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edhagins New user 95 Posts |
I am helping my 11 year old Granddaughter with her solo silk act. We are trying to create an act that will not include tables or props.
Admittedly silks are new to us and we are learning from Rice's encyclopedia and some DVD's we have found helpful. Our main stumbling block is with body loads. Presently she is wearing a short suit (costume) jacket over her strapless dress. She would like to eliminate the jacket. We have tried pockets in the dress with little success. We can't figure how to eliminate the movement of the dress when stealing a fountain. a group of snap silks. or etc. Can anyone help or point to help on body loads without jackets? Her costume can be seen in this 3 min. video: http://youtu.be/emPYWsDUj2k |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
I would like to suggest you make your granddaughter's rope a little shorter, as it should not drag on the floor as it does in the video.
As for steals for a girl, one has to choose the costume for the act, it is wrong thinking to build an act around a costume. There is very little published on steals and positions for steals, as it all depends on the material, the act, and the gestures and movement of the performer. There is nothing published for feminine magicians that I am away of in my 50 years in magic. Also, without knowing what tricks or effects one is attempting to accomplish, no one can suggest a gimmick, pocket or position for anyone without knowing what they are trying to accomplished for each effect. The current dress is not really a good fit, simply because of the continual catching of the rope on the bottom of her dress. That may be also do to the length of the rope, but it would have to be experimented with to find out if that is the case. If you or an seamstress has tried installing pocket in a dress, I would say it is more the ability of the designer, then anything else, as if one studies the many oriental male and female magicians, it can be noted that creativity in thinking and design has to be solved. I have seen videos of FISM female ladies place secret places in the lay of the material across the body. As example of the dress the girl was wearing, with that full skirt, there is many places to hide silk folded or open. Take a look at the act referenced in this post just the other day. This gentleman performed a silk act in only a shirt and pants. If you are aware of the methods in magic, you should be able to get some ideas from his act on stealing methods. http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......um=54&11 Also, consider only using silks that fit her height, in other words if silks are to be displayed, diagonally, only use 12" and 15" silks, if they are to be shown full square, then only go with 24" as the largest. In other words, keep the silks in proportion to her height and arm span. |
edhagins New user 95 Posts |
Bill,
Thanks for your insight. The catching of the rope on the dress is mainly due to the style of dress that is gathered and poouffed out in the front. The reason I posted the link was more to show the jacket she wears over her dress. As she has grown up a bit in the past 6 months she is now wearing another dress that drapes straight down without adding volumne in the front. (no more rope catching on the dress). |
Dougini Inner circle The Beautiful State Of Maine 7130 Posts |
Impressive! Little lady is talented! I just PM'ed Chrystal. She might be able to help.
Doug |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
The only suggestion I can think of is to take a serious look at Jeff McBride "Magic on Stage" 3 DVD set. He covers all areas of stage magic including silks. This includes gimmicks and steals ideas. Maybe this knowledge will you creative juices to flow.
http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S4405 http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S4401 I have this volume, it has a lot on Silk Magic. http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S4399 |
David Charvet Special user www.charvetmagic.com 501 Posts |
One name: Celeste Evans.
Look her up at http://www.celesteevansmagic.com |
edhagins New user 95 Posts |
Bill, I have purchased the McBride volumn 2 and it has been a help. Thanks for the suggestion.
Posted: Nov 1, 2012 11:25pm David, My Granddaughter and I met Celeste at the IBM convention this year and purchased her book. It never occurred to me to contact her. On your suggestion, I have emailed her to see if she is teaching or would consider taking on a student. What a great opportunity that would be. |
edhagins New user 95 Posts |
David,
I emailed Celeste Evans, introduced myself and asked for help. She has been very pleasant, generous and helpful. Thanks again for the suggestion. |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Hi,
I can't add any more than what's already been advised but to say I was impressed with your grand-daughter! What a bright future she has ahead of her. You must be very proud! I once found a dress I really liked and decided to purchase it even though it had no pockets. Luckily, I found fabric just like it in the store and although I'm not a talented seamstress I was able to add pockets where pockets aren't usually found on a dress.No one was the wiser as the extra material I bought I created pockets simply by sewing the extra material in various places on the dress. Thus it made steals easy. Patterned materials work best if the extra material is matched correctly or it becomes obvious. Sequined dresses work well too. In a nutshell, the only advice I'm going to add is if your grand-daughter knows a talented seamstress or can do it herself - I'd invest in a custom made dress and tailored to fit her exact needs as to where to install the extra pockets or folds. Wow! What an honor it would be if Celeste mentored her...best wishes on that!! |
edhagins New user 95 Posts |
Chrystal,
Thanks for your kind words and suggestions. Grandma is quite a seamstress and she has been quite helpful. Our main problem is everything is trial and error. So we sew the pockets on and take them off and move them about and resize them and alter them. And I guess if it were easy, everybody would be doing it. I was just hoping someone had been through it before and written it down somewhere. (lol) And yes, we are holding our breath hoping Celeste will find time. In the meantime, I would be more than willing to pay for lessons for my Granddaughter if I could find the right teacher. I am considering sending her to Jeff McBrides Master class in Las Vegas. Any suggestions from anyone? ED |
RJH Elite user Finland 477 Posts |
I think that McBrides school would be good idea. I would want to go there too.. Parents.. don't let.. I'm 11.. This sucks.. Well, good luck!
RJH |
edhagins New user 95 Posts |
RJH
Jeff McBride told me last year to wait till my Granddaughter was 12yo. She turns 12 this month. And, yes 12 does eventually arrive, then 13, 14, 15, Gaining momentum ... Faster and faster... and faster! ED |
Michael Taggert Special user Fredericksburg Virginia 656 Posts |
Hi ed if you went to IBM I might metion yje cinese performer that performed on pointe in the very thin and very tight ballerina outfit. this is a good example of being creative with the steal locations. Celeste is a wondefull lady of magic and Im sure she would help as much as she can. the truth be told the motion dictates the steal the steal dictates the hold out the hold out dictates the costume. good luck it is all trail and error. I perform in medievil garb (tights and doublet) and perform many steals They are built into the costume from the ground up. it can be done.
Michael |
duanebarry Special user 883 Posts |
Quote:
Our main problem is everything is trial and error. Would it help to just pin the pockets on, rather than sew them, during the trial-and-error stage? Much faster to resize/relocate... |
edhagins New user 95 Posts |
[Hi ed if you went to IBM I might metion yje cinese performer that performed on pointe in the very thin and very tight ballerina outfit.]
Yes we did attend the IBM Convention and saw the young lady. Thank goodness for tutu's. We were impressed. [Would it help to just pin the pockets on, rather than sew them, during the trial-and-error stage?] Yes, of course you're right, and we do a lot of pinning and unpinning. Unfortunately we've done our share of sewing and unsewing as it seems that we don't(more than you'd think) take everything into consideration. |
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