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Falling under a spell

By Gan Tian, Todd Balazovic (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-22 09:16

Even so, according to Wang Zhiwei, vice-president of Beijing Magic Club and founder of The Mirage Studio, audiences for magic in China are behind the international curve.

"Chinese audiences are still at a beginning level to appreciate magic performances," he says.

They usually focus on the secrets behind the magic, rather than the performance itself, he adds.

When Taiwanese magician Lu Chen took a ring from an egg in CCTV's 2009 Spring Festival Gala, for example, thousands of online postings discussed how he did it.

Some posted pictures suggested the desk had a secret passage, others said his assistant helped him.

"Of course I want to know how Lu took out the ring from the egg. My friends and colleagues are all talking about his trick. Isn't it normal that we feel curious about the secret behind?" says Guo Liurui, 25, an office worker.

She was not a magic fan, but became interested after watching Liu's performance. Now she has booked seven tickets for the Supreme Magic Show of FISM 2009.

When David Copperfield made his China tour in 2002, he said before his performance started: "Magic is not something to test your wisdom. I hope you can just enjoy my magical journey."

Wang has watched Copperfield's shows around the world, but says he only saw the magic master saying this on stage in China. He believes Chinese magic audiences focus on the secrets instead of the performance.

"They do not know how to enjoy the humor, the wonders within, and the process of the magic. It is because Chinese people pay more attention to the results, rather than the process itself," Wang says.

When Chen Xigang showed off his tricks to classmates, he always faced demands to know how he did it.

"We have been taught to share our knowledge since we were very young," Chen says. "If you don't, you are considered a mean person - that is the deep explanation of the strange behavior of magic fans."

The magician Li Ning, who is set to open his magic show The Legend of Magic, says to ask the performer to reveal the secret of the magic is a "big disrespect to magicians and all the performers."

Gao Wei, a CAA member who also works in FISM WCM, says this mindset partially explains why there are few financially successful magicians in China.

"Being a magician actually needs knowledge of various fields: stage, dance, hosting, chemistry, physics, mathematics," Lu says.

"But some Chinese magicians believe they can survive with only one or two tricks, which is impossible. Chinese magicians also need to improve their magic creations."

Focusing on theatrics and on the magician's personality, rather than on the tricks themselves, is where the line is drawn between American and Chinese Magicians, Arthur Trace says.

"Chinese magic seems to be set up as a challenge. It's as if the magician is saying, 'Look what I can do, I can fool you,' and pushes the audience to try and figure out how the trick was done," he says.

"For American magicians it's not so much about the skill but more about the entertainment value."

 

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