 |
The Balducci levitation is a levitation illusion first described by Ed Balducci. Its inventor is unknown. It is an impromptu magic trick, which has been popularized by many magicians, such as David Roth, Paul Harris, and David Blaine.
The performer stands at an angle facing away from the spectators. The performer appears to levitate a few inches above the ground. The effect generally does not last for more than five seconds. The performer's feet return to the ground, and the effect is complete.
Other methods of levitation allow for greater heights, longer durations, and better viewing angles (see definition of angles from List of conjuring terms) for performance; however, most of these methods can only be performed on a stage because they require special equipment or setups (such as wires). The Balducci levitation requires no preparation of any kind, and so it can be performed impromptu – anytime, anywhere. Although variations have been made to improve the illusion of genuine levitation, they are generally harder to perform, and some require gimmicks or setups that make them less practical than the Balducci levitation.
Like many magic effects, this illusion relies mostly on subtle misdirection and acting on the part of the performer.
These psychological subtleties increase the probability that spectators will believe the illusion:
These physical subtleties make the levitation seem more amazing:
The effects of these subtleties can be seen in David Blaine's television performances of this illusion. For example, one spectator is asked how high Blaine levitated. She gestures a height that is obviously a few inches higher than the illusion is capable of producing, demonstrating that subtleties can often cause a spectator's interpretation of an effect to be better than the effect itself.
The magician positions themself at an angle to their audience, a little distance away, in such a way that the audience can only see the rearward portion of one foot and most of the other foot – concealing the toe end of the "far" (upstage) foot. The audience group must be small enough that they can be grouped close together. The magician, with the rearward portion of their feet held together, lifts the "near" foot off the ground, standing on only the front part of their "far" foot (the one which is partially concealed) while lifting the rearward part of the "far" foot and all of the "near" foot and keeping their ankles together. The audience sees only one foot and the heel of the other (the "far" foot), which appear to rise off the floor. The hidden part of the "far" (upstage) foot supports the weight of the magician as they appear to levitate one or two inches.
Simply put: the magician stands on the front of one foot, while raising the one foot and the visible part of the other foot, blocking the view of the front of the supporting foot with the other foot and rear part of the supporting foot.
The reverse Balducci illusion is similar to the Balducci illusion, but the magician faces towards the audience at a 90-degree angle rather than facing away. The magician slowly stands on the heel of their "far" foot as they lift the "near" foot and the front of the "far" foot. To improve the appearance of the effect, the magician will try to maintain the near foot parallel to the ground.
Another variation that is sometimes shown on TV shows is done by performing a normal "Balducci", filming the audience reaction, then later returning and performing the illusion with the aid of wires to get more height or to get a shot from the front or underneath. These shots will be edited into the footage of the original performance, thus allowing the levitation effect to be exaggerated, while still using genuine onlookers in the shot. [1]
There is a principle in theatrical magic that "the audience will often remember or describe an exaggerated effect"[ citation needed ] – so the audience members may not notice the increased height caused by the "faked second shot" (if the additional height is not more than a few extra centimeters) when watching the combined footage later, believing that they are seeing a genuine recreation of the performance. This is even more likely if, during the original performance, cameras are positioned in the same place as those from which the "faked" footage was later shot.
Ed Balducci published the first known description of the illusion in July 1974 in The Pallbearer's Review (Volume 9, Number 9, pp 755) under the name "Impromptu Levitation". Balducci ended his description by saying, "Originator unknown. It was shown to me many years ago by one of the Harmonicats, a cousin of mine, Erwin Levine, known as the Baron."
Despite Balducci's disclaimer, the illusion has since been known as the "Balducci levitation".
David Blaine is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records.
The cups and balls is a performance of magic with innumerable adaptations. Street gambling variations performed by conmen were known as Bunco Booths. A typical cups and balls routine includes many of the most fundamental effects of magic: the balls can vanish, appear, transpose, reappear and transform. Basic skills, such as misdirection, manual dexterity, sleight of hand, and audience management are also essential to most cups and balls routines. As a result, mastery of the cups and balls is considered by many as the litmus test of a magician's skill with gimmick style tricks. Magician John Mulholland wrote that Harry Houdini had expressed the opinion that no one could be considered an accomplished magician until he had mastered the cups and balls. Professor Hoffman called the cups and balls "the groundwork of all legerdemain".
