-Hello.

My name is Ben Johnson.

I'm a teaching artist with the New Victory Theater.

And today we're going to explore the ancient/modern/futuristic art of juggling.

People have been throwing things up in the air and catching them for a long, long time.

In fact, folks were juggling back in ancient Egypt, China, Greece, Mesoamerica, and juggling is alive and well today.

The other day I saw this kid in the park who was trying to see how many leaves he could keep up in the air.

And maybe in the future, an astronaut will juggle 36 rocks on the surface of the moon.

We see people juggling most often scarves, balls, and clubs.

But not everyone has juggling scarves, balls, and clubs laying around the house.

Luckily, there are some easy substitutions we can make.

Instead of scarves, you could use plastic bags.

Instead of balls, you could use tennis balls or fruit or priceless Fabergé eggs.

And instead of clubs you could try to juggle some folded-up umbrellas.

But for now, let's focus on one -- plastic bags.

We're going to divide our exploration of plastic-bag juggling into three levels.

For level one, you need just one bag.

Everyone got it.

Hold it right here in one hand, about as high as your waist, and you're going to throw it back and forth between your hands five times.

Ready, set, go.

One, two, three, four, five.

Do you got it?

Alright.

For the bonus challenge, try this.

Throw it up in the air, and see how many times you can clap without letting it hit the floor.

Ready, set, go.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

Ah.

Level two.

Two plastic bags.

Take them in, one in each hand.

Hold them about as high as your waist is.

And then you're going to try to make an "X" pattern in front of your body.

Like this.

Throw, throw, catch, catch.

Throw, throw, catch, catch.

Try to do that five times.

Ready, set, go.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

And for the extra bonus challenge, try this.

Put one hand like this, the other bag like that.

Take this hand.

Put it behind your back.

Now try to keep both of these bags in the air using only one hand.

Ready, set, go.

[ Exhaling sharply ] For level three, you're going to need three plastic bags.

Take the first one.

Hold it in your pinky, like that.

Take the second one.

Hold it with your index finger and your middle finger, like that.

And take the third bag and hold it in your other hand.

Now, here's a challenge.

Try to juggle all three of these bags in the "X" pattern in front of your body five times.

Alright.

One, two, three, four, five.

Ah.

If you're ready for a bonus round, try this out.

Same beginning.

Pinky finger.

Index, middle.

Other hand.

Juggle in the same pattern.

And at some point, throw one super high, spin around, and then catch it.

♪♪ ♪♪ That is all for now.

Thank you so much for taking some time and hanging out and juggling with me today.

And best of luck as you practice, practice, practice and maybe someday start your own circus.

Have fun.

We'll see you next time.