Good Sponge ball routine or Balls and cups?

DavidIsAFlop · Aug 4, 2015

I have been looking for a while through several magic shops and still can't decide (for me, the flavour of an ice - cream is a life or death decision)
Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance,
David

Justin.Morris · Aug 4, 2015

Just about any sponge ball routine is an entertaining one. Penguin magic had one when you bought sponge balls (By Oz Pearlman) but a DVD like Sponge would equip you with a ton of moves to use to create a great routine. There's also some stuff in Mark Wilson's course as well.

Tower of Lunatic Meat · Aug 4, 2015

Sponge Ball is sort of a tough one, as there is virtually an unlimited array of things you can do with them. I know of sponge balls and sponge rabbits. If there's a certain shaped sponge object you're looking for, it might be out there.

If it's just a standard routine, multiplying balls always seems to get great reactions (from what I have seen). But if you want to go further than that, I'd also go with Justin's recommendation

RealityOne · Aug 4, 2015

Get Michael Ammar's Cups and Balls DVDs. I think the best price is on his website here: http://www.ammarmagic.com/cupsballs.html. You also can get his book as an e-book here: http://llepub.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=32. Michael is the master.

Any set of cups would do, but I prefer having a chop cup in the set -- just my preference. An inexpensive set is around $16.50 here: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S12805. If you don't mind spending a little more (like over $100), check out Rings & Things for cups and wands (you need a wand in my opinion) here: http://www.rnt2.com. Donnie does a great job with the cups on that site.

For Sponge Balls, get the Encyclopedia of Spongeball Magic DVD, the Spongeball Toolbox DVD or the L&L World's Greatest Magic - Sponge Ball DVD. The L&L DVD teaches several routines by different performers and may be your best buy if you are just looking for a single routine rather than learning all of the possible sleights. You can pick up a set of 2 inch super soft sponge balls in any color for most effects.

I love Pips a Popping by Tony Lewis -- a great routine using cards and sponges. The 3 D Multiplying Bunnies is aat routine too. You can find that here: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/1113. The 3 D Multiplying Bunnies is a great routine too. You can find that here: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/270.

If you are serious, get the Encyclopedia of Sponge Ball Magic book by Frank Garcia (which is out of print and runs around $100). I really like Eugene Burger's sponge ball routine from Experience of Magic and Tom Stone's Benson Burner from Vortex (OK, that one is multiplying spongeballs on steriods).

DavidIsAFlop · Aug 5, 2015

Just looked at Michel Ammar's cups and balls performance. At first I saw a very old performance that was awesome. I presumed that I was watching the wrong thing, since there was no way something like that could be sold to the public. I looked at a newer performance.
It was also awesome.
I am very impressed.
I have literally NEVER done ANY sponge ball routines, vanishes, etc, though, so is it going to be very hard for me to learn?
Does it come with everything that is shown in the performance (wand, cups, balls?)
Is it hard to learn?
Is any of the stuff gimmicked?
And, most importantly, is it hard to learn?
By the way, did I remember to ask if it is hard to learn?

Justin.Morris · Aug 5, 2015

Sponge balls are relatively simple to learn, and are actually a fun way to learn sleight of hand because not only is it easier to learn, but also teaches you to get into other people's space (touching their hands etc). You might start by picking this up and watching the video that comes with it. If you like it, explore some of the other resources: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/121

But keep in mind it is not self working and will take a good amount of practice before you can perform it without being caught, but it's so very worth it.

RealityOne · Aug 5, 2015

David:

I want to make sure you know that sponge balls and cups & balls are separate effects. You seem to be confusing the two in your post.

Neither sponge balls or cups & balls are very hard to learn but, like all magic are somewhat hard to master. It just takes some work and practice to make the moves seem smooth.

For sponge balls, all you need is four sponge balls and instructions -- exactly what Justin linked to. If you want more than that in terms of instruction, just check out the DVDs I mentioned in my first post in the thread. There is no gimmicks in a typical routine for sponge balls.

For cups & balls, you need to separately purchase the cups & balls (the link I attached sells the cups and balls together, where from RNT you have to buy the cups separate from the balls), the wand and the instructions. There are no gimmicks in a regular cups and balls set, but there are gimmicks in the chopped set (which you can figure you by looking at the link I posted above).

Good luck.