Pick a card; now I will begin swaying back and forth. Huzah!

[MalibuARMY]

Heya,

Okay a am really good friends with this magician from Hollywood and we hang out every weekend and I happened to notice something over the past 3 or 4 weeks of jamming and hanging out with him. He mostly does card tricks but I am teaching him some rubber band stuff which is one of my favorites. He is 18 by the way. I should have mentioned that.

BACK TO THE POING BECAUSE I RAMBLE: HE SWAYS!!! Whenever he performs, for me or anyone else, if he is really performing and trying or if he is just trying something out whenever he performs he sways back and forth. As in he has one foot closer to you or the spectator than the other foot and he leans in and leans out every second like he is swaying to a music beat that only he can hear? Has anyone come across someone like that? I wouldn't know he is the only magician I jam with at the moment.

There is nothing wrong with it but I just don't get it. He never seems nervous, he isn't nervous but he still does that. It might be a habit I think. . . pretty bad habit for 3 years in magic.

Has anyone done this or know anyone who does?

 

[Justin-Miller]

Watch him again and find out if he sways RIGHT when he does a move. Many, many people when doing a move will CLOSE their eyes and open them when the move is accomplished, it is a weird way our brains say "if I close my eyes then they can't see the move either" I know many pros. that do this is performances. It might be something like that..

JM

 

[wZEnigma]

It's probably just an instinctive reaction while speaking in public. People often have little vices that help them overcome obstacles. This sounds like one of those. It can only be stopped when you try. It takes 3 weeks to break a habit, so if he can go without that habit that long, it should be fine.

Ian

 

[KeoSilver]

My director calls it Gypsy footing. (Director in Theater) It is usually a sign of nervousness or guilt. It is really just a natural nervous habit as Justin Miller and Ian have previously mentioned.

 

[OttoZhen]

Watch him again and find out if he sways RIGHT when he does a move. Many, many people when doing a move will CLOSE their eyes and open them when the move is accomplished, it is a weird way our brains say "if I close my eyes then they can't see the move either" I know many pros. that do this is performances. It might be something like that..

JM

I've never heard of anyone closing his/her eyes.

 

[Randy]

I've never heard of anyone closing his/her eyes.

It's less about actually closing your eyes and more about blinking a bit more than usual when doing a move or sleight.

The trick to "cure" it is to just rehearse and practice till you are sick of it. Also being nervous is a completely normal human thing to be when performing in front of people.

There was an article about Woody Allen where he talked about throwing up before EVERY TV interview he's ever done, as well as Mick Jagger mentioning no matter how long he's been in the business he still get's the shakes before every show.

 

[praetoritevong]

Yeah, it happens. I see it a lot in public speaking and debating in particular, as well as magic. It's just something you have to try and conquer through experience. Mick Jagger may well get the shakes still - but he does a damn good job when he gets out on stage, doesn't he?

 

[chriswiehl]

i have a friend that holds his breath when he does a move, its kinda funny. but then again its usually when he does something magicial, so it sometimes add to the suspense haha

 

[Randy]

I forget who mentioned how to get rid of the blinking thing. But have your friend try this. Have him practice his normal stuff he usually does, but this time have him blink A LOT during practice, like make efforts to blink a crap ton. This should hopefully get rid of the blinking habit once he becomes fully aware of it.

 

[praetoritevong]

Oh, and incidentally, on that note:

The blinking habit is almost always created by practicing too much in front of a mirror. Of course, we can see the sleights being performed. Take the try to practice against a wall.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Actually I've noticed a lot of magicians do this little dance, professionals and amateurs. When I first started performing for other people I did the sideways sway a LOT. I was really nervous (being a shy person in general, and then doing something new on top of that) so I would shift from foot to foot. Patrick Snowden was the first to point it out to me, and he actually recommended I try shift forward and backward instead of side to side. Ever since he said that to me, I've noticed that so many magicians do it.

Because of that I make a conscious effort to be more still when performing and it's worked decently so far. Now I just have to stop talking with my hands.

 

[MalibuARMY]

Christopher, it is good to talk with your hands, you get more noticed and are more animated. I consider it a good thing.

Thanks for the advice everyone keep 'em coming.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Well, I've always talked with my hands, but when I'm performing (Or nervous/excited/drunk/etc) I do it way too much. This is merely amusing when I'm just holding a conversation, but when I'm performing magic it borderlines caricature.

