By: JP_Magic_Man
I am new to magic, well, not to new, I've been at it for about a year,
spread out. I saw a video about the 'Balducci Levitation' and thought
that it sounded pretty good. I had never heard of the illusion, and I
have asked a few others about it also, all of them saying they had not
heard of it. Is it a good illusion, or should I spend the money on
something else? Also, does it matter what angle the viewers see it
from when performing the trick? Ok, enough about that, anything about
it would be nice. Thanks.
By: Ron Murphy
I've seen this levitation done by many people including Paul Harris
and the Maxwell video and I am thoroughly convinced that this
levitation would work on a blind man in a dark room with the lights
turned out or people who have had too much to drink or smoke. On both
videos Harris and Maxwell looked like they were walking on a tight
rope. This is just my opinion but I would like to meet the people who
have been fooled by this illusion.
By: Magic Duck
Angles are everything in this illusion. In exactly the right place, it
is good. The wrong place and it looks like you are funin' them. There
are way more bad angles than good ones. It is not made to do for
numerous folks at once. If you are new at this buy something else.
By: Shane Reighard
Here are Shane's thoughts on the Balducci levitations. If you learn
how to do it, practice it with one person you can trust, over and
over. When you get it down, go to a big party/dance and do it one time
for two people. Then, NEVER DO IT AGIAN. I bet that in my life, i have
done the Balducci about 3 times. Yet, almost anywhere i go, i meet
someone who has heard about it, they ask to see it, then i do some
other stuff. This kinda makes them angry at first, but they will watch
your other stuff and if its strong enough, will like it much better
than the levitation. I tell people that i don't do it anymore because
i hurts my head. lol and people believe it too.
By: Evangelist
I had one of the greatest moments of my life last week using the
Balducci Leveitation. I was attending a marketing summit for some ad
professionals in Sonoma Valley in California. There was cocktails and
a great dinner and I went out on the patio and did the levitation for
a couple of people who flipped out and started checking me for
wires. They told their friends and I had to do it again. Big hit a
second time. Suddenly the place emptys out on to the patio and I'm
surronded with folks asking me to levitate for them. I figured I had
been lucky the second time and had no idea how I was going to do it a
third time let alone for all these people (maybe 45). They were so
insistant however, I moved around the patio to find "the Power spot"
had a friend who knew the levitation help me herd them in the right
spot, found the darkest place I could and did it. A howl went up that
was the biggest thrill of my life.
By: Travis
I learned this levitation years and years ago, but never saw it
performed by anyone before I knew of the method. So, would I have been
fooled by it? Don't know. I was just a kid then.
However, I will tell you that I have had instances where I could have started religions after performing the Balducci levitation. I did it once for a family at a restaurant where I performed while they were sitting at their table. The mother and father screamed and she kept saying "Oh my God". The kids were smiling and giving me wows. They thought it was cool.
Did it for a "new age" girl and she began to cry, presumably because I had just confirmed something that she "had always known to be true". In this instance it was necessary to explain that it was only an illusion. I didn't tell her how it was done, though.
Did it for some close friends in my living room and they flipped. I could go on, but you get the point.
You have to choose your spectators and moments carefully. I don't do it very often, and even less now that everybody and their brothers are doing it. But, when the time is right, I go for it.
I once even repeated it for the same group. They were nailed a second time. Normally, I would never do such a thing, but I could tell it would be okay with these people.
And, mind you, the people in the stories above were not idiots. It's all about the packaging.
By: Robert Vanden Heuvel
Has anyone collected performance tips for this effect?
Naturally, there can be many different frames to the effect. I liked the "power spots" idea. This provided a good excuse for positioning yourself relative to the spectators.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is trying to minimize -- as one poster put it -- the "tightrope walking" appearance. I find it difficult to keep my balance in a smooth manner when performing the Balducci.
Making it look smooth and controlled is key, IMO. After all, if I had the power to levitate, certainly I should be able to keep myself from twitching to keep my balance!
By: Scott K.
Well, you have to perform it at the right time...
The best way to go about performing it, is to do it after you do some other amazing things (eg. float a bill).
If you just walk up to someone and ask him if he wants to see you levitate - that it will probably not be amazing.
However, if you have just done 3 or 4 tricks that have totally blown away your spectators, and they ask you to do one more thing for them... Do the Balducci, and they will NEVER forget you!
By: Jim Currie
Completely agree with most of what's been said. In the correct
conditions it is a knockout. A colleague performed it for a room full
of magicians who knew how it was done, and there was still a split
second when you thought "WOW" until you remembered how it was done
By: Scott K.
You can buy a video called, "Learn to Levitate" by Michael Maxwell,
that sells for only $15 from ANY online magic store.
In it, you will not only learn the Balducci Levitation, but you will also learn like 7 or 8 different ways to levitate objects...
It is a good video for someone who wants to get started with levitation. If you find that your interested in that kind of magic, then you should buy some of the more specialized videos (that are more expensive).
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