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, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
at the age of ten.
Early years
Born in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
[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 area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its ...
,
[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 which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
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 m ...
: world-class by the age of nine, when he won a gold medal at Circus Mondial in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
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 ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of '' You Asked for It'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and '' Real People'', the show featured people ...
''[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 became 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.
Gatto performed in '' Midnight Fantasy'' when it premiered in 1999. As he performed largely without speaking, he quickly juggled hula hoop
A hula hoop is a toy hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. It can also be wheeled along the ground like a wheel with careful execution and practice. They have been used by children and adults since ...
s, swiftly thrown clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands a ...
, and balls aimed for basket
A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff Fiber, fibers, and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, Stolon, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials ...
s.Las Vegas Sun
The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now ...
'' said that the audience most liked the part of the show where Gatto juggled.International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo
The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo () is an annual circus that takes place every year in the month of January. The festival was created in 1974 by Prince Rainier III of Monaco to recognize and promote circus performers at the pin ...
.Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...
'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 '' N ...
''. 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 featur ...
.
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 commonly refers to:
* Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States
Orlando may also refer to:
People
* Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name
* Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...
, Florida.
Skills
Gatto formerly shared the record for most rings juggled and caught at least once. He currently holds the following 7 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.][
;Balls
*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, fe ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatto, Anthony
1973 births
American circus performers
Living people
Jugglers
People from Ellicott City, Maryland