The following item originated with Billy Grace, 1970 IJA numbers champion from Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a 1964 letter to Grace from Bobby May describing (to the best of May's recollection 46 years after the fact) the act he saw Enrico Rastelli perform during the late 1920's. May, an American juggling legend in his own right and former honorary life member of the IJA, died in 1982.

 

I WILL TRY TO EXPLAIN THE ROUTINING OF Rastelli's act, which of course, is from memory. But I will not fantasize, and will only mention the tricks I actually saw him do. I saw him on two different occasions, and the act was a bit different the second time, with flourishes giving it a very artistic quality.

 

As the curtain rose, Rastelli ran forward and went into a very rapid three stick routine. He was of medium build. Francis Brunn has a remarkable resemblance to him both facially and physically, though Rastelli was slightly taller.

 

The three stick routine was very rapid, and rather short. It included fast triples, getting faster and being then very low. Other tricks with sticks were:

1) Passing them on the chin

2) Under throws, and throwing sticks sideways over the top

3) Very fast two in one hand with flourishes using the stick in the other hand

4) Sticks thrown straight up (no turns)

5) Slightly bouncing each stick off his head (no turns)

6) Spinning sticks on his head, last stick does two turns

7) The routine finished with a very high thrown stick doing a slow floating revolution and caught behind and between his legs, followed by a jumping pirouette in the air.

 

Mrs. Rastelli, who assisted him, threw him three more sticks. He then juggled the six for some time, three in each hand, in a broken rhythm. Another stick was added, which he balanced on his forehead while juggling six. Then he threw one stick backward to Mrs. Rastelli, and juggled five while still balancing one on his head (three in left hand, two in right). He finished by catching three in his left hand, and throwing one up 1 1/2 turns to catching it balanced end to end on the final stick, which was held in his right hand.

 

He threw a stick off to Mrs. Rastelli and went into a five stick juggle (cascade and double shower) and finished with a five stick shower.

 

He threw off another to Mrs. Rastelli and did four sticks in one hand, then very fast triple turns with two in each hand, then spread two and two done very wide. He did a ballet pirouette in the air to finish.