Thom Wall facts for kids
Thom Wall (born February 9, 1987) is an American juggler and entertainer from Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. He is known as one of the world's best jugglers. NPR has even called him "one of the world's most notable jugglers."
Thom Wall has a very unique performance style. He learned his skills at the New England Center for Circus Arts and from mime Karen Montanaro. In 2009, he competed at the World Juggling Federation's "Winter Blitz" event. His five-ball tricks were so new and creative that the judges had never seen them before, so they couldn't even score his routine! The Smithsonian Institution called Thom an "elite practitioner of the craft of juggling" in 2017.
Thom is one of the few "gentleman jugglers" left in the world. This style involves cleverly using everyday objects. He is also famous for his mouthstick and balance acts, where he balances things using his mouth. Dr. Salvador Calva Morales, from Mexico's traditional circus school, once said Thom might be "the greatest balancer in the entire world."
In November 2017, Thom married fellow circus performer Chloe Somers. They worked together to bring back "bottle walking," an old circus trick, in the United States. Thom worked as a main performer for Cirque du Soleil from 2014 to 2019. He left their show Totem in 2019 after performing 1,500 shows! He said, "My time here has been amazing, but 1,500 shows is... yeah, that's enough for me." Thom now lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, he teaches Circus History and Career Planning at Circadium: School of Contemporary Circus. In 2021, he joined the show Birdhouse Factory with Cirque Mechanics. Since 2022, Thom has been a headline entertainer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
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Amazing Juggling Career Highlights
Thom Wall has achieved many cool things in his juggling career. Here are some of his biggest highlights:
Winning Medals and Joining Cirque du Soleil
In 2014, Thom won a bronze medal at the International Jugglers' Association (IJA) Senior Stage Championships. He used a traditional mouthstick juggling act. This was the first time this type of act had ever won a medal in the championship's 67-year history!
Thom was hired by Cirque du Soleil in April 2014. He performed in their show Totem in America, Canada, and New Zealand. He was even rehired in 2016 for the Japan tour with only eight hours' notice! After the Japan tour, he signed a full-time contract. He performed with Cirque du Soleil until 2019, traveling through Europe. After that, he started performing his own show on Royal Caribbean International cruise ships.
Setting Juggling Records
In 2013, Thom was the first person ever to juggle six knives. This was a big achievement in the juggling world!
New Shows and Smithsonian Festival
In 2014, Thom and Benjamin Domask created a new show called "The Dinner and a Show Show." It won top awards at the Kansas City Fringe Festival. In 2015, Thom joined the Celebration Barn Theater's new group for their show "Traveling Light."
In 2017, Thom was the main representative for American juggling at the 50th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. He hosted talks and performed a daily show about the history of juggling. His show, On the Topic of Juggling, was described as a mix of stand-up comedy, a TedX talk, and a juggling show.
Also in 2017, one of the glasses Thom used in his mouthstick act was put into the Museum of Historical Juggling Props. The museum curator, David Cain, said Thom is "one of the brightest stars in the juggling world."
Awards and Books
In 2018, Drexel University named Thom one of their "40 under 40." This award recognized him as one of their most promising graduates for his work in circus arts.
In 2019, his book Juggling - From Antiquity to the Middle Ages was published. It quickly became the #1 book on Amazon for Theater History & Criticism. Three months later, the eBook version won "Best Nonfiction Book of 2019" from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
In 2021, Thom joined the Board of Directors for the Celebration Barn Theater, a top physical comedy school. That same year, he received the "Excellence in Education Award" from the International Jugglers' Association. He was the youngest person to receive this lifetime achievement award in the organization's 74-year history.
In 2022, Thom was named a "distinguished alumni" by his high school, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, for his work in performing arts. In 2024, he won the "Innovation in Education" award from the American Youth Circus Organization for greatly improving circus education through his books.
Books by Thom Wall
Thom Wall has written two important books about juggling.
Juggling - From Antiquity to the Middle Ages
In 2019, Thom Wall published Juggling - From Antiquity to the Middle Ages: the forgotten history of throwing and catching. This book tries to collect the history of juggling from old art and writings around the world. It fills a big gap in what we know about circus arts and juggling. The book is now used in anthropology classes at many universities in the USA. Circus Report magazine called it "the most important literature review to exist in the community of juggling." The eBook version won "Best Nonfiction Book of 2019." A Spanish version was released in 2020.
