Lessons from Latvia - CircusTalk

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Lessons from Latvia

American juggler Thom Wall describes performing at Riga’s Zelta Karlis festival and offers tips for future competitors.
The fifth annual Zelta Karlis circus festival took place this past January 23–26, in Riga, Latvia. The festival is Latvia’s national circus competition and is hosted by the state’s official circus organization, Rigas Cirks. Rigas Cirks has been in continuous operation since 1888, in the red-domed circus building on one of Latvia’s main streets just outside of the old city. I was invited to compete in the festival’s 2015 edition with my mouthstick number and to present my contemporary ball juggling number in the welcome show. I was not the only American in at...
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Thom Wall

Thom Wall is an American juggler who specializes in juggling disciplines from the past. After completing a five-year tour juggling for Cirque du Soleil's Totem (2014-2019), Wall now resides in Philadelphia where he researches circus history, consults for nonprofits, and coaches juggling and performance at Circadium: School of Contemporary Circus. When not at home, he’s performing his solo show On the Topic of Juggling on cruise ships and stages around the world. Thom holds a Masters' of Science in Nonprofit Arts Administration from Drexel University (2015), and was awarded La Medalla Crotalus Scholaris by the Mesoamerican University in Puebla, Mexico for his work revitalizing forgotten juggling disciplines. Thom is the founder of Modern Vaudeville Press (2018), an independent publishing company which produces academic titles about the circus arts. In 2021, the International Jugglers' Association honored him with the Excellence in Education Award.