Rhett Farber, one of the organizers of the city's first World Juggling Day, shows some young fans ball skills with a difference. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

The instructions were simple but the actions proved a lot more difficult. In Lujiazui Park on a hot Sunday afternoon, Rhett Farber, wearing a jester's hat, was yelling: "Throw, throw, throw, catch" and 20 Chinese youngsters were trying their best to do as he said with brightly-colored balls that bounced, wobbled and dropped.

It was World Juggling Day on June 15 this year, and Farber and his friend Ferdinand Huber, both passionate jugglers, decided to celebrate it for the first time in Shanghai on June 16. Over that weekend juggling events were held around the globe, from Afghanistan to the Netherlands.

"Through this event we want to promote juggling as a sport and a fun leisure activity," said Farber. "It's also a great way to interact with other people and meet new friends.

"World Juggling Day was created in recognition of the hobby, to teach people how to juggle, to promote juggling and for jugglers to get together and celebrate."

Originally established by the International Jugglers' Association in the mid 1980s, World Juggling Day (first named National Juggling Day) is held every year on the Saturday closest to June 17 - the day the association was founded in 1947.

Once a circus performer

Farber has been juggling for more than 30 years. While he was at a university in the US, he joined a circus to perform as a clown and has been juggling ever since. "Whenever I get invited to events, especially if I know that children will be there, I always bring my props (the juggling term for a performer's equipment) and juggle for the crowd," he said. Farber has been living in Shanghai with his wife and children for more than a year.

"I lived in Taiwan before where I held classes and taught juggling," he said. "It's such a great way for people to have fun. I just want to spread the joy."

Corey Hoelker, who is also from the US, was one of the jugglers performing on the day. Hoelker started juggling when he was just 13 years old, and continued through college. He comes from Iowa, where it is said (ironically) that for fun people watch corn grow. He took up juggling to keep himself occupied.

Hoelker has lived in China for five years, and Shanghai has been his home for two. He said this was the first time he had attended a juggling event in China. He had met the organizers and was asked to come and show his skills.

"My specialty is juggling balls and using my head to bounce them as they go round." The act delighted the children who watched with amazement. And then he delighted them even more by showing his skill with the diabolo, a special cup than spins on a cord strung between two sticks. It is tossed into the air and caught in a variety of unexpected and amazing ways. Apparently the diabolo developed from the Chinese yoyo in the 12th century.

Hoelker also juggled with balls and Indian clubs keeping time with the music, and constantly delighting the scores of children around him.

On the day the jugglers kept a steady stream of balls, clubs and devil sticks in the air performing unbelievable tricks. For the few who wanted to learn more, there were free juggling workshops and plenty of expert advice on hand.

Corey Hoelker juggles Indian clubs at Lujiazui Park. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

Came prepared

Although Hoelker hadn't performed in years, he relished the opportunity to juggle again and came prepared with batons, balls and his own personalized diabolo.

He said he wanted to meet Chinese jugglers. He had seen some excellent jugglers perform in Shanghai and would love to talk to them.

Hoelker explained that some jugglers had turned their skills into sporting events. "There is one activity called 'joggling' where you run while juggling. They also have a 100-meter juggling sprint, a 200-meter juggling sprint and juggling hurdles on a running track." He would love to see this in China. The high temperatures at the weekend had restricted the attendance and Hoelker said that next year they would be considering an indoor venue for the event.

Co-organizer Huber has been juggling since he was 8. "I remember I just picked up the props one day and I have never looked back," he said. "I have been juggling ever since and I love it."

Huber grew up in Brazil and has attended World Juggling Days around the world. "The events that I attended before were more formalized. We are hoping that in the future the event in Shanghai can be expanded and we can hold conferences for the juggling enthusiasts here."

He said learning to juggle was like learning how to ride a bicycle. "Once you learn, you never forget," he said. "Juggling is not that hard. We had some people here today who had never juggled before but after half an hour, they were already able to juggle three pieces. When you get going, you get this glimmer and it's hard to stop."

Although on the day the jugglers were all expats who with some professional experience, there is a great tradition of juggling in China. Reports from the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC) talk of amazing warrior jugglers who juggled balls and swords, astounding the armies they were fighting with.