Juggling: What It Is and How to Do It
Thom's second book, Juggling: What It Is and How to Do It - A not-so-brief guide to the world's most underrated pastime, came out in 2020. This book is a detailed guide to learning how to juggle. It has been called "one of the top ten instruction books ever written." It became an Amazon bestseller even before it was officially released! This book is also used in occupational therapy programs across the USA.
Education and Community Work
Thom Wall studied at Washington University in St. Louis, where he earned a degree in Germanic Languages and Literatures. He learned Spanish, Portuguese, German, Arabic, and more. He can speak Spanish and Arabic and has taught workshops in both languages. He also has teaching certificates from Cambridge University.
He also has a master's degree in Nonprofit Arts Administration from Drexel University. His studies focused on how to brand and promote nonprofit circus groups.
Thom was part of a special program at the New England Center for Circus Arts in 2012, where he trained in juggling and hoop diving.
Helping the Juggling Community
Thom Wall was on the board of directors for the International Jugglers' Association from 2009 to 2013. During this time, he helped create a new international competition. He also helped start eJuggle, the IJA's online magazine, and the annual Video Tutorial Contest. This contest has provided hundreds of hours of free juggling lessons online.
Many jugglers say Thom helped turn the International Jugglers' Association around. His work with online education and reaching out to new members brought the 70-year-old organization many new members and financial stability. His work with the IJA inspired him to get his master's degree in Nonprofit Arts Administration.
In 2020, Thom became an MLA Field Bibliographer. He helped the organization create its first-ever list of circus arts books and articles. Thom has also coached many famous jugglers, including Sam Malcolm, Benjamin Domask, and Tony Steinbach.
In 2021, when Thom received the "Excellence in Education" award, senators Bob Casey and Patrick Toomey even raised the US flag over the Capitol Building to honor him! Senator Casey said they honored Thom for his work to "preserve American Performing Arts history."
Thom also donates books whenever he performs shows for schools and community groups. He has been a board member of the Celebration Barn Theater since 2021.
International Recognition
Thom Wall has received awards and invitations from all over the world.
In 2014, he competed at the Zelta Karlis circus festival in Riga, Latvia. He won the "People's Choice" award, given to the act that Latvians enjoyed the most.
In 2015, Thom was invited to perform at a circus festival in Puebla, Mexico. He received the Crotalus Scholaris Medal, the highest award from the university there. The chancellor said the award was to "indelibly recognize Thomas Wall's work as a juggler."
In 2017, Thom was invited to teach a long workshop at the Periplo International Circus Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico. He also performed his new one-man show On the Topic of Juggling there. In 2019, he was invited to the Zelka circus festival in Lublin, Poland, to present his show.
Awards and Honors
Thom Wall has won many awards throughout his career:
- "Innovation in Education" - American Youth Circus Organization / American Circus Educators - 2024
- "Distinguished Alumni" - Ladue Horton Watkins High School - 2022
- "Excellence in Education" award - International Jugglers' Association - 2021
- Best Nonfiction Book of 2019 - Next Generation Indie Book Awards (eBook)
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2019 (#26)
- "40 under 40" - Drexel University - 2018
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2018 (#30)
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2017 (#20)
- 1st place, three ring juggling world championships (International Jugglers' Association, 2017)
- 3rd place, three ball juggling world championships (International Jugglers' Association, 2017)
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2016 (#30)
- Crotalus Scholaris Medal - Universidad Mesoamericana (Puebla, Mexico) - 2015
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2015 (#31)
- People's Choice - Riga International Circus Festival (Riga, Latvia, 2015)
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2014 (#22)
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2013 (#27)
- 3rd place, World Juggling Championships (International Jugglers' Association, 2014)
- Best of the Fringe, "the 'Dinner and a Show' Show" (Kansas City Fringe Festival 2014)
- Judy Finelli Award for "Most Inspirational Juggler of the Year" (Humboldt Circus, 2013)
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2012 (#23)
- 2nd place, World Juggling Championships (International Jugglers' Association, 2012)
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2011 (#31)
- 1st place, three ball juggling world championships (International Jugglers' Association, 2011)
- 2nd place, three-person team club passing (International Jugglers' Association, 2011)
- Top 40 Jugglers of the Year 2010 (#24)
- 1st place, three ball juggling world championships (International Jugglers' Association, 2010)
- Winner, eXtreme Juggling competition, four ball category (International Jugglers' Association, 2010)
- 1st place, three-person team club passing (International Jugglers' Association, 2010)
- 2nd place, three-person team club passing (International Jugglers' Association, 2009)
- 1st place, three-person team club passing (International Jugglers' Association, 2008)
