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Oliver Ross Inner circle Europe 1724 Posts |
Hi everybody,
Just a short question to find out if anybody experienced already by using a Fantasio double or triple Color Changing Cane as a Dancing Cane in the beginning and did the color change afterward. How did it work out? Thanks. Oliver. |
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Michael J. Douglas Inner circle WV, USA 1645 Posts |
You'd have to fiddle with the balancing point and make your own dancing gimmick to deal with the extra weight and thickness, but I don't know why it wouldn't work. Try it out!
Michael J.
�Believe then, if you please, that I can do strange things.� --from Shakespeare�s �As You Like It� |
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Anatole Inner circle 1912 Posts |
The best way to find the balance point is to lay the cane (loaded with silks, or in my case a 12-foot Rice streamer) across the outstretched forefingers of each hand, cap end near left forefinger and the other end near the right forefinger. Then slowly bring the two fingers together. They will meet at the balance point. The gimmick for the dancing cane should be placed just slightly above the balance point, making it somewhat closer to the top of the cane. If your gimmick is adjustable (a necessity in my opinion), you can fine-tune the placement.
This is the "balance finding method" I use in my Enchanted Walkingstick routine with the Fantasio vanishing cane at: http://members.cavtel.net/parmenides/cane.mov As you will see, the cane stays pretty vertical in the move where it goes around my body, which is probably as tricky a move as you'll ever see with a dancing cane. All with a 12-foot Rice streamer loaded into the cane, which has got to make finding the balance point as tricky as it would be if I were using the color-changing canes. When I did this routine in my lecture at Denny Haney's magic shop in Maryland, I took the cane out into the parking lot to perform because I wasn't sure there was enough room in the lecture space I had inside to do the trick without some risk of hitting someone in the front row. This is after all a stage trick, not close-up. When we went back inside and I explained the routine, I went ahead and did the around the body move inside anyway. Fortunately, the front row of seats was just far enough from my performing space that the cane came within a foot or two of the people in that row. I'm sure some of them must have blinked as the cane went around my body and came back out in front. BTW, the gimmick I use is not the one sold with the Fantasio dancing/vanishing cane set you buy from a dealer. I found it necessary to develop an adjustable gimmick because each time you set up a Fantasio cane for doing the dancing cane, there's no guarantee that the balance point will be in the same place each time. A tip of the top hat to Rob Allen for coming up with the idea of an adjustable Fantasio dancing cane gimmick published in the June, 1972 issue of _The Linking Ring_. As I explain in the original "Enchanted Walkingstick" booklet and in my lecture notes, I contacted Rob for permission to use his idea, modify it slightly, and publish it in my booklet and notes. (The booklet was briefly on sale from a mail-order magic shop back in the 80's before I expanded the text for my lecture notes, adding more illustrations. The original booklet had only four illustrations, because it was originally intended to be sold only to magicians who already knew how to do a basic dancing cane routine. I figured if I could do more than 300 illustrations for Volume I of _The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley_, I ought to do more than four illustrations for one trick like "The Enchanted Walkingstick.") One last comment: As you can tell from the video in the link above, my routine is barely 30 seconds long. David Cooperfield's routine at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkUNYdplejU is only about a minute long. I really think the dancing cane routine of most magicians is way too long. Take a tip from David and me--the shorter, the better. In a post a couple of years ago, I commented that one of the most effective uses of the dancing cane was in a Mark Wilson Magic Land of Allakazam episode when Mark, Rebo and Nani entered a haunted house. The effect was that an invisible poltergeist grabbed the cane out of Mark's hand and he had to "recapture" it before it got too far away. Probably only a 5-second effect. But it looked absolutely great! (That said, I will confess that the guy who did the dancing cane on a Mickey Mouse Club Talent Round-up show back in the 50's absolutely fooled _and_ entertained me with it. I can't remember his name off-hand, but I'm hoping that one of the Café readers will be able to supply it.) -----Amado "Sonny" Narvaez P.S. Actually, as I recall now--when I did the Enchanted Walkingstick at the lecture in Denny's shop, I used the Creekmore dancing cane but with my gimmick. When we went back inside, without taking the cane out of the audience's sight, I handed the cane out for examination. This is possible because at the end of the routine the gimmick is no longer attached to the cane, as is evident from the video clip above. As the cane was passed around, I inserted my tongue in cheek and said, "Of course, the only way you can hand the cane out for examination at the end is if you don't use a th---d." That got a good chuckle from the crowd, some of whom were dancing cane performers.
