One of the most mesmerizing scenes in Labyrinth, at least for me, has always been when Jareth does contact juggling with a crystal ball. I’ve wanted to learn how to do it since I first saw the movie. Unfortunately, I never got around to it, although I did successfully pick up glowsticking during my raver days.
Now, as a new quarantine project, I’ve decided to learn the art of contact juggling. And I think I’ve found one of the best free resources out there to help me do it.
Watch the mesmerizing crystal ball GIF
Mesmerizing!
Who Really Did the Crystal Ball Tricks in “Labyrinth”?
Okay, so it wasn’t actually David Bowie doing the contact juggling. But hey, it fit the character so perfectly that we believed the Goblin King could do it.
The real magician behind those incredible crystal ball movements was Michael Moschen. His skill made the illusion look effortless, and you can see his work in the video below.
Watch Michael Moschen’s Contact Juggling
Learn Contact Juggling With Free YouTube Tutorials
If you’ve ever wanted to learn contact juggling yourself, YouTube has some fantastic resources.
The Amazing Kenny has several videos explaining the techniques behind juggling a ball. He makes everything look and sound so easy that you can’t help feeling confident enough to try it yourself.
His tutorials break down the movements, making them much less intimidating for beginners.
Watch The Amazing Kenny’s Contact Juggling Tutorial
Basic Contact Juggling Tricks for Beginners
There’s also an entire blog dedicated to teaching contact juggling. Best of all, the tutorials are free.
The website covers several beginner techniques, including Cradle Holding, which Kenny demonstrates in his video. This technique involves balancing the ball on three fingers and moving your hand in different directions. Practicing these movements helps you become comfortable controlling the ball.
Once you’ve gotten the hang of that, you can move on to the trick that blew our minds in Labyrinth: Hand Flips.
Hand flips involve gently tossing the ball into the air and catching it in your palm. With enough practice, you can create a seamless movement that looks almost magical.
After mastering the technique with one hand, try switching to the other. Eventually, you can practice the Palm Cradle Transfer, which allows you to move the ball smoothly between positions.
Watch another mesmerizing crystal ball GIF
Ready to Become the Goblin King?
These are only a few of the tricks you can teach yourself. With practice, patience, and a little determination, you might eventually master the movements that made Jareth’s crystal ball scene so unforgettable.
I recommend checking out Contactjuggle.com and giving the tutorials a try.
And if you manage to pull it off, please send us a video!
Bonus points if you do it in Bowie cosplay!
