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Making It: Programmes
27–39
Programme 32: Circus Girl
After watching the
programme, pupils should be able to:
- measure and mark out materials;
- assemble, join and combine components and materials
accurately;
- use information from a number of sources, including
ICT;
- design and make assignments using textiles.
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Kids come together from different parts of Australia
to rehearse a stunning circus show. Some children practise juggling
with small stones. Pebbles flash through the air in a complicated
cascading pattern. There are stilt-walkers too, as well as acrobats
and tumblers, all perfecting their performances.
On the beach, a group of kids even tries juggling with handfuls of
sand. As the sun sets, the excitement begins to build. Lights come
on and the audience starts to gather. Soon, it is time for the
performance to begin. Night falls and the shadows dance as the
performers take to the circus ring, juggling with fire sticks.
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- Art: investigating and making art, craft and
design.
- PE: hand / eye co-ordination.
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There were jugglers in Ancient Greece and Ancient
Egypt. The earliest picture of juggling we know about is a painting
from an Ancient Egyptian tomb and is around 4,000 years old. There
are different ways of juggling. The commonest method is called a
'cascade', where the balls trace a sideways figure of 8 shape as
they pass between the juggler's right and left hands.
Street entertainers have been around for centuries, performing at
markets, weddings, fairs and feasts. The Romans were famous for
their circuses, which were held in huge stadiums, such as the
Colliseum in Rome. Roman circuses involved gladiator fighting,
chariot races and fights with wild beasts. The modern circus began
in the early 1800s, when an English cavalry soldier, Philip Astley,
began putting on horse shows. His performances became so popular
that he soon built his own circus ring.
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Make Some Juggling
Balls
You will need: 3 squares
of thin cloth (about 10 cm by 10 cm); needle; thread; scissors. Use
lentils, rice or pearl barley as a filling.
- Lay one square on the table, with the patterned side
of the cloth facing upwards.
- Fold each corner of the square into the middle. You
will see a smaller square, made up of 4 triangular flaps.
- The edges of the flaps will be the 4 seams of a
pyramid-shaped bag.
- Sew along 3 of the seams, joining each flap to its
neighbour. Make the neatest, smallest stitches you can.
- Before sewing up the last seam, turn the bag inside
out, so that the patterned side of the cloth is now facing
outwards.
- Pour your filling material into the bag.
- Sew up the final seam.
- Make 2 more pyramid bags.
- These bags are ideal for juggling practice because
they do not roll away when you drop them.
Learn to Juggle
You will need: 3 juggling
balls; stick of chalk.
- Make sure the area you are using is clear and that
there is nothing breakable nearby.
- Juggling practice is best done facing a wall. This
helps you concentrate and stops you from throwing the balls too far
away from your body.
- Keep your arms bent at right angles and close to
your body.
- Hold one ball in your right hand. Move your hand
left across your body. As it reaches your middle, throw the ball up
and across to your left hand.
- Now reverse the move and throw the ball from your
left to your right hand.
- Practice this 'scoop throw' until you can do it
successfully without looking at your hands.
- Chalk a rectangle onto the wall facing you. The
bottom of the rectangle should be in line with your hands and the
top should be in line with your forehead. This is called the
'flight box'.
- As you practice the scoop throw, aim for the
juggling ball to reach the top left / right corner of the flight
box, before dropping straight down into the hand below it.
- When you have mastered the scoop throw, try it with
a ball in either hand. Throw the first ball. When it reaches the
top corner of the flight box, throw the second one. Catch the first
ball. When the second one reaches the top corner of the flight box,
launch the first ball again and so on … It takes a bit of
practice!
- When you are confident with this '2-ball cascade',
add the 3rd ball. Hold two balls in your right hand, with the first
one on your fingers and the second in your palm. The ball on your
fingertips is the one you will throw first.
- Hold the third ball in your left hand.
- Begin with the 2-ball cascade you have already
practised. Then, as the second ball reaches its peak, catch the
first ball and throw the third one. This is a difficult move to
master. If you find it very hard, go back and practice the 2-ball
cascade again, until you have built up your confidence.
- Once you have managed the 3-ball cascade in one
direction, just reverse the moves to keep the balls flying from
hand to hand.
- Juggling is tricky and it will take you some time
before you can smoothly manage the 3-ball cascade. You need to do a
little practice each day until the moves feel natural and
relaxed.
- For more advice, follow the link from this site to
the online juggling tutorial, where you can see slow-motion videos
of the different moves.
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Online juggling tutorials:
http://homepage.mac.com/abramr/juggling/
The Juggling Information Service (an organisation for jugglers
everywhere):
www.juggling.org/
Visit a virtual circus online:
www.bigapplecircus.org/VirtualCircus/right.php
Find out about the history of circuses:
www.circusweb.com/circuswebFrames.html
www.bobby-roberts.co.uk/circus-history.htm
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