I've never understood the saying, "Those who can't, teach." In fact, the opposite seems to be truer: Those who can, often can't teach to save their lives. Magician Lyn Dillies is a happy (and smiley-faced) exception. If you know a youngster who's been wanting to learn a few magic tricks, Dillies, whom the Society of American Magicians has deemed "America's premier female illusionist," will show them how.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, I was one of those who wanted to learn magic. I visited gag shops and bought various contraptions, but the things never worked, or else they broke the first time you tried the trick. I went to bookstores and purchased guides to magic, but the tricks always seemed stupid or too difficult to perform, while the instructions and illustrations were always so fuzzy that you suspected these people didn't really want to share their secrets with you. That's not the case with "Learn Magic with Lyn."
She says in written and video introductions that magic helped her to overcome her shyness, and she hopes that the DVD might have a similar effect on another child or two. She also tells how disappointed she's been by the lack of good quality magic kits that are available to teach kids, and explains that she created this DVD to remedy the problem. "Instead of having a child become frustrated and give up their quest for magic, I walk them through the process step by step, showing them what the trick is supposed to look like, how to prepare it, and how to perform it," she says.
Now that's teaching! Each of the tricks is shown three times, at a speed that gives children plenty of time to absorb what's happening. She first performs the trick at a slowed-down speed, then goes over the materials you need to do the trick, and shares the secret of how the trick is performed. Then she does it again. With most of the tricks she uses three children as assistants and proof that kids can do the tricks too. There's a craft element involved in some of the illusions, and every step is shown in leisurely detail. Then, after the walk-through, it's one more time performing the trick and sharing the secrets of how to make it work. Given the film's run-time, each trick gets roughly four minutes of attention.
Between tricks, Lyn also gives basic rules of magic--a code of conduct, really, starting with "A magician never reveals the secret to the trick, and never performs a trick twice, no matter how much the audience pleads." Of course, she's revealing secrets here, but not only to starter magic tricks. Don't expect her to ever release a DVD in which she shares some of the tricks she's performed using elephants, or, for that matter, The Window, Metamorphosis, Human Diffusion, or any of the other signature illusions that she's performed at theaters, casinos, resorts, conventions, corporate events, and colleges over the past 20 years.
These tricks are no grand illusions, but they're not so simplistic that they'd seem stupid or corny to the would-be magician or her/his audience. They don't involve skill levels beyond the average kid's ken, nor do they require anything really out of the ordinary. Everything you need can be purchased at local stores--things like a super ball, construction paper, scissors, painter's tape, and a box of large crayons. That's a huge plus. Eleven tricks are included on this disc: Newspaper Ball, Magic Ribbon, Mindreading Crayons, Napkin Production, Dime Go, Ice Water, Tricky Lollipops, Cups and Balls, Eye on the Coin, Wonder Wand, and Ropes Through Body.
some of the later tricks are more difficult to pull off, but none of them really requires any sleight of hand or sophisticated deception. I would feel terrible revealing any of the secrets in a review, and so I'm not going to, except to describe some of the ones that struck me for various reasons.
The most sophisticated one was also the simplest to perform. You hand a box of crayons to a volunteer and turn your back. You ask that person to pick one crayon from the box and place it in your hand, which you're holding behind your back. Then you point to the person and say something like, "Think about the color that you chose, and I'll read your mind and tell you the color." Moments later, you tell them the exact color they chose, and it wasn't because you looked at the box of crayons, because you'd told them to turn it over so you couldn't see. In fact, you could even have them tuck the box under their shirt. It wouldn't matter. You'll still be able to read their mind. And the trick? As I said, I'm not telling anything here, but it's simple and easy enough for a first grader to pull off.
Same with other foolproof tricks like "Dime Go." As long as you arrange your performance space at the right distance from your audience, and don't allow that group to get up and walk around near your "stage," these tricks can be performed by most children after as little as a day of practice. But that's one of Lyn's rules: Practice, practice, practice. Never perform a trick that you haven't practiced, or you'll botch it and reveal the secret.
