Rola Bola

The rola bola (also known as a "rolla bolla," a "rolo bolo," a "roly boly," a "balance board," a "rocker-roller board" and a "bongo board") in its simplest form is a plank on a cylinder on which a person balances. The plank rocks back and forth on the cylinder like a seesaw but its pivot point shifts back and forth as the cylinder rolls beneath the plank. With a bit of practice, balancing on a rola bola is not too difficult.

The challenges come as one moves beyond simply standing on it. Rola bolas can be stacked on top of one another in various ways to increase the challenge and create a more visually stimulating performance.

Other circus arts can be performed on a rola bola, for example, fire-twirling (fire staff, fire poi and fire devil sticks), juggling, hula hooping, even acrobalance and adagio. A rola bola can also be used by more than one person in ways that are not a form of acrobalance. For example, 2 people can both stand on the board facing each other and holding hands. Tricks such as turning around or doing a handstand are also possible.

The rola bola cylinder is usually made of wood, PVC or metal pipe. PVC can be slippery and may bow if not thick enough. Alternatively, a large ball such as a bowling ball can be used. Plywood or pine can be used for the plank. Grip tape can be added to the board and/or the pipe. End strips can be added to the underside of the ends of the plank to make it safer for beginners.

Rolla Bolla Skills

* Acrobalance on the board
* Balance with one knee and one foot.
* Center stand (feet together in the center of the board with your feet facing forward)
* Combine with other circus skills (e.g. juggling on Rolla Bolla)
* Free mount and ride for 30 seconds
* Free Ride for 3 minutes
* Frog stand (slowly squat down while riding the board)
* Full jumping turns - 360°
* Half jumping turns - 180°
* Hand & foot balance
* Jump Mount
* One hand/one foot on both sides
* Penguin Stand (feet together in the center of the board with your feet facing one of the long ends of the board)
* Quarter jumping turns
* Riding a Bowling ball
* Riding two rollers (going in different directions.
* Riding 3 or 5 rollers stacked in a column (see picture)
* Standing on one foot (foot must be right over the roller).
* Surf Hop (while surfing, stand on one foot then hoop to the other foot.
* Surfing (riding the Rolla Bolla with the feet facing one of the long ends)
* Walking the board (walking the board on the roller from one end to the other)
* Stacking additional boards for height in layers of "board-2 cylinders on end-board", you must accurately jump up to mount.

External links

* [http://tutorials.simplycircus.com/equilibristics/rolla-bolla.htm Simply Circus Rolla Bolla tutorials page]
* [http://www.wejuggle2.com/rolabola.php Learn to build and ride a Rola Bola]