 

[CaseyRudd]

I'm not sure if this counts as swaying or not, but I do what Tamariz does. When he's focused on the trick he leans in and he's excited, and when he's conversing with them he leans back in a comfortable manner. I do this a lot, so I'm pretty sure it's not a bad thing because it's Tamariz's advice.

 

[Justin.Morris]

It's just nerves (as mentioned previously). Best thing to do is to mention it to him and let him know so that he can consciously work on it. One needs to really think about it to break the habit. I even noticed Gazzo swayed quite a bit (though not excessively) during his lecture, but interestingly it wasn't when he was performing, only when he was talking/lecturing.

 

[praetoritevong]

I was really rather disappointed with Gazzo. I've heard so many rumours about how his performing style clashes with how most people would recommend one performs, and about how he pulls it off, and saw absolutely nothing of worth except what not to do. I laughed at all the comments from people who obviously know nothing about how brilliant his ACR was though.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Context, my friend. His entire performance career is centered around interacting with crowds. Then they put him in front of a line of the backs of laptops. He said, before his cups and balls, "I need feedback." He didn't get that much, so he did what he could.

 

[praetoritevong]

Fair enough about his performance style, but it doesn't say much about him as a performer, or even his sleights, some of which left a fair bit to be desired...

Now, I don't want anyone to feel that I am unfairly targeting Gazzo - but in the context of the conference, I think it was by far the worst performance I've seen so far (I haven't finished it yet). The amount of dead time there was awful - the lack of anything coming out except for "umms" and "ahhs", which, on the lines of the original topic, is another indicator of a bad performer and a poorly practiced and/or prepared one.

Well, any decent performer should already have eliminated those, and any serious performer would prepare for the performances they give. That's my main gripe. It looked like he rocked up out of bed and decided that for his performance, he would make up something on the spot. And it failed horribly. Eric Mead performed well without an audience. Apollo performed well without an audience. If you need a spectator, get one up to join you. If you can't have that, then prepare for it in advance. You can't expect to rock up to a digital magic conference, having been asked to perform, and expect to perform as if you were on the street. I'm sympathetic to Ponta flashing due to camera angles, and so forth, but not to what appears only as laziness and a surprising inability to adapt.

For the record, Gazzo is not the only person I was disappointed with/thought gave a weak talk/performance.

 

[Rneogy]

Watch him again and find out if he sways RIGHT when he does a move. Many, many people when doing a move will CLOSE their eyes and open them when the move is accomplished, it is a weird way our brains say "if I close my eyes then they can't see the move either" I know many pros. that do this is performances. It might be something like that..

JM

Lol I actually do this a lot... But only when I practice... It's kinda funny, because I know I do it, and I try to not to, but it's like an instinct. I don't feel the need to do it during the performances though... It's weird...

 

[Randy]

Fair enough about his performance style, but it doesn't say much about him as a performer, or even his sleights, some of which left a fair bit to be desired...

Now, I don't want anyone to feel that I am unfairly targeting Gazzo - but in the context of the conference, I think it was by far the worst performance I've seen so far (I haven't finished it yet). The amount of dead time there was awful - the lack of anything coming out except for "umms" and "ahhs", which, on the lines of the original topic, is another indicator of a bad performer and a poorly practiced and/or prepared one.

Well, any decent performer should already have eliminated those, and any serious performer would prepare for the performances they give. That's my main gripe. It looked like he rocked up out of bed and decided that for his performance, he would make up something on the spot. And it failed horribly. Eric Mead performed well without an audience. Apollo performed well without an audience. If you need a spectator, get one up to join you. If you can't have that, then prepare for it in advance. You can't expect to rock up to a digital magic conference, having been asked to perform, and expect to perform as if you were on the street. I'm sympathetic to Ponta flashing due to camera angles, and so forth, but not to what appears only as laziness and a surprising inability to adapt.

For the record, Gazzo is not the only person I was disappointed with/thought gave a weak talk/performance.

Well the umms and ahhs could obviously be rehearsed as well. Eddie Izzard does that a lot in his act.

As far as his sleights go, the man doesn't really need any super advanced sleight of hand. He's not performing for magicians, he's performing for lay people on the street and thus has to make his stuff easier for him to remember and a lot more direct than most magicians would do.