2010-13
Rob Thorburn (known as Blue Cat in the juggling world) was born in 1979 in Aberdeenshire and two years after learning to juggle he met the Beltane Fire Society crowd in Edinburgh and worked on a circus toy stall in the Edinburgh Fringe. He then moved in with Steve Cousins and joined fire performance company te POOKa. Rob developed a good reputation as a leading expert in spinning arts such as poi and staff manipulation, during the early 2000s when online communities and user forums were just beginning to connect people around the world. After several years of working from afar, Rob moved to Newcastle to work permanently with Let’s Circus in 2010. In 2012 he was the lead teacher for the Five Ring Circus Troupe. He has helped develop the Five Ring Circus Awards with Bright Night International (based in Glasgow).
He has been working with Steve for 12 years! In 2013 he moved back to Scotland to work with Bright Night, to develop their youth circus for the Commonwealth Games, following a 4 month stint with Performers without Borders to Nicaragua. He does juggling, poi, staff, contact juggling and acro and his acts include the ‘mad scientist’, ‘clockwork’ and ‘umbrella ella’!