Levitation or transvection, in the paranormal or religious context, is the claimed ability to raise a human body or other object into the air by mystical means.
Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some of the most recognized names in this field include Dai Vernon, Tony Slydini, Ed Marlo, S.W. Erdnase, Richard Turner, John Scarne, Ricky Jay and René Lavand. Before becoming world-famous for his escapes, Houdini billed himself as "The King of Cards". Among the more well-known card tricks relying on card manipulation are Ambitious Card, and Three-card Monte, a common street hustle also known as Find the Lady.
Coin magic is the manipulating of coins to entertain audiences. Because coins are small, most coin tricks are considered close-up magic or table magic, as the audience must be close to the performer to see the effects. Though stage conjurers generally do not use coin effects, coin magic is sometimes performed onstage using large coins. In a different type of performance setting, a close-up coin magician will use a large video projector so the audience can see the magic on a big screen. Coin magic is generally considered harder to master than other close-up techniques such as card magic, as it requires great skill and grace to perform convincingly, and this requires much practice to acquire.
The King Rising levitation is a levitation illusion developed by and named after Corey King sold exclusively through Ellusionist. The King Rising was the first original magic effect to be released by the company, paving the way for many inventors to come. Some consider it to be a variation of the Balducci levitation.
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently cut or divided into two or more pieces.
The Asrah levitation, sometimes called Lighter than Air, is a classic levitation illusion.
The bullet catch is a stage magic illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at them — often in the mouth, sometimes in the hand or sometimes caught with other items such as a dinner plate. The bullet catch may also be referred to as the bullet trick, defying the bullets or occasionally the gun trick.
Street magic falls into two genres; traditional street performance and guerrilla magic.
The Indian rope trick is a magic trick said to have been performed in and around India during the 19th century. Sometimes described as "the world’s greatest illusion", it reputedly involved a magician, a length of rope, and one or more boy assistants.
This is a glossary of conjuring terms used by magicians.
Needle-through-arm is a magic illusion that was created by Bruce Spangler and later popularized by comedy actor/magician Harry Anderson. The trick can be performed as part of either a stage magic or a parlor magic routine. As the name would suggest, needle-through-arm relies on shock value to have a comedic effect.
David Copperfield has performed a levitation illusion in several magic shows since 1992 in which he appears to fly on stage for several minutes, while surrounded by audience members. The flight is notable for its graceful motion and unencumbered appearance. The illusion was included in Copperfield's CBS TV special The Magic of David Copperfield XIV: Flying—Live The Dream (1992), and has been repeated several times during Copperfield's live tours around the world. The method was created by John Gaughan. An essential contribution to make fluid movements was given by his assistant, dancer and choreographer Joanie Spina.
Peter Marvey is a magician and illusionist best known for his combination of sleight of hand and large-scale stage illusions.
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close-up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
Jason Latimer, known by the stage name LATIMER, is an American illusionist. In 2003, he became one of four Americans ever to win the title Grand Prix "Best Overall" at the World Championships of Magic. In 2012, Latimer starred in the six live British television specials on the BBC One's "The Magicians," and won UK competition overall. In 2014, Latimer joined Penn & Teller and Christen Gerhart as a judge on the American magic competition television series Wizard Wars on the Syfy channel. In 2015, Latimer launched the Impossible Science program in San Diego, CA. Currently, Latimer is the curator of Impossible Science for the Fleet Science Center and oversees the Impossible Science Initiative in science centers throughout Southern California. Jason co-hosts Science Channel's series SciJinks with The Big Bang Theory's Johnny Galecki and Mythbusters: The Search's Tamara Robertson. In 2018, Jason joined the likes David Copperfield and David Blaine as one of the few recipients of the prestigious Golden Grolla Award from the Masters of Magic in Saint-Vincent, Italy. In 2018, Jason was the closing speaker of the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., for recognition of Impossible Science and changing education with wonder.
A levitation illusion is one in which a magician appears to defy gravity by making an object or person float in the air. The subject may appear to levitate unassisted, or it may be performed with the aid of another object in which case it is termed a "suspension".
| General |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Genres | ||
| Tricks and techniques | ||
| Lists | ||
| Related |
| |