----- Sonny Narvaez
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Michael J. Douglas Inner circle WV, USA 1645 Posts |
I agree about using a shorter routine. One or two magnetic-like effects that don't leave the cane fully suspended can be used to lengthen a short dancing routine. I think many take the "dancing" part to an extreme, and it doesn't take long to see that the cane has a certain arching pattern around one hand....no matter how wildly the other hand moves, if you know what I mean! Peter Pit showed me how he changed hands during his routine, and that can be very useful.
Michael J.
�Believe then, if you please, that I can do strange things.� --from Shakespeare�s �As You Like It� |
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Oliver Ross Inner circle Europe 1724 Posts |
Thank you very much for your information, suggestions and comment.
I've asked to find out if anybody had tried already because I don't have the color changing canes yet. It was more of an idea, since I've got Fantasio's book. I agree that the Dancing Cane routine has to be quiet short, as well as with Michael's comment about arching pattern. Is there any book or video explaining Peter Pit's solution? Thanks again for sharing. Oliver. |
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jay leslie V.I.P. Southern California 9498 Posts |
I used to do it. I taped the gimmick to make sure it didn't move. I used heavier "floating material", so I worked further upstage so the audience was further away.
But the dynamics of a heavier cane(s) didn't thrill me, personally, so after a month, I went back to the single cane. Just my opinion. Yes, it will work, but you should try it with the single, the double and the triple to see how YOU like it.
Jay Leslie
www.TheHouseOfEnchantment.com |
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Oliver Ross Inner circle Europe 1724 Posts |
Thanks, Jay, for sharing your experience. What do you mean by "dynamics"? Does it move faster?
Oliver. |
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Michael J. Douglas Inner circle WV, USA 1645 Posts |
Regarding Peter Pit's handling, I don't believe it was ever in print. It would be very hard to describe the techniques through written word. He had lecture notes, but they were more on showmanship and professionalism as opposed to individual effects. Your best bet would be to practice different moves and see if see if you can switch hands fluidly. If you're proficient at the basics, I don't think you'll find it very difficult.
Michael J.
�Believe then, if you please, that I can do strange things.� --from Shakespeare�s �As You Like It� |
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jay leslie V.I.P. Southern California 9498 Posts |
Micheal's correct, everyone moves differently, so you've got to work it out for yourself.
Dynamics Def: The branch of mechanics concerned with the forces that cause motions of bodies. Three times one is slightly heavier, so harder to gain momentum, then also harder to stop. This has a positive aspect of smoothing-out quick changes in direction.... but then again, it may be a detriment ( a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body at motion tends to stay at motion: Newton ). The extra weight is arguably such a small amount by itself, but three canes with a silk do weigh more than a single cane sans-silk.
Jay Leslie
www.TheHouseOfEnchantment.com |
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Anatole Inner circle 1912 Posts |
As Jay points out: "The extra weight is arguably such a small amount by itself, but three canes with a silk do weigh more than a single cane sans-silk." But I've got to think that three plastic canes with a silk weigh less than the the old canes from the 50's and 60's. The plastic of those canes was much thicker and heavier than the Fantasio canes, and the cap and ferrule of those canes as made of wood, not plastic. The only risk factor I feel is the danger of thread burns, especially for those performers who insist on making the dancing cane routine last more than a minute.
----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez
----- Sonny Narvaez
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jmdibrita New user 96 Posts |
Does one need to where a jacket when performing the dancing cane?
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Fábio DeRose Inner circle San Paolo, Brasile 1477 Posts |
Not at all.
Darn, what was tha around the body move?! Where can I learn moe about it? |
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Steven Steele Chief of Staff 1868 Posts |
Fantasio used to make a dancing came gimmick that would attach to and release from his canes very easily. Not sure if he still makes them, but I have the canes/gimmick in a drawer somewhere.
Coram Deo
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magicians Inner circle Teacher and Legend 2898 Posts |
I once did a three minute Dancing cane in Hollywood at a a PCAM convention. I found out later that Pit was in the audience. He came backstage to compliment me.
The dynamics of my cane was that it could move slow or not at all and lent itself to some of the suspension moves. Mine was hollowed balsa wood, made in England, and weighed in at 1.5 ounces. It was an expensive gift from Jeff McBride. The around the back move is easy with the right thr**d grip. Goes over the four fingers allowing you to do a behind the back hand off from hand to hand. That grip also allows you to switch hands in the front as well. Today I do a ten second routine.
