Juggling is the art of skillful object manipulation. It traditionally belongs to the acts performed in vaudeville theatres and circus shows. The most well-known form of juggling is toss juggling, but it also includes other circus skills such as diabolo, devil sticks, poi, cigar box manipulation, fire-dancing, contact juggling, and hat manipulation.
The word "juggling" derives from the Middle English "jogelen", which derives from the Anglo-French "jugler", which derives from the Latin "joculari" (to jest) and "jocus" (a joke)[1].
In 1947 the International Jugglers' Association (IJA) was founded to support and spread the art of juggling[2]. The IJA organizes the IJA juggling festival which is held annually in a North American city. The European counterpart of the IJA is the European Juggling Association (EJA). It was founded in 1987 in Saintes (France) and its main goal is to ensure that the European Juggling Convention (EJC) is held every year in a different city or town in Europe. With around 3000 to 4000 jugglers, the EJC is the world biggest juggling event.