Some of the tricks, like "Magic Ribbon," will depend a little more on keeping the audience at a distance than other tricks, and there's also a little more precision required in the trick preparation. Other tricks will require preparation as well, and the skill level involved here is what makes the recommended age seven instead of lower. Kids will have to line things up pretty exactly and cut or fold things fairly precisely for some of the tricks to work well. But for children ages seven and older, this is the best introduction to magic that I've seen.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, I was one of those who wanted to learn magic. I visited gag shops and bought various contraptions, but the things never worked, or else they broke the first time you tried the trick. I went to bookstores and purchased guides to magic, but the tricks always seemed stupid or too difficult to perform, while the instructions and illustrations were always so fuzzy that you suspected these people didn't really want to share their secrets with you. That's not the case with "Learn Magic with Lyn."
She says in written and video introductions that magic helped her to overcome her shyness, and she hopes that the DVD might have a similar effect on another child or two. She also tells how disappointed she's been by the lack of good quality magic kits that are available to teach kids, and explains that she created this DVD to remedy the problem. "Instead of having a child become frustrated and give up their quest for magic, I walk them through the process step by step, showing them what the trick is supposed to look like, how to prepare it, and how to perform it," she says.
Now that's teaching! Each of the tricks is shown three times, at a speed that gives children plenty of time to absorb what's happening. She first performs the trick at a slowed-down speed, then goes over the materials you need to do the trick, and shares the secret of how the trick is performed. Then she does it again. With most of the tricks she uses three children as assistants and proof that kids can do the tricks too. There's a craft element involved in some of the illusions, and every step is shown in leisurely detail. Then, after the walk-through, it's one more time performing the trick and sharing the secrets of how to make it work. Given the film's run-time, each trick gets roughly four minutes of attention.
Between tricks, Lyn also gives basic rules of magic--a code of conduct, really, starting with "A magician never reveals the secret to the trick, and never performs a trick twice, no matter how much the audience pleads." Of course, she's revealing secrets here, but not only to starter magic tricks. Don't expect her to ever release a DVD in which she shares some of the tricks she's performed using elephants, or, for that matter, The Window, Metamorphosis, Human Diffusion, or any of the other signature illusions that she's performed at theaters, casinos, resorts, conventions, corporate events, and colleges over the past 20 years.
These tricks are no grand illusions, but they're not so simplistic that they'd seem stupid or corny to the would-be magician or her/his audience. They don't involve skill levels beyond the average kid's ken, nor do they require anything really out of the ordinary. Everything you need can be purchased at local stores--things like a super ball, construction paper, scissors, painter's tape, and a box of large crayons. That's a huge plus. Eleven tricks are included on this disc: Newspaper Ball, Magic Ribbon, Mindreading Crayons, Napkin Production, Dime Go, Ice Water, Tricky Lollipops, Cups and Balls, Eye on the Coin, Wonder Wand, and Ropes Through Body.
some of the later tricks are more difficult to pull off, but none of them really requires any sleight of hand or sophisticated deception. I would feel terrible revealing any of the secrets in a review, and so I'm not going to, except to describe some of the ones that struck me for various reasons.
The most sophisticated one was also the simplest to perform. You hand a box of crayons to a volunteer and turn your back. You ask that person to pick one crayon from the box and place it in your hand, which you're holding behind your back. Then you point to the person and say something like, "Think about the color that you chose, and I'll read your mind and tell you the color." Moments later, you tell them the exact color they chose, and it wasn't because you looked at the box of crayons, because you'd told them to turn it over so you couldn't see. In fact, you could even have them tuck the box under their shirt. It wouldn't matter. You'll still be able to read their mind. And the trick? As I said, I'm not telling anything here, but it's simple and easy enough for a first grader to pull off.
Same with other foolproof tricks like "Dime Go." As long as you arrange your performance space at the right distance from your audience, and don't allow that group to get up and walk around near your "stage," these tricks can be performed by most children after as little as a day of practice. But that's one of Lyn's rules: Practice, practice, practice. Never perform a trick that you haven't practiced, or you'll botch it and reveal the secret.
Some of the tricks, like "Magic Ribbon," will depend a little more on keeping the audience at a distance than other tricks, and there's also a little more precision required in the trick preparation. Other tricks will require preparation as well, and the skill level involved here is what makes the recommended age seven instead of lower. Kids will have to line things up pretty exactly and cut or fold things fairly precisely for some of the tricks to work well. But for children ages seven and older, this is the best introduction to magic that I've seen.
