The Closest Magic Act: The Secrets of Escaping from Impossible Situations

In the world of illusion and entertainment, magic acts have always fascinated audiences. From card tricks to grand illusions, these performances leave spectators in awe and wonder. However, amidst the many magical performances that have graced stages across the globe, one act stands out as the closest to real magic. This act, performed by the renowned magician David Blaine, defies logic and boggles the mind. Blaine is known for his extraordinary feats, such as levitation, mind-reading, and even surviving underwater for extended periods. His performances push the boundaries of what is humanly possible, often leaving observers questioning reality.

So, I take it you have not expressed your point very clearly.

I don t think you can solely lay the work all on the trick, it takes the performer to inject his ideas into the trick and effect, to form it how he wants for his purposes. The closest analogue I can find is Tommy Cooper, who had the same kind of act making you think that he really just can t do it only to come away with your mind utterly blown by how he totally owned you and wondering how far back it all started.

His performances push the boundaries of what is humanly possible, often leaving observers questioning reality. One of Blaine's most famous tricks involves him seemingly impaling himself with an ice pick. In this illusion, Blaine holds an ice pick against his hand and proceeds to push it through, as if impaling himself.

Closest magic act

>But in Spain, Tamariz is an icon, less like Blaine or David Copperfield and more like Kermit the Frog.

As a spaniard, I think this is a great way to put it.

It's not that we consider him a clown, or aren't aware how extraordinarily skilled he is. It's just that he's got such a one-off charismatic personality that your mind ends up classifying him as something separate from reality.

There's no need to set a stage or act like he's an otherworldly being. Tamariz just strolls by looking like he's just out of bed, casually defies physics laws, says goodbye and walks away, because he's Tamariz; in the same way that the Roadrunner can keep running through the drawing of a road because he's the roadrunner.

It's just the nature of things.

The comparison with Kermit is, for people of certain age, very natural. We first knew both of them at the same time. And Tamariz used to appear in TV for children. Not only he performed awesome tricks, he also made us laugh with his explosive style. Instant connection with children.

Tamariz comes on stage as a child’s idea of a wizard: someone eccentric, whimsical and somewhat messy who is constantly doing amazing things without much apparent thought or planning.

Great way to see it. The man should be an honorific Sesame Street character. Is as close to a real life muppet as you can find.

If you like Juan Tamariz, have a look at some of Dani DaOrtiz routines, another Spanish magician heavily influenced by Tamariz.

This one from 2022 for Penn and Teller is amazing: https://youtu.be/5_KcQt0z-eE

I am a student of Dani DaOrtiz, and have traveled to Spain to train with him. Planning to do it again this year.

He's a brilliant man, and I am extremely happy to devote my life to try to understand as much as possible, and implement it. There is so much nuance, and detail, and it extends through all of life, not just magic.

Thank you. I agree. I am happy as well to call him my friend.

A form of entertainment, playing with deception. Deception's expected in the act, but not, perhaps, in other parts of life. I hope you share a strong ethics.

My kind play with words. I wish we shared a stronger ethics.

At a surface level, magic is a form of entertainment that plays with deception.

The Spanish school of magic (which is what we're discussing) deeply relies on psychology, that has nothing to do with deception.

It involves the fundamental aspects about how humans behave. That is useful in all aspects of life, and has nothing to do with deception.

For some reason I'm not very interested in magic and I don't especially like being fooled. But this. this is well beyond anything I have ever seen. So thanks for that.

I was wondering about that, actually. I am interested in magic, very much, and I have seen tons and tons. I also felt like it was beyond anything I have ever seen, and wondered if it would be noticeably different to people who haven't seen as much as I have.

At the point where he’s tearing up a card, it’s chosen at random and he’s just taking the

fun follow up fact: if it is the card, I can guarantee he has an alternate ending so it will never ruin it - it will only change it. Tamariz is a master of the "outs" (as magicians call them).

Hrm.. I am not so sure about this. Of course he would do something, but it wouldn't be a traditional out. It's a much more complex topic when it involves Dani.

I get what you're saying though. I get why you're saying it.

It certainly isn't random. He's showing the chosen card at the top of the face up deck moments before. If you watch at 0.25x very carefully, you can see what happens next.

He's very good at what he does, and it's hard to spot in real time. Amazing card scanning, too.

The question is what does he do at the end if Alyson Hannigan picks the card that he saw himself tear up.

