Presentation and history

The need for a Juggling House

In December 2007, Thomas Guérineau and Rémi Laroussinie, professional jugglers, made several observations together:

The scenic creation of juggling in France and in Europe, despite its quality and diversity, is currently underestimated.

Some of the creations, however, touch on truly well-founded theatrical positions, and this goes far beyond the register of juggling.

There is a real potential audience for specific juggling programming.

There is a real need for a place of crossroads, help with creation, support for juggling and artists. Today, the system of production and diffusion of the creative circus does not allow to absorb and to show the density of the artistic proposals as well as the very great variety of the writings of juggling.

They then decide to provoke a “juggling meeting” in order to confront the current scenic writings of juggling, as well as to offer an overview to the public, to professionals and to the community of amateurs. The event “Rencontre des Jonglages” is hosted at Houdremont, Cultural Center in La Courneuve, and presents a state of the art of juggling today through about thirty artists and companies.

In view of the success of the event and in a desire to support this artistic approach, Houdremont Cultural Center affirms its willingness to host a second edition of the festival. Thomas Guérineau and Rémi Laroussinie then proposed, more than a festival, the creation of a “House of Juggling” which could be an active project all year round, dedicated to supporting jugglers and juggling. This is how the Maison des Jonglages association was born in August 2008, a project dreamed up by many artists, which helps to support the development and recognition of the art of juggling and manipulating objects.