I've never understood the saying, "Those who can't, teach." In fact, the opposite seems to be truer: Those who can, often can't teach to save their lives. Magician Lyn Dillies is a happy (and smiley-faced) exception. If you know a youngster who's been wanting to learn a few magic tricks, Dillies, whom the Society of American Magicians has deemed "America's premier female illusionist," will show them how.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, I was one of those who wanted to learn magic. I visited gag shops and bought various contraptions, but the things never worked, or else they broke the first time you tried the trick. I went to bookstores and purchased guides to magic, but the tricks always seemed stupid or too difficult to perform, while the instructions and illustrations were always so fuzzy that you suspected these people didn't really want to share their secrets with you. That's not the case with "Learn Magic with Lyn."
She says in written and video introductions that magic helped her to overcome her shyness, and she hopes that the DVD might have a similar effect on another child or two. She also tells how disappointed she's been by the lack of good quality magic kits that are available to teach kids, and explains that she created this DVD to remedy the problem. "Instead of having a child become frustrated and give up their quest for magic, I walk them through the process step by step, showing them what the trick is supposed to look like, how to prepare it, and how to perform it," she says.
Now that's teaching! Each of the tricks is shown three times, at a speed that gives children plenty of time to absorb what's happening. She first performs the trick at a slowed-down speed, then goes over the materials you need to do the trick, and shares the secret of how the trick is performed. Then she does it again. With most of the tricks she uses three children as assistants and proof that kids can do the tricks too. There's a craft element involved in some of the illusions, and every step is shown in leisurely detail. Then, after the walk-through, it's one more time performing the trick and sharing the secrets of how to make it work. Given the film's run-time, each trick gets roughly four minutes of attention.
Between tricks, Lyn also gives basic rules of magic--a code of conduct, really, starting with "A magician never reveals the secret to the trick, and never performs a trick twice, no matter how much the audience pleads." Of course, she's revealing secrets here, but not only to starter magic tricks. Don't expect her to ever release a DVD in which she shares some of the tricks she's performed using elephants, or, for that matter, The Window, Metamorphosis, Human Diffusion, or any of the other signature illusions that she's performed at theaters, casinos, resorts, conventions, corporate events, and colleges over the past 20 years.
These tricks are no grand illusions, but they're not so simplistic that they'd seem stupid or corny to the would-be magician or her/his audience. They don't involve skill levels beyond the average kid's ken, nor do they require anything really out of the ordinary. Everything you need can be purchased at local stores--things like a super ball, construction paper, scissors, painter's tape, and a box of large crayons. That's a huge plus. Eleven tricks are included on this disc: Newspaper Ball, Magic Ribbon, Mindreading Crayons, Napkin Production, Dime Go, Ice Water, Tricky Lollipops, Cups and Balls, Eye on the Coin, Wonder Wand, and Ropes Through Body.
some of the later tricks are more difficult to pull off, but none of them really requires any sleight of hand or sophisticated deception. I would feel terrible revealing any of the secrets in a review, and so I'm not going to, except to describe some of the ones that struck me for various reasons.
The most sophisticated one was also the simplest to perform. You hand a box of crayons to a volunteer and turn your back. You ask that person to pick one crayon from the box and place it in your hand, which you're holding behind your back. Then you point to the person and say something like, "Think about the color that you chose, and I'll read your mind and tell you the color." Moments later, you tell them the exact color they chose, and it wasn't because you looked at the box of crayons, because you'd told them to turn it over so you couldn't see. In fact, you could even have them tuck the box under their shirt. It wouldn't matter. You'll still be able to read their mind. And the trick? As I said, I'm not telling anything here, but it's simple and easy enough for a first grader to pull off.
Same with other foolproof tricks like "Dime Go." As long as you arrange your performance space at the right distance from your audience, and don't allow that group to get up and walk around near your "stage," these tricks can be performed by most children after as little as a day of practice. But that's one of Lyn's rules: Practice, practice, practice. Never perform a trick that you haven't practiced, or you'll botch it and reveal the secret.
