Gettin started

[MK-1]

I was in magic a few years back. In my country, south africa, i don't think that anybody is performing the magic that i have seen on theory11. So i want to come back in magic with new fresh and amazing street illusions, that will blow peoples minds.

Im into levitation, self levitation....The most recent levitation i saw, was that cris angel levitation, where he levitates from the top of one building to another...I also wanna get hold of the matrix levitation, I saw it on youtube, and when it comes to me gettin it...I can't because i live in south africa.

I also love insane card tricks and anythin that can dazzle the human mind.

My role models are, David Blaine, David Copperfield and Cris angel.

Now, I would like to know, How do i get started in performing the illusions that these guys perform, if not better? Please get back to me.

Magic lives within the eye of the beholder. Peace

 

[tsarothpaco]

Get started? Tell me would you consider yourself a beginner or more advanced in cards (you said a few years back but didn't say how long you were into it) and I'll edit with some advice/help.

~PaCo

 

[Squ!rrel]

Very few of Criss Angel's effects can be done for a live audience, almost all of them (especially in more recent episodes) use camera tricks and stooges.
So most Criss Angel effects you see can't actually be done for a real audience.

I believe many David Copperfield illusions could be done (I haven't actually seen a lot of his shows) but you will need a HUGE budget and for people like us it isn't realistic at all.

David Blaine effects are definitely achievable, most of his card effects use relatively simple sleight of hand that could be achieved in a few months. He also uses widely available gimmicked decks such as the Invisible deck and the Rising Card deck.

To be honest, it sounds like you're being unrealistic with what you hope to achieve, performing big illusions in the street simply can't really be done, at least not without a huge budget. However, you can certainly perform some very powerful magic using sleight of hand and gimmicks.

If you want to start learning sleight of hand to do the sort of tricks David Blaine you could have a look at The Royal Road to card magic. If you prefer DVD's there are some good DVD's available at Ellusionist.com.