Making It: Programmes 27–39
Programme 32: Circus Girl

Aims

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.

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.

Curriculum Relevance

Art: investigating and making art, craft and design.
PE: hand / eye co-ordination.

Background

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.

Activities

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.

Links

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

Making It: Programmes 27–39 Programme 32: Circus Girl