Workshop page 3 (of 3)
And now for the butterfly

The butterfly has been named after a similar hand movement in a Middle Eastern Dance [ source: Contact Juggling by James Ernest] . It is the most well known move in Contact Juggling. Many people see it as a 'signature-move' from Mr. Michael Motion (a prominent Contact Juggler, you can read a short bio about him on this page ). Which is why the book of J.Ernest has a somewhat controversial reputation, since the move is described in it, in fine detail. I hereby hope that this workshop will not get the same bad publicity.
( NOTE: a couple of years back there was an extensive discussion on this matter, on whether or not it is illegal or immoral to copy some bodies moves, on the rec.juggling newsgroup. Perhaps somebody would like to write an essay on the subject and place it somewhere on these pages. You can search the old rec.juggling mail in the JIS-archive )

Okay, sorry, I seem to have strayed from the subject somewhat, back to the workshop.
The Butterfly is performed in two different ways. The first is an extension of the windshield wiper and requires you to learn the back-to-back transfer. The second also uses the back-to-back transfer but also makes use of new kind of cradle and is made in front of your body (the hands don't reach out more than shoulder width).
The two paragraphs below will explain them in that order

First without a ball. Place your hand in the home position, but instead of holding the hand straight in front of your chest, you hold your hand almost in front of the shoulder of your other arm. Mirror this position with your other arm/hand, so that the wrists of both hands touch in front of your chest. Now do the windshield wiper simultaneously with both arms. From the home position to the outside hold and back.

Click here for an Animated GIF video

There is one major difference between the windshieldwiper and the butterfly; In the windshieldwiper you try to keep your elbow in one position, the upper arm rotates around that like a ... well, a windshield wiper. The butterfly motion on the other hand greatly improves if you use your elbow to lead the arm in its path (this results in the figure eight pattern I told you about in chapter 2). So starting in the butterfly home position you would start by moving your elbows sideways, then (elbows continue to go outwards) you'd rotate your upper arms towards the outside hold. The same applies from outside to inside; let your elbows start the movement by going first.

A small step forwards; imagine a ball. Start with the above described butterfly home position, ball lies on the hand furthest away from your body in the cradle. Do the butterfly (both arms simultanious), to outside en back. Coming back to the home position you should switch your hands; the hand which was furthest away in the start position (holding the ball) now has the inside position. (as I do in the Animation)

As soon as the wrists are touching again you let the ball roll from the cradle onto back of your hand, onto the back of the front hand and through into the cradle of your front hand. (and yes, this is called the Back-2-Back transfer) The advantage of this switching of hands is that the ball always rolls away from you into the other cradle. And thus you have less chance that your empty hand blocks the view of your audience.
Now you're in the (mirrored) start position and you can repeat the whole thing.

click here for an Animated GIF video

Before you try all the above with a ball, you should first learn the back to back transfer.
The easiest way is to roll the ball from the cradle onto the back of the hand and then straight into the cradle of the other hand. Later on you can try to make this transition longer by catching the ball on the back of the second hand before it rolls through into the cradle.
A nice move to learn this in is the Circle. You start the circle with a cradle to palm roll continue with a palm to palm transfer (put you two hands together palm up, touching at the wrists). Another roll, now from palm to cradle, in the other hand. Ending the circle with the back-2-back transfer, so that the ball is in it's start position again.

[incooperate it all in one move: the butterfly]

click here for an Animated GIF video

I use the easy back-2-back (not extending it over both the backs of my hands). That means that I don't reach the 'wrist touches wrist' position which is the butterfly home position. And I have a problem with my arms; the left (viewers right) arm makes the butterfly somewhat higher, which makes the pattern a bit lopsided.
I'll have to work on that, smooth it out, but hey..!, I'm not a pro!

The second butterfly is done with a two finger cradle. Put your hand in the home position. But now instead of lowering your your middle finger you make a 'peace sign' with the index and middle finger. The ball can now be placed on the index- and middle finger, kept in position with the first and second finger joints. You can now use this two finger cradle as a start to the windshield wiper, but that move looks nicer when you use the longer roll over the middle finger.
This two finger cradle is mainly used to make it easier to "Break out of the wall plane" as J. Ernest calls it in his book. So instead of going from the two finger cradle to the outside hold position aside of your body, you let your arm make a more forward sweep and end in a palm up hold with your arm at an angle of about 110° with the line between your shoulders. (indicative figure, do what you feel comfortable with.)

click here for a larger image

click here for an Animated GIF video

Instead of letting your arm make a big, long sweep, you can also keep your arms more in front of your body and only make the cradle to palm and back roll, by twisting your wrist.
Now when you make a complete butterfly in that last fashion you're exactly imitating that Jareth guy, from the movie Labyrinth.

You can follow this link back to the second workshop page.

Or press here to go back to the first workshop page.

writen by Marco, [email protected]

Workshop page 3 (of 3)And now for the butterfly

Workshop page 3 (of 3)
And now for the butterfly