juggler

Entertainer who keeps several plates, knives, balls, or other objects in the air at once by tossing and catching them. The art of juggling has been practiced since antiquity. Through the 18th century jugglers performed at fairs and marketplaces, and in the 19th century they found larger audiences in circuses and music halls. In these training grounds the art advanced in technical perfection, producing outstanding performers such as Enrico Rastelli, who could juggle 10 balls. Modern jugglers introduced variations such as performing while blindfolded on horseback, on a high wire, or on a unicycle.