Some of the tricks, like "Magic Ribbon," will depend a little more on keeping the audience at a distance than other tricks, and there's also a little more precision required in the trick preparation. Other tricks will require preparation as well, and the skill level involved here is what makes the recommended age seven instead of lower. Kids will have to line things up pretty exactly and cut or fold things fairly precisely for some of the tricks to work well. But for children ages seven and older, this is the best introduction to magic that I've seen.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, I was one of those who wanted to learn magic. I visited gag shops and bought various contraptions, but the things never worked, or else they broke the first time you tried the trick. I went to bookstores and purchased guides to magic, but the tricks always seemed stupid or too difficult to perform, while the instructions and illustrations were always so fuzzy that you suspected these people didn't really want to share their secrets with you. That's not the case with "Learn Magic with Lyn."
She says in written and video introductions that magic helped her to overcome her shyness, and she hopes that the DVD might have a similar effect on another child or two. She also tells how disappointed she's been by the lack of good quality magic kits that are available to teach kids, and explains that she created this DVD to remedy the problem. "Instead of having a child become frustrated and give up their quest for magic, I walk them through the process step by step, showing them what the trick is supposed to look like, how to prepare it, and how to perform it," she says.
Now that's teaching! Each of the tricks is shown three times, at a speed that gives children plenty of time to absorb what's happening. She first performs the trick at a slowed-down speed, then goes over the materials you need to do the trick, and shares the secret of how the trick is performed. Then she does it again. With most of the tricks she uses three children as assistants and proof that kids can do the tricks too. There's a craft element involved in some of the illusions, and every step is shown in leisurely detail. Then, after the walk-through, it's one more time performing the trick and sharing the secrets of how to make it work. Given the film's run-time, each trick gets roughly four minutes of attention.
Between tricks, Lyn also gives basic rules of magic--a code of conduct, really, starting with "A magician never reveals the secret to the trick, and never performs a trick twice, no matter how much the audience pleads." Of course, she's revealing secrets here, but not only to starter magic tricks. Don't expect her to ever release a DVD in which she shares some of the tricks she's performed using elephants, or, for that matter, The Window, Metamorphosis, Human Diffusion, or any of the other signature illusions that she's performed at theaters, casinos, resorts, conventions, corporate events, and colleges over the past 20 years.
These tricks are no grand illusions, but they're not so simplistic that they'd seem stupid or corny to the would-be magician or her/his audience. They don't involve skill levels beyond the average kid's ken, nor do they require anything really out of the ordinary. Everything you need can be purchased at local stores--things like a super ball, construction paper, scissors, painter's tape, and a box of large crayons. That's a huge plus. Eleven tricks are included on this disc: Newspaper Ball, Magic Ribbon, Mindreading Crayons, Napkin Production, Dime Go, Ice Water, Tricky Lollipops, Cups and Balls, Eye on the Coin, Wonder Wand, and Ropes Through Body.
some of the later tricks are more difficult to pull off, but none of them really requires any sleight of hand or sophisticated deception. I would feel terrible revealing any of the secrets in a review, and so I'm not going to, except to describe some of the ones that struck me for various reasons.
The most sophisticated one was also the simplest to perform. You hand a box of crayons to a volunteer and turn your back. You ask that person to pick one crayon from the box and place it in your hand, which you're holding behind your back. Then you point to the person and say something like, "Think about the color that you chose, and I'll read your mind and tell you the color." Moments later, you tell them the exact color they chose, and it wasn't because you looked at the box of crayons, because you'd told them to turn it over so you couldn't see. In fact, you could even have them tuck the box under their shirt. It wouldn't matter. You'll still be able to read their mind. And the trick? As I said, I'm not telling anything here, but it's simple and easy enough for a first grader to pull off.
Same with other foolproof tricks like "Dime Go." As long as you arrange your performance space at the right distance from your audience, and don't allow that group to get up and walk around near your "stage," these tricks can be performed by most children after as little as a day of practice. But that's one of Lyn's rules: Practice, practice, practice. Never perform a trick that you haven't practiced, or you'll botch it and reveal the secret.
Some of the tricks, like "Magic Ribbon," will depend a little more on keeping the audience at a distance than other tricks, and there's also a little more precision required in the trick preparation. Other tricks will require preparation as well, and the skill level involved here is what makes the recommended age seven instead of lower. Kids will have to line things up pretty exactly and cut or fold things fairly precisely for some of the tricks to work well. But for children ages seven and older, this is the best introduction to magic that I've seen.
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