Alyson couldn't have picked the card that was torn up, because she selected a card from the deck after the card was destroyed; https://youtu.be/5_KcQt0z-eE?t=332 is around when she's given cards to select from.

On the other hand, Penn was asked to name a card which was then shown, an alternate card destroyed, and the named card shown again. If a further name a card was attempted on the 51-card deck, you'd have the chance of naming the destroyed card.

It's random in the context of the trick, it's not like he specifically chose that card because he knew he could avoid it later

Juan has a great book on his card system that I think Dani is using for this routine (or at least a modification of it). Years ago I spent some time learning it and I think it's one of those things that only gets more impressive when you understand the methodology. It takes so much practice to present a routine as casually as Dani does in this.

Many magic tricks, particularly close-up acts, are of the sort that knowing how it works only makes someone good at them even more impressive. I saw Ricky Jay once, and I know he must be doing false shuffles and switches, but his motions are so natural and consistent that I was just more impressed, not less.

Pretty good, but this one by Javi Benitez can't even be slowed down on YouTube to figure out what he's doing. Its mind blowing.

Right after the guy to his left said 21, Dani made a cut, so Dani knew exactly where the middle of the three cards he gave Alyson was, because he knew how many cards he gave to the two guys on his left and the other guy on his right. Dani made sure Alyson never shuffled her cards and only reversed the order when she put them one by one in the deck.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll probably also enjoy Joshua Jay’s book How Magicians Think. Among other things, he describes the experience of spending a few days visiting Tamariz.

There’s a significant number of magicians worldwide that have learned Spanish just to spend time around Spain and around other Spanish magicians.

To add to this, Juan Tamariz paved the road for other great (and arguably better) spanish magicians to follow him, and it's worth watching them to see how different and amazing Spanish magic is. To name a few check Dani DaOrtiz, Mario Lopez, Rúbi Ferez, and Juan Colas on Youtube and Instagram.

As a Spaniard I had of course heard of Tamariz, but I had no idea there was an Spanish "scene", so to speak.

Are you also spaniard or just into the topic?

The Spanish “scene” has been around for a while! I have a friend who moved to Spain in the 90s to study under Ascanio. After Ascanio, Tamariz and the late Gabi Pareras seem to have the biggest influences, but Gabi was not well known outside of Spain (until his later years). Only got to see him once in London.

Tamariz is still a big influence in the magic scene of course, but DaOrtiz and his Villa Kaps seem to be expanding the circle at a faster pace for the next generation.

(Not Spanish, from Puerto Rico now living in the US, and very much into the topic. =) )

I'm from your next door neighbour, Portugal. But I think that anyone that studies magic quickly realizes how amazing the Spanish scene is.

I have not learned Spanish, but I do travel to Spain to work with Spanish Magicians, so this is quite true.

If you can read Spanish, I suggest you "El cerebro ilusionista: el cerebro detrás de la magia" (The magician brain: the brain behind the magic). It explains you the link between neuroscience and magic tricks.

If you are learning Spanish, technical/science books share lot of Romance origin words which already exist in English, so half of the road it's paved to begin your learning path.

New to me but I'm a fan.

He makes the people around him feel like children again, so amazed by the magic. Incredible talent. The closest analogue I can find is Tommy Cooper, who had the same kind of act making you think that he really just can't do it only to come away with your mind utterly blown by how he totally owned you and wondering how far back it all started.

I turned down an opportunity to see TC live. boring, TV etc. A friend thtat went told me that the show 'started', Tommy came out - and for 20 minutes did nothing. Nothing. And the audience was howling, and crying, with laughter. And then all night.

Friends comment: TV did not do any justice at all to to the man (except, the tv execs could see his genius), as everything was 'rushed'. When something went 'wrong', live, he had time to react to the situation. The reaction had people on the floor and unable to breathe - for minutes, and minutes, and minutes.

By the way - it took my friend about 20 minutes just to explain nothing happened for twenty minutes, he was laughing so hard.

Tommy Cooper was severely underestimated by lots of people. His death must have been the strangest thing ever. Alcohol really got the better of him, rumor has it he was quite traumatized from time spent in the army.