Illusionist, Illusionist consulting, product development, stage consultant, seasoned performer for over 35 years. Specializing in original effects. Highly opinionated, usually correct, and not afraid of jealous critics. I've been a puppet, a pirate, a pawn and a King. Free lance gynecologist.
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Fábio DeRose Inner circle San Paolo, Brasile 1477 Posts |
I think I know what you mean.
I tried it a few times (That is if we're talking of the same subject), but as with the 360 revolution I currently use on my routine, my hair turns out to be a problem. On the move that I do, I have found a way of solving it. |
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magicians Inner circle Teacher and Legend 2898 Posts |
If you do the color change cane, you dance it after the change.
So you have the gimmick on the last cane rather than the first. ----------------- One of my unusual routines is doing the Waltzing mathilda while doing the dancing cane. (I wrote this up in Linking ring last June). A short dance in 1987 (no mathilda, just a dance) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56bbFkC2Wq4 Quote:
On 2010-01-24 10:14, Fábio DeRose wrote: The behind the body does not go over the head, so hair is not a problem. It is a behind the back transfer from hand to hand. Your Virada Cultural street performance with the light stick dance is very long. I see you remove your hat as you go over your head. Anatole's behind the back move is pretty radical.
Illusionist, Illusionist consulting, product development, stage consultant, seasoned performer for over 35 years. Specializing in original effects. Highly opinionated, usually correct, and not afraid of jealous critics. I've been a puppet, a pirate, a pawn and a King. Free lance gynecologist.
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Anatole Inner circle 1912 Posts |
Somewhat on a tangent but still dancing cane related--Mike Rogers had taught me some of his moves with the dancing cane when he stopped by the Magic Shop where I worked way back in the 60's or 70's. Many years later, I sent Mike a video of my silent manipulation act that included my new (at that time) version of the dancing cane. When he replied to the letter, Mike said he was more impressed with my interlocked ball routine than the dancing cane. Mike also commented that he thought the dancing cane was a little strange in the sense that any sane person would prefer to dance with a human being rather than a cane The main reason he featured the cane in his standup act was that at that time not many magicians were doing the cane. Times have changed. I think Mike also commented that the dancing cane had been performed often by strippers in burlesque shows.
David Copperfield had the perfect solution to Mike's observation. First he danced with the cane, then he danced with the girl, ending by levitating her. I would have liked to see what Fred Astaire would do with the dancing cane. Especially having seen what he could do with a coat rack in the film "Royal Wedding." Also, in the film "Blue Skies" he dances with a cane as a prop. You can see this performance on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFabjc6mF......index=15 About 2:50 into the dance, Fred places the cane (surprisingly not a formal dress cane) onto the floor, dances around it for a few seconds, kicks it away, and then--somehow--he stops by the cane, gestures at it, and it jumps back up into his hand! On a side note, Fred Astaire did sort of play a magician in a movie--"Three Little Words"--about real-life lyricist Bert Kalmar. Wikipedia notes about Kalmar: "He was born in New York, New York. He ran away from home at the age of 10 to become a magician at a tent show, and retained an interest in magic all his life." ----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez
----- Sonny Narvaez
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jmdibrita New user 96 Posts |
I would like to learn more about the dancing cane. I would also like to make a Fantasio triple color changing cane dance first then go into the color change routine.
Question: Can you make the can dance then do the color change and vanish to 2 silks? Where can I learn about the gimmick and how to make one for the Fantasio color changing cane. John |
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Fábio DeRose Inner circle San Paolo, Brasile 1477 Posts |
That video gathers moments from 4 or 5 individual performances.
My hair is aproblem when it doesn't go over the head, it's a different 360 revo than the hat move. I'll try to film my routine when I get my video camera back. Quote: On 2010-01-24 10:18, magicians wrote: |
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Oliver Ross Inner circle Europe 1724 Posts |
Hi again,
First of all let me thank you for all your very interesting replies and suggestions. Amado. Your post concerning the relationship betweenthe magician and the cane is very interesting. It sound very important to me aswell. Unfortuantly I don't have an assistant. John, try to get the DVD or the book of Fantasio about canes and candles. It's very interesting. It covers a lot of things and gives some ideas how to connect these object with others in an act. Concerning the gimmick you need to make your own. I might be wrong, but I think Fantasio doesn't sells them anymore. Amado, there's a video clip on the net of a Cirque du Soleil show (Quidam) in which the "clown" is doing a litle act with a coat rack. Funny and interesting. Oliver. |
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