One of the hottest contemporary dance trends is the use of silk fan veils and wings. Silk fan veils are silk rectangles approximately 3 feet wide by 4 to 6 feet long that are attached to collapsible bamboo fans. This allows them to act as ribbons when the fan is closed and a wide streamer when open. The weight of the silk tends to be around 4.5 momme which allows them to easily be moved as a wave.



There are some magic elements built into the contempory dances. Sometimes they start with two closed units held together which act as one. Then they get split into two. And the effect when opened is that they have grown which typically gets applause. Here are a couple videos of these contempory dances:





I have ordered two to experiment using them in the similar manner to a flagstaff.

Silk wings are just that, wings. They normally attach around the neck and hang closed on back. Simply putting the arms out while holding onto the sticks makes a wonderful display.





These have potential to really enhance some illusions. They take up very little space when closed. But when open look big. Imagine a shadow box where a butterfly flirts on the screen and then grows leading to the appearnce of a human butterfly. Not too far off from Blackstone's Elusive Moth:



The good news is the price of both of these have declined with their popularity. Good quality, hemmed silk veil fans are selling for less than $30 per pair. Quality silk wings are running from $75 to $125.

Would love to hear of any other Café members experience with these.

Some elements for this could make for a really great magician appearance for an illusion show.

Frank, thanks for the reveal, that is truly something to have when on a full stage. I can see how it should hit an audience with the right music, and an expert dancer. Simply wonderful to learn.

Thanks, Bill.

It is funny how different magicians can see the same item and come up with different ideas. I shared the images with a close-up performing friend of mine. He immediately ordered a set of solid color fan veils to use as an ultra lightweight backdrop via a music stand, two dowel rods, and a couple binder clips. He thinks 6 foot wide by 5 foot high would be perfect for his sit at table act.

One thing which seems immediately obvious is that the silk wings could easily be put into a woman's quick change outfit. So imagine a female magician wearing a white gown doing a Magellan Levitation. Then after she descends she lifts then drops the cover cloth showing a change to a black outfit and when she raises her arms (applause position!) she becomes a butterfly. That would really hit them between the eyes!

This discussion reminded me of Juliana Chen's Mask and Cards act:



- Donald

Very nice costume change!

How about a small Jarrett cabinet and this drill team? That would be high octane! Doug Henning would surely have approved.

The silk fan veils arrived so played a little with them today. First impression is that size-wise they are about perfect for production devices! I shot a quick video with a common temple screen to show the size. For comparison, the two silks are 36 inch squares. There was still a large amount of room available for other production items in the screen. If I was still working a magic counter I could sell dozens of these!

Here is another idea a friend is trying out. He currently ends his show with Snowstorm in China. Instead of using his normal fan, he is going to use the silk veil fan with the extended silk portion rolled up similar to a 36 inch silk flash production (ala Symphonette in Silk). So with the propper "flick" he can produce a rainbow of silk from the snowstorm. Again, very flagstaff in nature but requires no steal as fan is already in play.

Bill H. posted this act in the manipulation thread. I didn't see it until today. At the 4:30 mark the magician Alexsander Shezan de Bastiani turns several silks into a fan veil then after beautiful displays uses it to produce a large fan and a sword. Wonderful work.

Carisa Hendrix's promo includes scenes with an enormous silk fan veil. Anyone know in which routine she uses it?

First example of this found! Miss Shkoliarenko uses sllk fan veils to good effect in her Cinema illusion and manipulation act. She incorporates a quick change element which gives impression that the fan veils become her dress. Very clever idea.

WOW, what a great act. A lot of work went into those steals, and split productions. The only bad part was the speaker system. Love to see that act on a theater stage. Her timing was excellent.

I have always loved oriental fan magic. I have been working on a fan routine for over 30 years, and just cannot get it to work.

Great find Frank.

Another option is becoming popular, silk veil poi. Easy replacement for a flagstaff. Similar in concept to David Ginn's Kansas Twister.

Example:



Explanation:



And this is a hybrid fan and poi device (wow):

Really beautiful idea to incorporate large feather flower bouquets directly into them. So practical.

Nice, but it seems the quick changes could be much faster. It seemed to be more of an appearing cane act than the silk fans. But all but together well, clearly a circus type act.

I didn't realize that in addition to being a talented magician, Abigail (Spinner) McBride is also an accomplished dancer. And she incorporates items like silk veils in her dance.

In their Magic at the Edge DVDs, there are performance examples of them using ALL of the above silk items. I especially like their use of silk wings as an artistic introduction to the pole levitation. It really accents and foreshadows the levitation while helping advance the method too. This is in the bonus "Kabuki Trickery" section.

Below is an image from the DVD's introduction. I like the Hindu style of this display. Would look great on stage.

Very nice use of silk fan veil here to set ambiance at start of act: