A who's who of The New York Magic scene crowded into Tannen's Thursday for the lecture by Gabi Pareras and Pipo Villanueva who were visiting from Spain. Villanueva opened the lecture, performing a three-coin, copper, silver, chinese coin routine that was filled with transpositions and changes. He also performed a strong chop cup routine and an innovative coins through table that was done standing, using a clear glass mug as a vehicle for the coins.
Pareras performed a series of elegant card effects including an oil and water routine that stood out very strongly for the seeming simplicity and fairness of the approach. In the final phase the spectator fairly shuffles together six red and six black cards which then separate by color at the hands of the magician. Perhaps the most magical and beautiful of the tricks he demonstrated was one where several signed cards magically transfer from his hands to a location underneath a postcard on the table. Aside from the nature of the routines themselves, Pareras's smooth and confident, yet casual handling of various card moves was impressive and highly instructive.
While getting settled in at the beginning of the lecture Pareras jokingly vanished several random items in quick succession that he grabbed from the table, saying "Slydini" as each one went off to the magical netherworld. "Slydini, Slydini, Slydini," he said as each vanish occurred. As he was explaining various tricks he also went off on tangents that touched on other techniques and the lecture included lots of theoretical points of view.
Tannen's was crowded to overflowing for the appearance of these two artists who were lecturing in New York for the first time. Among the magicians spotted were Steve Cohen, Eric Jones, Joshua Jay, Bill Kalush, David Roth, Ricky Smith, and numerous others who work professionally or are actively involved with the New York scene. The lecture was the topic of considerable discussion at the Saturday magic get-together at Cafe Rustico with those gathered demonstrating--or working to recall--the tricks they learned Thursday.
Pareras, who lives in Barcelona, is known as an underground legend on the Spanish magic scene, and he has been deeply influential there as a mentor to numerous magicians. Pipo Villanueva is a young conjuror from Madrid who has won numerous awards.
It was an impressive coup for Tannen's to feature these two magicians in their first New York lecture, and it was a service to the local magic community. Making close-up magic comfortably viewable to an audience is an ongoing challenge that is rarely solved to full satisfaction, however in the case of such crowded events, Tannen's may want to examine their logistical setup to overcome issues with blocked site lines and the temperature of the room. An amplification system would have helped the audibility of the lecture, particularly since it was being translated from Spanish to English by Villanueva. Tannen's did have an overhead camera that projected the lecture onto a monitor which aided in viewing.
Pareras and Villanueva came to New York City from the Buffalo Get-Together, where they gave two presentations the weekend prior to their Tannen's event. While in New York for the week they also spent time meeting privately for sessions with local magicians.
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Pareras performed a series of elegant card effects including an oil and water routine that stood out very strongly for the seeming simplicity and fairness of the approach. In the final phase the spectator fairly shuffles together six red and six black cards which then separate by color at the hands of the magician. Perhaps the most magical and beautiful of the tricks he demonstrated was one where several signed cards magically transfer from his hands to a location underneath a postcard on the table. Aside from the nature of the routines themselves, Pareras's smooth and confident, yet casual handling of various card moves was impressive and highly instructive.
While getting settled in at the beginning of the lecture Pareras jokingly vanished several random items in quick succession that he grabbed from the table, saying "Slydini" as each one went off to the magical netherworld. "Slydini, Slydini, Slydini," he said as each vanish occurred. As he was explaining various tricks he also went off on tangents that touched on other techniques and the lecture included lots of theoretical points of view.
Tannen's was crowded to overflowing for the appearance of these two artists who were lecturing in New York for the first time. Among the magicians spotted were Steve Cohen, Eric Jones, Joshua Jay, Bill Kalush, David Roth, Ricky Smith, and numerous others who work professionally or are actively involved with the New York scene. The lecture was the topic of considerable discussion at the Saturday magic get-together at Cafe Rustico with those gathered demonstrating--or working to recall--the tricks they learned Thursday.
Pareras, who lives in Barcelona, is known as an underground legend on the Spanish magic scene, and he has been deeply influential there as a mentor to numerous magicians. Pipo Villanueva is a young conjuror from Madrid who has won numerous awards.
It was an impressive coup for Tannen's to feature these two magicians in their first New York lecture, and it was a service to the local magic community. Making close-up magic comfortably viewable to an audience is an ongoing challenge that is rarely solved to full satisfaction, however in the case of such crowded events, Tannen's may want to examine their logistical setup to overcome issues with blocked site lines and the temperature of the room. An amplification system would have helped the audibility of the lecture, particularly since it was being translated from Spanish to English by Villanueva. Tannen's did have an overhead camera that projected the lecture onto a monitor which aided in viewing.
Pareras and Villanueva came to New York City from the Buffalo Get-Together, where they gave two presentations the weekend prior to their Tannen's event. While in New York for the week they also spent time meeting privately for sessions with local magicians.
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