published: 09 Jul 2020
Hey, today weāre talking about one of my favorite magicians - Dani Daortiz!
If you spend much time in the magic scene then Iām sure youāve already heard of him, but what you might not know is that he has some pretty radical views on how you should practice magic.
According to Dani, the one thing you shouldnāt use when practising magic isā¦
...a mirror!
I know.
It sounds ridiculous, but hear me out.
Dani explains that while a mirror can be useful to an extent as a āreference,ā thereās one thing it will never be able to doāINTERACT with you.
You canāt practice your timing on a mirror. You canāt practice your audience management on a mirror. You canāt ātest driveā your script on a mirror.
Thatās exactly why Dani likes to get a large portion of his practising done āat the tableā during performances. Heās constantly testing and optimizing elements of his show as they happen, relying on the interaction with his audience to guide him.
Fascinating.
Want to learn more from the man?
If youāve never watched the master at work, hereās a quick example for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy6yEHP0yNU
Dani Daortiz has a style different from many magicians alive today, unlike Derren Brown or David Blaine who use the same tricks to make themselves seem inhuman Dani DaOrtiz is almost a spectator of his own magic.
His constant repeated mantra is that of āI donāt know, I donāt know.ā
Once you start watching his show you simply canāt stop, he looks so untrained, so āaccidentalā that his tricks become all the more amazing.
Dumfounded after watching a few of his performances? Well, let me give you the SECRET to one of them.
Do you see the video above? Skip to about 10 minutes in and just watch the magic he performs, crazy right? Impossible.
Okay now watch it again, just after he riffles through the deck watch his right hand from our perspective. Yes, he really is that confident. He literally just placed the card down right before the eyes of the audienceās eyes and no-one saw it.
Why?
Because no-one expected him to.
So what can we learn from that? Truly your persona and the way you display your magic are one of your greatest tools. Take Derren Brown, for instance, not many people are looking at his hands because they believe heās doing everything with his mind. In the same way, when Brown uses a gimmick everyone believes it has to be something more than that even āsupernaturalā.
A card magician like Lennart Green, however, has a completely opposite effect on his audience; everyone is looking at his hands because thatās how heās built up his persona. Whether youāre an amateur or professional magician itās always good to remember that performance is everything, take the worst trick in the world, and package it up the right way and everyone will freak out.
So, with that in mind, letās watch part two together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Ca6OBuf5k
Pretty incredible stuff right? I mean his triumph routine is just incredibleā¦ I have no idea how he did it.
And itās all the better because of his performance.
So, if thereās anything to take away from this perhaps itās that your tricks can be made 100% better in just one action, changing your performance.
About the author: Jacob is a writer and magician at The Daily Magician www.thedailymagician.com
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