Shower (juggling)

"Circle juggling" redirects here. For other uses, see Passing (juggling).
Shower
Minimum prop #: 3
Difficulty: 5/10,[1] 4.2[2] (note: difficulty ratings are arbitrary and subject to change)
Siteswap: 51 or (4x,2x)
Shannon: 6
Period: 2
Parity: even or odd
Notes: asymmetrical, synchronous or asynchronous
Ladder diagram for asynchronous (51) and synchronous (4x,2x) shower

In toss juggling, the shower is a juggling pattern for 3 or more objects, most commonly balls or bean bags, where objects are thrown in a circular motion. Balls are thrown high from one hand to the other while the other hand passes the ball back horizontally. "In the shower pattern, every ball is thrown in a high arc from the right hand to the left (or vice versa) and then quickly passed off with a low throw from the left to the right hand (or vice versa)."[3] The animation depicts a 3-ball version. Siteswap notation for shower patterns is (2n-1)1, where n is the number of objects juggled. (i.e. 31 for 2 balls, 51 for 3 balls, 71 for 4 balls, etc...) The circular motion of the balls is commonly represented in cartoons as the archetypical juggling pattern, somewhat at odds with reality, where the cascade is more common. By constantly reversing the direction, the box pattern can be formed.

There are two different types of shower: synchronous shower, where both hands throw their ball at the same time and asynchronous shower. The half-shower resembles the shower, but is siteswap 3. It is, "one of the best of all the routines for strengthening and for improving all-around agility and coordination."[4] A variant of the shower or shape distortion of the half-shower, the Statue of Liberty (siteswap: 3[5]), involves one overhead hand.[6][7]

  1. ^ "Shower". LibraryofJuggling.com. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  2. ^ Beever, Ben (2001). "Siteswap Ben's Guide to Juggling Patterns", p.24, JugglingEdge.com. BenBeever.com at the Wayback Machine (archived August 10, 2015).
  3. ^ Crego, Robert (2003). Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries, p.19. ISBN 9780313316104.
  4. ^ Darbyshire and Siddall (1993), p.20.
  5. ^ "Statue of Liberty". LibraryofJuggling.com. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  6. ^ "Statue of Liberty", Tunbridge Wells Juggling Club.
  7. ^ Darbyshire and Siddall (1993), p.25.