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equivoque Special user 861 Posts |
Further musings…
14) Every mentalist should take a dance class. For four reasons, the first of which is cuing, dance instructors or fitness instructors know how to cue. This means giving clear concise directions several beats before the move must take place. In dance and fitness good cuing is often what separates an “OK” instructor from an excellent one. Think of how important cuing is in mentalism. I also feel that delivering the correct cues means choosing you words wisely. In other words, cuing is when to deliver the directions-exactly what to say and of course, it is often important to wait for the right beat. Can you see the relationship? Second, dancers know how to combine moves organically. Male dancers (or leaders) often lead with their left hand. If they wish to change to a handshake or cross-handhold (with their right hand) they would not simply just change hands, instead they would end their last move with their right hand extended, naturally or organically-offering it to their partner. This is important in mentalism in which you move the billet to your left hand so your right hand is free to grasp the microphone. Not so you can get a peek or do a billet switch. (Think about Bob Cassidy’s microphone switch.) Eugene Burger always seems to plan his moves, for lack of a better term, organically. In Mastering the Art of Magic, he describes, The Flying Match effect so well. He places the burnt, soon to be vanished, match in the left hand so he can grasp the matchbook in the right hand. “This is, I submit, much better than putting the match in your left hand so it can disappear” (Burger, 2000, p. 190). The third issue is routining and or pacing. A dancer never places their most exotic-flashy crowd-pleasing move in the first part of the routine. Instead, the routine builds and has climax designed to make the crowd go crazy. Dancers also know what the audience wants and this is not always the most difficult move. I once watched a performance of Natalie and Yuval, on tape with Yuval (Natalie and Yuval are repeat winners of every major U.S. swing dance title, including seven-time American Lindy Hop Champions, four-time U.S. Open Champions, four-time National Jitterbug Champions, and two-time Grand National Champions: http://www.hopswingjump.com/bios_joint.asp). I asked him why they didn’t place their new flashy aerial at the end of the routine. He said “Because the audience likes goes crazy for the Charleston… …wait,” he added. They did the Charleston and the crowd went crazy. The final reason is that they build a base of moves, steps and combinations that they are good at and repeat those moves over and over. They may change the pacing, the tempo, the music and costumes but the core moves stay the same. The audience is always new but the dance steps stay the same. To quote Mentalist Doug Dyment, “The hobbyist performs many routines for the same audiences. The professional performs the same routines for many audiences.” http://www.deceptionary.com/content-p.html In short, want to be a better mentalist? Take a dance class. (PS, there are single women at dance classes!) |
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Snail Regular user UK 163 Posts |
Invisible Compromise - you are supposed to be reading minds!
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