

One idea is John Zanders routine in his school assembly show. For a magician introducing juggling maybe this is a good way to go.

Best

Simon

You should never confuse being able to juggle with being a juggler there is a quantum leap that you must make to become the real thing, so without the intervention of a serious juggler you will never understand what's missing.
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Al Angello

Simon,
A lot of kids always say " I can do that"
Whether it is true or not.
Whether it is a juggling or a magic trick you show.

Sometimes it is just to show off, sometimes they are convinced they can do it and just are really eager to show you, or try themselves, sometimes they say "I know that one" what often means they've seen it before and most of the time they want to see it again.

You need to interact with the children in the adiences rather then play for them (show them some tricks). If they say things like "I can do that" rather use it then make it disturb you. Like you can get a kid on stage and help you, or include a moment in which all the kids are active or can make some noice (what they need at that moment.). Useally ignoring does not help e great lot, because the kids will continue 'cause they think you haven't heard them. You can better make a quick comment back like "So Can I" if you want to continue.

I agree with Al Angelo that it is very helpful to see other jugglers juggle(to learn more about juggling skills) and perform (to learn more about performing.)

When kids or adults tell me "I can do that" my answer to kids is "in your dreams" and my answer to adults is "I am always interested in learning some new moves, and I just happen to have more balls in my bag". Those answers usually end the discussion, sometimes the adults will take me up on it, and actually be able to do the basic cascade, which is when I applaud them and start my workshop, they very quickly give up, because NO selfe taught juggler can ever begin to keep up with a pro.
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Al Angello

I almost always let people who say 'I can do that!' prove that they can't. It stops them quicker and with less unpleasantness than any put down. Also it makes you look much better to the rest of the audience afterwards now that they realise just how difficult what you do is.

Al, In general I would agree with you about self-taught v pro but as always there are exceptions and the biggest one I've come across is a man called Jeremy from Ireland. He couldn't afford to buy clubs so he bought 7 rings and practiced on his own for quite a while. He finally made it to a juggling convention and blew the organisers minds so much that they found him a place in the public show. He has since gone on to be a pro.

Nigel

Al Angello: I'm self taught... I do a five ball routine in my street show.

/Ark

Arkadia & Nigel
I think we agree, but our definitions are somewhat different. To teach yourself how to juggle is rather common, but somewhere along the line you had guidance to show you what you never thought of. All jugglers have thousands of years of history to draw upon to have a grasp of those years of accumulated knowledge is what seperates the serious juggler from the gifted self taught juggler.

Nigel that 7 ring juggler you spoke of, I'll bet learned a lot at his first convention.

Arkadia
You also polished your act by learning from others.

On the walls of that Egyptian tomb those women were doing the Mills mess, and we all benifit from those who came before us that refined our art. I believe we are stand on the shoulders of all the jugglers who came before us.
HAVE FUN
Al Angello