Junior Jeremy Perkins and almunus Thom Wall ’09, members of the Washington University National Prestigious Society of Collegiate Jugglers, provide instruction on how to juggle. The group hosted a juggling showcase on Friday and Saturday featuring juggles from as far as Sweden and Las Vegas. Watch the video above for a Student Life exclusive.

Several world famous jugglers performed at Washington University in Simon Hall on Saturday for the main event of the St. Louis Juggling Festival.

The National Prestigious Society of Collegiate Jugglers (NPSCJ), Washington University’s juggling club and the largest one in the area, hosted the event for the second straight year. NPSCJ President Thom Wall, a senior, said that the event improved on last year’s in terms of attendance and quality, drawing more than 100 jugglers.

“This year’s [festival] was twice as big as last year’s and it was three or four times better,” he said. “We had a lot of local acts last year. This year we had performers that came all the way from Malibu to Norway.”

The festival began Friday with an “open gym” in the Women’s Building, and continued with the visiting jugglers holding workshops for students and locals.

“It’s hard to boil down in 45 minutes what [jugglers] have been working on for three years,” Wall said. “It’s incredible to see the new things that people are coming up with. These people are literally the cutting edge of their own style.”

Saturday night’s show consisted of the visitors’ performing acts, and the festival ended with competitive juggling on Sunday, including a “combat” event where jugglers entered an arena and tried to upset each other’s routine while keeping their own juggling steady.

“Overall, the whole thing went off without a hitch, which is incredible considering how far away these people are coming from,” Wall said. “All the planning paid off.”

One of the performers, Josiah Jones, is currently the only person able to juggle five clubs and seven balls. Other performers included winners of international competitions, including Matt Hall, silver medalist at the International Jugglers’ Association Individuals competition, and Norwegian juggler and contortionist Frida Odden, whose act Wall considered to be Saturday’s highlight.

“It’s freaking insane,” Wall said of Odden. “The best way to describe what she does is juggling upside-down. She’s the only person that does this style.”

The main event of the festival is the Juggling Showcase, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18. The show will feature nine performers, many of whom have flown in from around the country to take part in this juggling extravaganza.

“We are flying performers in. Last year was more local acts, but this year we have national acts with really big names. This is the only time St. Louis can see performers of this caliber,” senior Thom Wall, president of the National Prestigious Society of Collegiate Jugglers (NPSCJ) said.

Also gracing the stage is the NPSCJ of Wash. U., one of the premier juggling clubs in the Midwest.

The NPSCJ jugglers are especially looking forward to the opportunity to work with the greater juggling community in order to improve their already impressive skills.

“I’m excited to meet all the people coming in for the festival. There will be a lot of serious jugglers who will be able to teach me some new things,” sophomore Jeremy Perkins said.
If you want to see some of the most extreme juggling possible, then watch out for a special trick where performer Josiah Jones juggles five clubs in a contortion behind his back. He is the only juggler in the world capable of this feat. Also keep your eyes open for Tony Pezzo, known for his skill in pancake throwing style. At the ripe age of 15, Pezzo is considered to be one of the best ring jugglers in the world. Other highlights of the show will include Jen Slaw, a performer who incorporates graceful dance moves into her juggling, and Frida Odden, a contortionist performer from Norway, who performed at the European Juggling Convention.

While the performers have been working for great lengths of time on their juggling, spectators should not be surprised by mistakes, also known as drops, during the show.

“I expect to drop at least once every time I perform. Someone once said, ‘You don’t expect basketball players to make every shot, so you shouldn’t expect jugglers to make every trick,’” Perkins said.

For a preview of the performance, you can visit www.youtube.com/jugglingshowcase or access the video through the NPSCJ Web site, www.wujuggling.com. Attendees are encouraged to show up early to ensure they can get in. Tickets can be purchased in advance on the NPSCJ Web site, wujuggling.com, or for $10 at the door.