Anthony Gatto (born Anthony Commarota on April 14, 1973) is an American juggler who holds several
juggling
Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...
world records. He began performing in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
at the age of ten.
Early years
Born in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
[Gatto, From Vaudeville Acro-Cat to the King of Juggling, Produced by Alan Plotkin] and growing up in
Ellicott City, Maryland
Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the mo ...
,
[Smith, C. Fraser (January 24, 1983).]
A 'peacock' juggles in Ellicott City
. ''The Baltimore Sun''. p. D1. he learned to juggle at the age of 3, taught by his stepfather, Nick Gatto, a retired
Vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
performer.
[Holzberg, Janene (March 15, 2009).]
The Natural: Cirque du Soleil juggler learned at dad's shop
. ''The Baltimore Sun''. p. A3. By age 5, his skills had exceeded his father's.
[ He was a juggling ]prodigy
Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to:
* Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer
** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess
Arts, entertainment, and ...
: world-class by the age of nine, when he won a gold medal at Circus Mondial in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
He made his first television appearance at the age of 8 on the program ''That's Incredible!
''That's Incredible!'' is an American reality television show that aired on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from 1980 in television, 1980 to 1984 in television, 1984. In the tradition of ''You Asked for It'', ''List of ...
''[Gatto, Anthony. "History of Gatto Ent?" May 5, 2008]
Juggling Talk.
At the age of 13, he came in third place in the individual competition at the 39th annual convention of the International Jugglers Association. His family moved to Las Vegas when he was 14 in order to take advantage of the career opportunities located there.
Adult career
In 1998, Gatto met his future wife Danielle, who would go on to become his assistant during his performances. A professional dancer, Danielle added circus-style skills to her résumé to accompany her husband on circus tours. Danielle and Anthony married in 1999 and they have two children.
In 2000, he became the first and so far only juggler to win the prestigious Golden Clown award at the 24th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo
The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo (french: Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo) is an annual circus festival that is held in Monaco every January. The festival was created in 1974 by Prince Rainier III of Monaco to reco ...
.Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
's show ''Koozå
''Koozå'' is a touring circus production by Cirque du Soleil which premiered in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, in 2007. The show was written and directed by David Shiner, who had previously worked as a clown in Cirque du Soleil's production of ''Nou ...
''. From 2010 to 2012, he was part of Cirque du Soleil's show La Nouba
''La Nouba'' was a Cirque du Soleil show that ran for 19 years in a custom-built, freestanding theater at Disney Springs' West Side at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was a contemporary circus performance featurin ...
.
In 2012, Anthony Gatto retired from performing in Cirque Du Soleil in order to run a concrete resurfacing business "Big Top Concrete Resurfacing LLC" under his birth name of Anthony Commarota.Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
, Florida.
Skills
Gatto formerly shared the record for most rings juggled and caught at least once. He currently holds the following 9 juggling world records
Juggling world records comprise the best performances in the fields of endurance and numbers juggling.
Criteria
For ratification as a world record, the claimed record
* must be proved by video evidence, either available to the general public or ...
:
;Rings
*7 rings for 15 minutes 5 seconds in 2011.[
*9 rings for 235 catches in 2005.][
*10 rings for 47 catches in 2005.][
;Clubs
*6 clubs for 7 minutes 38 seconds in 2005.][
*7 clubs for 4 minutes 24 seconds in 2005.][
*8 clubs for 16 catches in 2006.][
;Balls
*8 balls for 1 minute 13 seconds in 2006.][
*9 balls for 55 seconds in 2006.][
]
See also
*List of jugglers A juggler is a person who practices object manipulation for entertainment, sport or recreation. Famous professional jugglers have come from many countries and have performed their skills live in circuses, variety theatres, casinos, cruise ships, fes ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
1973 births
American circus performers
Living people
Jugglers
People from Ellicott City, Maryland
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