How to Start Contact Juggling

Co-authored by Nathan Taylor

Last Updated: October 11, 2024 Approved

Contact Juggling is a style of single or multiple ball manipulation also called Dynamic Manipulation and Sphereplay, seen repeatedly in the movie Labyrinth. A practiced contact juggler will eventually be able to roll, spin, toss and pass the ball back and forth, looping and bobbing it over the fingertips, palms, the tops of the hands, arms and other parts of the body in a graceful dance.

1

The Cradle

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Dip the straightened middle finger down slightly to make a cradle for the ball. Place and leave the ball on top of the fingers near the second knuckles of the first, middle and ring fingers. Keep it there for several minutes at a time to get used to it. Move your hand around, up and down as the ball is cradled on top of it, adjusting for inertia. Find the cradle on the tops of both your hands and become very accustomed to the ball being there. This is intrinsic to contact juggling.^{[1]
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2

Palm to Cradle Over the Edge

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Keeping the fingers together and straight (but not tense), give the ball a very slight lift up and pivot your open hand inwards, still underneath the ball so that it rolls over the outer edge of your index finger and lands in the cradle position on the top of your hand. Hold it a few moments. Now rotate it back to your palm with the opposite pivoting motion, dropping the plane of your hand back down if you need to. Practice until the ball moves as little as possible while your hand moves under it. Eventually there will be "sweet spots" where you instinctively feel it and perform the move effortlessly.

3

Palm to Cradle Over the Tips

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Hold the ball in your open palm with the fingers together and gesturing towards ten o'clock (left) or two o'clock (right), depending on which hand you're starting with (it should look like you’re about to shrug with one arm). Then, using your elbow for a counterbalance (get your upper arm working, too), steadily swing your open palm in towards you with a windshield-wiper, arching kind of motion and let the ball roll over the tips of the fingers (just between the first and middle fingers) and on to the cradle position (top of the hand). Once the ball comes to rest on the cradle, pivot/swing your arm in the same arc back to the starting position and allow the ball to pass back over the fingertips to the palm. The ball should ultimately go over without the fingers being spread too far apart, but get them further apart and make an actual track for awhile if you need to. You can also try learning this transfer with the ball first cradled in front of you and arc it out to the palm.^{[2]
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4

The Butterfly

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Perform the palm-to-cradle fingertips transfer repeatedly with a free elbow. This is the previous palm-to-cradle-fingertips transfer done back and forth rhythmically so that the ball travels in a fluid figure-eight or windshield wiper motion as it glides to-and-fro. The only difference is that your elbow should be free to move around a lot more to support a fluid motion. To get a well-rounded figure-eight, lift the ball in a small, inward curve from your palm as the ball passes over it back to the cradle. Start off slowly and deliberately so you can get used to the move and watch it. The butterfly looks its best, though, when done snug and sleek. Once you've really got it, try reversing the direction of the figure-eight.^{[3]
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- On the outward motion of the butterfly (when the ball rolls on to the palm) be sure not to cup or grasp the ball before you roll it back over to the cradle. Even when in the palm, the ball should be visible.
- Mastery of the butterfly leads to more flashy, intermediate moves such as the top to top butterfly pass.

5

Other Transfers, Passes, & Isolations

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Many more transfers and passes exist and there are also isolations: keeping the ball in one fixed spot in space while the hands grab, hold and flourish around it as the ball appears to hover. There are also arm rolls, elbow stalls, chest rolls and (for some very talented folks indeed) head, neck, back and shoulder rolls. Practiced contact jugglers also do many types of palm spinning, rotating multiple balls in the hands. The list goes on; if you can picture it, it can probably be done.

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Tips

To cut down on having to chase your dropped ball around the room, you might want to practice over a bed.

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Smooth Moves Take Time - Don't worry too much about a sloppy, initial version of a trick. Bumbling through it for weeks is fine; just keep up the repetition! It may take months, but the kinks will iron themselves out and gracefulness will follow on its own. Regardless of your balance and reflexes, muscle-memory will inevitably set in in your hands and arms, greatly improving their reactions.

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The fingers of a contact juggler should be poised, touching and as straight as possible without being tensed or ultra-rigid. For certain passes, though, they can be slightly spread apart without ruining the illusion (especially with larger balls). Constantly spread fingers are bad, though, as are ever rigid "karate chop" hands.

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Warnings

Keep your distance from others. Try not to "transfer" the ball into your lip, nose or forehead and don't start with acrylic. It is not fragile like glass and will break tiles, aquariums, knick-knacks and bones before it will break itself.

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There are some in the juggling community who have chosen to snub this art for various reasons. Visit the first three External Links below to learn more about the ethical debates surrounding it.

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Acrylic balls create a lens that can easily burn. Don't leave a clear (or translucent) contact ball out where it might be exposed to sunlight, or you may find burnt holes in whatever surface the ball was resting on.

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Do it next to your computer and you will be sorry. If it accidentally falls out it WILL crack the screen or outer shell.

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If you're practicing and sitting Indian-style, cover your ankles with something like a blanket or extra socks or your ankles may end up very black and blue from accidental drops.

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Things You'll Need

The Ball: Start with a nice, round orange, a light wooden ball or a stage ball (3"/7.6 cm to 4" /10.2 cm wide). Don't be afraid to drop it over and over. Practice over a bed or in the grass. Later on, when you're dropping the ball less, an acrylic juggling ball(3" /7.6 cm or 4" / 10.2 cm) works well for most. The balls can easily be found on websites by searching for "contact juggling".