3 Ball Mills Mess is the original circus NFT. A beautiful trick, created by Steve Mills in a park circa 1974, based on the Single Lubman(AKA the Half Mess). Over the years, this trick has caused a lot of controversy over the ownership and intellectual property of a trick. In 2019 for example, Steve Mills himself, posted an ad to buy the trick in some common Juggling Facebook groups. Whomever purchased it would be given the full rights to it and be allowed to rename it as they wished. Nobody bought the trick and the posts have since been deleted. It is unknown whether the posts were a satirical comment or not.

3 Ball Mills Mess

After 3 ball mills mess was created, it was difficult to imagine a four-ball version of it. But, with the invention of siteswap notation, it became much more possible for unknown tricks to be imagined and 4 ball mills mess was created soon afterwards. It takes the same hand movement as a 3 ball mills mess, but each throw goes back to its original hand. While more difficult to do - the leap from 3 to 4 ball mills mess is not as large as one may think.

4 Ball Mills Mess

"If 4 ball mills mess is possible, then surely 5 ball mills mess is possible!" Many jugglers have said it in the past, but few have taken the immense amount of time to practice and get good at the trick. The jump from 4 to 5 ball mills mess is an insane amount of effort and should be considered with respect!

5 Ball Mills Mess

Fake mess (AKA 423 Mills Mess), was the first siteswap mess-variation to be created. Although it is known as a variation of mills mess, many jugglers consider it to be an easier trick to learn and it is often taught to beginners before they learn mills mess itself.

Fake Mess

Eric's Extension is an answer to the question, "Could one do mills mess with an extra twist?". Thankfully, Eric Uhrhane was able to show us that you can! There are two ways to perform this trick. One where you lean forward enough to cross your arms both below and above the elbows, and the other (displayed in this NFT) where you turn your hand over to cross above and below the wrists.

Eric's Extension

Rubenstein's Revenge is another mess with varies in hand movement, rather than in siteswap. It simply consists of a regular mills mess, but the hands do an extra flourish in the middle, making for a confusing and impressive trick!

Rubenstein's Revenge

Mike's Mess is an interesting variation of mills mess as some jugglers believe it is closer to a continuous under-the-arm pattern. This dispute can be circumvented by looking at the pattern "522" in a juggling simulator. Even though some of the regular throws of mills mess are not made, they can be represented as 2s and still form the trick. On another note, this pattern could also be notated with the siteswap "3", but the hand movements would need to be different to avoid the regular 3 ball mills mess.

Mike's Mess

Reverse Mike's Mess is the same as Mike's Mess, but instead of the throws being made under the arm, the catches are made under the arm. This is another version of a "522" Mills Mess, but the first throw starts in a different position.

Reverse Mike's Mess

Shower Mills Mess is like Eric's Extension and Rubenstein's Revenge in that the hand movement for it is different from that of the original Mills Mess. This is so that you can fit in a "441" whilst the hands are uncrossed. Strangely enough, the siteswap for Shower is not "441", but rather "51". It is the specific movement of the hands that give it the feeling of Shower.

Shower Mills Mess

Time-Reversed Flo's Mess is also quite different from the original Mills mess and relates much more closely to Reverse Mike's Mess. TR Flo's is made up of a 3 ball cascade, but on every third beat, you make a Reverse Mike's Mess throw. Still, the trick appears mess-y enough to still fit into our first NFT collection.

Time-Reversed Flo's Mess

441 Mills Mess uses the same hand movement as the 3 ball Mills Mess, but it uses the siteswap "441" instead. This works because on each side of Mills Mess, three throws are made. That means one can use and period 3 siteswap with the same hand movements and it will still work.

441 Mills Mess

531 Mills Mess uses the same hand movement as the 3 ball Mills Mess, but it uses the siteswap "531" instead. This works because on each side of Mills Mess, three throws are made. That means one can use and period 3 siteswap with the same hand movements and it will still work.

531 Mills Mess

534 Mills Mess uses the same hand movement as the 3 ball Mills Mess, but it uses the siteswap "534" instead. This works because on each side of Mills Mess, three throws are made. That means one can use and period 3 siteswap with the same hand movements and it will still work.

534 Mills Mess

3 Ball Boston Mess has a similar hand movement pattern as the original 3 Ball Mills Mess, but each ball is thrown straight up in a column. Each ball has its own column and never changes position. The siteswap for this pattern is still "3"

3 Ball Boston Mess

4 Ball Boston Mess has a similar concept to the 3 ball version of the same pattern. Each ball goes straight up and down in its own column. This pattern has 4 columns though, instead of the original 3. It is, in fact, an asynchronous version of the common pattern splits.

4 Ball Boston Mess

Also known as the single Lubman, the 3 ball half mess is the only one in the collection that actually pre-dates the 3 ball mills mess! Created by Steve Mills' teacher, Ron Lubman, this trick was the precursor to an entire category of juggling tricks.

3 Ball Half Mess

Similar to the 3 ball half mess, this trick can also be known as a 4 Ball Single Lubman, but it does not predate mills mess. This pattern creates a beautifully asymetrical, flowing image which is more difficult than one might expect! The throw heights must be very specific to leave time for each throw to be made.

CIRCUS NFT SERIES