"The trick with the egg. "

Magic is a foreign world to me, but through acquaintances I had the pleasure of getting to know a close-up magician named Armando Lucero, who (I'm told) is considered one of the best in the world. I was invited to see him at the Magic Castle and it blew me away. It really was a childlike experience. But one of the most amazing tricks was a time some years later when I was traveling in another city, rented a car and drove around aimlessly till I found myself at a strip mall coffeehouse, and sat down with some coffee. At some point I turned around and sitting at the table behind me was Armando, wearing black, by himself with a coffee, a strip of felt and a deck of cards on the table. Practicing. It was an incredible coincidence. And I got a personal show.

The thing that really strikes me about this article is how the magician's philosophy of his art is so similar to what I've heard Armando wax poetic about: He studies neuroscience and psychology, has contributed to brain imaging studies, and seems irrepressibly fascinated with learning about complex subjects. not so much in the service of magic as out of a staggering intellectual curiosity. Magic is just his ideal vehicle for synthesizing that knowledge. It's unbelievably impressive, like watching someone who's thinking in the Assembly Language of the human brain.

The explanation of this 10 minute act using a non-gimmicked deck of cards is 3 hours long. https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/card-magic/dani-daortiz-fo.

NY Times. I gave them money for a subscription. I'm fine with that. What I found to be just enough of a deal breaker is the ads remain as a subscriber.

Of course the ads remain, they are for their subscribers. Non subscribers don't even see the article let alone the ads.

Anyway, thanks for being a $upporter.

I see a number of people have said Gypsy thread. Personally, I find that trick to be too small for platform or stage. I know you can do it, I just don't know you should. The cool principle of that trick is the fair and open handling, similar to the torn cigarette paper. I also feel standard sized cups and balls, even the jumbo size truth be told, are also too small to be fully appreciated from that distance. This is why I fully support the "size to be seen" comment above.

The audience gasps in disbelief as they witness what appears to be a painful and dangerous act. However, to everyone's amazement, Blaine emerges unscathed, proving that the whole ordeal was merely an illusion. What makes this particular act so remarkable is the level of audience engagement it achieves. Blaine's intimate style of performing allows spectators to be part of the illusion, heightening their sense of wonder. By performing such a seemingly dangerous act up close and personal, Blaine creates an experience that blurs the lines between reality and fiction. Blaine's ability to captivate and mystify is not just limited to his live performances. He has also made a name for himself through his television specials, where he has faced challenges that seem impossible to overcome. Whether it is being buried alive, encased in a block of ice, or being submerged underwater for extended periods, Blaine's ability to push the limits of what the human body can endure is truly astonishing. While other magicians may rely on props, assistants, and elaborate stage setups, Blaine's magic is often performed with minimal props and in everyday environments. This adds an extra layer of authenticity to his acts, as it eliminates any suspicions of hidden tricks or elaborate setups. Blaine embodies the idea of a modern-day wizard, capable of bending reality in the most ordinary of settings. David Blaine's closest magic act is a testament to the power of illusion and the human fascination with the unknown. Through his daring performances and incredible feats, he brings a sense of awe and wonder to audiences worldwide. With each trick and illusion, Blaine invites us to suspend our disbelief and embrace the possibility that what we are witnessing may indeed be close to real magic..

Reviews for "The Closest Magic Act Unveiled: The Secrets of the Vanishing Act"

1. Amy - 2 stars

I was really disappointed with the "Closest magic act" performance. The tricks were so predictable, and I found myself guessing what would happen next. The magician lacked stage presence and charisma, and it felt like he was just going through the motions. Overall, I was not impressed, and I wouldn't recommend this magic act to others.

2. Mark - 1 star

The "Closest magic act" was a complete waste of time. The magician's tricks were unimpressive and poorly executed. I could easily see how he was doing each trick, and it took away from any sense of wonder or amazement. Additionally, the whole act felt rushed and disorganized. Save your money and skip this one.

3. Sarah - 2 stars

I had high hopes for the "Closest magic act", but unfortunately, it fell flat. The magician's performance lacked creativity, and it seemed like he was just recycling typical tricks that have been done a million times before. I was hoping for something innovative and mind-bending, but all I got was disappointment. The show needs a major revamp to be worth attending.

4. John - 2 stars

I attended the "Closest magic act" recently, and it was far from magical. The tricks were cliché and unoriginal, and I found myself losing interest halfway through the performance. The magician's lack of showmanship was also evident, as he failed to engage the audience and create a sense of wonder. If you're looking for an awe-inspiring magic act, I suggest looking elsewhere. This one was a letdown.

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