Street Magicians Give Street Smarts a Whole New Meaning

What is street magic, you may ask? It's exactly what it sounds like. First, you need a city street, then you need a magician, then he needs to have a crowd gathered around him, then he needs to do magic. Now you have a street magician doing street magic. But the city is a busy place and in order for a street magician to truly capture his audience's attention and keep it, he must perform at a relatively high caliber. Performers such as the UK's very own Dynamo, David Blaine and America's Chris Angel are all prime examples of magicians. At least that's how they got their start. Now they are telly celebs. They will make things appear, disappear, levitate all while playing their own pitch man; some even try to sell their goods to the spellbound crowd. And just like in New York City, coins and paper money tossed into a jar or a box are always welcome. Of course if it's Dynamo, David Blaine or Chris Angel, they need to be tossin' some hard cash into my jar, OK?

Street magicians for hire

If you're trying to hire a street magician for a function, they want you to know that when you're looking for them, you may find them under 'close up magicians' rather than road magicians. David Blaine is actually mostly responsible for the term 'street magicians'. He made it fashionable in the late 1990s. Where would you want a road magician to perform? They can do balls, weddings, banquets, corporate events, trade shows and more. The draw of street magicians, for one, is their ability to use anything at their disposal to create magic. Things in your pocket, things in their pockets and things in the pocket of the guy that's across the room that no longer has it in his pocket... much to his surprise!

And this stuff is up close and personal. No fancy mirrors, no big black curtains, no knives sticking through boxes... this is right up in your face. And it is truly amazing. I've been around long enough to know some of the secrets of magicians, illusionists, experts in sleight of hand and the lot. I'm not easily fooled and am even harder to amaze. But a good street magician can keep me entertained for hours. A good road magician will probably get a couple of bucks from me as I walk away.

London's Covent Garden and Southbank were not only popular with the early buskers passing around the hat to tourists after each performance but are still popular with the street magicians of today. The real, close up, no frills classic street magic has been in existence for literally centuries. Smaller magic tricks used to lead to bigger tricks... and the bigger the crowd got, the bigger the tricks got. Several shows a day netted the early street magicians a meager living. These days, with the likes of the previously mentioned professional street magicians; apparently the sky's the limit.

And I bothered going to college!

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The World's Greatest Magicians

Magic often fascinates us from a very young age all the way through adulthood. It does not matter that we know it is only an illusion; we want to believe that something is happening right before our very eyes that is explainable. While there are thousands of magicians, only a few are capable of mesmerizing us from the moment they hit the stage. Here are some of the best magicians in the world, both past and present.

Harry Houdini - Houdini is arguably the greatest escape artist ever. Houdini got his start at an early age, performing at the ripe old age of nine! Even though he was an accomplished magician, Houdini's claim to fame would be his ability to escape from any situation, often under very dire circumstances. Houdini did not have the modern day facilities to trick his fans, which makes his accomplishments all the more impressive. Houdini's most famous escape trick was the Chinese Water Torture.

David Copperfield - few magicians have captured the interest of the public in recent times as David Copperfield. He is responsible for bringing illusions to a truly grand scale. Some of his more famous disappearing tricks involve objects such as the Statue of Liberty and a full-size airplane. In addition to making things disappear, he is also famous for the illusion of walking through the Great Wall of China. While he is far from the inventor of magic, he is considered one of the forefathers of the new wave of shock magicians that have hit the scene in recent years.

Penn and Teller - these two are more famous for revealing magic than they are for the skill in which they actually do their tricks. This duo has been together for more than three decades. Penn is the front man of the act, as Teller never utters a word during a performance. While they have been controversial at times, they opened up doors to the public in a way that was never permitted by the circle before. Seeing them live is a true treat, as they are just as skilled as any performer today, but their crowd interaction and antics make them a must see show.

David Blaine - David is one of the new wave of magicians that uses shock to entertain just as much as he does magic. Along with Chris Angel, he is one of the more famous of the new breed of magicians. Given the opportunity to see him live is something special, as his up-close street magic is the best in the business. One of his more famous stunt tricks had him literally encapsulated in ice for over two days.

David Blaine is one of the brightest stars in the magic industry today. His tricks are a combination of illusion, shock, and endurance. If you would like to learn more about David Blaine, visit MagicTrickStore.com today!

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