Juggling Ball - Types of Balls

Types of Balls

Beanbags are the most common type of juggling ball. Juggling beanbags are typically constructed with an outer shell made from several pieces of vinyl or imitation leather, and filled with millet, birdseed or other material designed to give the beanbag bulk. Beanbags come in a variety of colors, the most common being "beach" (a combination of Red, Yellow, Blue and Green on each piece of the outer shell), white, black, and other colors that are easily visible. Beanbags are preferred by many jugglers because of their lack of bounce and roll when dropped, the ease with which they are caught, and their reasonable price and availability. Beanbags are generally found in sizes ranging from 2"-3" in diameter, though smaller beanbags with less filling in them are sometimes used by numbers jugglers, who require a smaller and lighter ball to facilitate throwing and catching many balls in the same hand.

Stage Balls are often used during juggling performances. Stage balls have a polished outer shell, typically made of plastic or hard rubber, and are hollow. For this reason, stage balls can be manufactured to a greater diameter than beanbags, whilst maintaining a more manageable weight for the juggler. Furthermore, stage balls hold their shape and color better than beanbags making them a more visual prop. Stage balls, however, tend to bounce or roll away when dropped, and therefore are not commonly used during practice. Stage balls are generally found in sizes ranging from 2.5"-4" in diameter, though many performers such as Sergej Ignatov have used balls larger than 4" when performing, for extra dramatic effect.

DX/Russian Balls are a style of juggling balls that combines many of the benefits of both beanbags and stage balls. DX balls are constructed with a hard PVC outer shell, similar to a stage ball, and are part-filled with millet seed, to give the ball a consistent weight. This produces a juggling ball that flies consistently in the air, and does not roll away when dropped. The DX ball is patented in the UK by Beard Enterprises Ltd.

Silicone Balls are a type of juggling ball most commonly used during bounce juggling and stage performances. These balls are made of silicone and have the same clean appearance as stage balls, a surface which is easy to grip and catch, and have a consistent, high bounce. Silicone balls are also easier to clean than stage balls, which can often scuff permanently. Unfortunately, these balls often cost 5-7 times more than beanbags or stage balls, which often limits the use of these balls to performers and serious hobbyists.

Russian Balls share some of the advantages of stage balls (rigidity, better visually) and some advantages of beanbags (dead drop). They comprise a thin shell with most of the weight being in a granular material (sand or salt being the most common). This gives them slightly unusual flight characteristics, but the low centre of mass makes them well suited for catches using other parts of the body than hands. They are common home-made balls since the parts involved are cheap. This makes them well-suited for experimentation regarding different sizes and weights, with the main limitation being the availability of the shells. Play, from Italy, makes a similar ball with a slightly thicker shell which is partially filled with liquid silicon.

Juggling balls are usually the first props that beginners attempt to juggle with, due to their simplicity (compared to other juggling props) and availability. Additionally, many common types of balls can function as juggling balls for a beginning juggler (such as tennis balls or baseballs). Most novice jugglers often spend much time learning how to control three balls before moving on to other juggling props. However, some jugglers prefer to stick with focusing on only one juggling prop in order to achieve "mastery" of one art.

For the more advanced juggler, juggling balls are often used to demonstrate basic patterns such as the cascade, fountain, shower and half-shower, and can be used to form more creative juggling patterns as well, such as patterns involving throws around the body, blind throws or catches, and throwing or catching with parts of the body other than the hands. Typically, more advanced jugglers will juggle between four and seven balls at once, though many advanced jugglers can juggle more than seven balls at once, partially due to the fact that juggling balls can be manufactured in small sizes and light weights, and beanbags can be underfilled to facilitate ease of catching.

However, some juggling tricks, such as those typically done with clubs or rings that involve spinning or twirling the prop are not as effective with balls, since the perception of a juggling ball remains the same from whichever angle the ball is viewed. The use of juggling balls in passing is, for this reason, less popular than the use of clubs, since the spin of the clubs in the air is often one of the appeals of passing with juggling clubs (and also because a club is larger, and therefore easier to catch when thrown from a great height or distance).

Juggling balls can also be used for contact juggling, a form of juggling in which the juggler never throws the objects. Typically, the contact juggler will use stage balls or balls specifically designed for contact juggling.