Hi!
I just want to share with you my card manipulation act. I hope you like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM3FNtefMr8

Greetings from Spain,

Great Eduardo, I liked it a lot. When was it recorded for Le Plus show ?

regards,
Bojan

Very good extreme manipulations. Real knuckle busters.

Usually, Manipulators throw in a magic trick or effect to break up the monotony of all the finger work. It would have been surprising to see a magic trick among all these manipulation moves.

I have noted the new breed of manipulators do not do this, it is probably because the information is easily available now-a-days, and no mentor or personal instruction is given to the student.

Very nice! I like how you work slow. Too many guys work too fast and the effect doesn't register with the audience. You can't tell if they are really making cards appear or just throwing them out! Your act was a great combination of magic and manipulation!

Thanks! Bojan, it was broadcasted on June 11 , 2011.

Bill, when you commented in regard to Eduardo's video that "It would have been surprising to see a magic trick among all these manipulation moves..." do you mean that you don't consider the production of cards _per se_ as a magical effect? Granted there are moves reminiscent of Christian Stelzel's multiplying cards move that might be considered a flourish, but by and large I feel that when cards appear out of nowhere, that is in itself a magic effect. (To play the devil's advocate, I will point out that Henry Hay does put the b**kp*m in the flourishes section of the "Hand Magic with Cards" chapter of _The Amateur Magician's Handbook_. However, I still maintain that producing cards in fans and singly from the b**kp*m is as magical an effect as cutting a rope in two and restoring it.)

Eduardo, I thought the routine was great!

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Eduardo very polished and very, very elegant! Your pacing was perfect. I totally enjoyed watching you perform. Thank you for sharing.

Anatole,
I believe there are manipulators and then there are magicians. Manipulators demonstrate there skill at handling cards, Balls, etc. Magicians create magic by plucking cards from the air, making things appear and transpose, etc.

From what I saw, was a young person showing how clever he was at concealment, and recovery. I watched the video without the sound on, it gives less distraction. These of course are my opinions gathered from magic publications I have studied over the years.

I did not note, one plucking or pulling of anything from thin air. Another way would have been with the wave of a hand toward the item. I did not witness this either. Thus I consider the very good manipulations.

I think what makes me think this is when he removed a playing card from the back of his hand. Then repeated it. If he would have shown the back of his hand empty prior to the removal of the card, that would be magic, but all he did was show the palm of his hand and remove a card from the back of his hand. I thought so what, not very magical.

His multiplying cards effect was not Christian's, but Marko Tendo's, just to make note of the material.

Some say the new Sphere contact Juggling is or would be considered magic, I would not. I would consider it manipulations.

I am in no way saying that Eduardo Galeano is not good or well skilled, I just do not consider the act a magic act. It is very good manipulations.

Example: A manipulator does the arm spread and catches the card when the arm propels the cards into the air. A magician performing magic does not usually do this stunt. It is a stunt and not magic, therefore, it is manipulations.

In 15 years of Le Plus Grand Cabaret shows I have never seen a single performer who was not a TOP magician, juggler, acrobat etc. and performed there. Patrick and his crew really know their job and if Eduardo got a chance to perform there then he is for sure a great act.

Masterful and elegant!

A truly magical performance.DOn't mind what anyone ele says- you earned your spot at the Grand Cabaret.

Again, I am not saying his act is not good. It is just not magic to me. It is a manipulation act. Can't anyone see the difference.

It looks magical for me, as it does for many others. For sure monsieur Sebastien did not call him into the show because of his awesome palming skills, flawless steals and ambidexterity. But what do I know, lol. Please enlighten us about the diference between a "manipulation act" and a "magic act" 'cause that made me curious.

Bill, you cite the following as an example for labeling an act a manipulation act rather than a magic act "A manipulator does the arm spread and catches the card when the arm propels the cards into the air. A magician performing magic does not usually do this stunt. It is a stunt and not magic, therefore, it is manipulations." I agree that the armspread toss and catch is a flourish and not magic, but let's consider the production of fans of cards, which is what formed the base of at least part of Eduardo's routine. To me, the appearance of the cards is _magic_; spreading the cards into a fan after they appear may be considered a flourish. But how else would one display the cards after they appear? Card players--whether they play poker or "Go Fish!"--invariably fan their cards so they can easily see the indices. They do this not as a demonstration of skill, but simply to facilitate easily identifying the cards in their hand.

Many decks of cards that are sold in department stores are packaged in a drawer box. It would be easy enough to gimmick one of those drawer boxes so that the drawer can be pulled open and shown empty, then closed and re-opened to show that 52 cards have appeared. Would you consider that effect more magical than producing cards at the fingertips? To my way of thinking, if you can produce the cards inside the box, then you should also be able to magically produce the box itself.

Some of the fairly universally acknowledged great, classic magic acts--Cardini, Pollock, Hart, Silvan, McBride--contain generous doses of manipulation. Yet I think most of us would agree that they are among the most respected magic acts in the history of our art. I think the lay audience also appreciates those acts as magic and "art" as well. I have heard lay people remark--after seeing some magic acts that depend heavily on apparatus--that the magic is in the box (or whatever) and that anyone who had the box could do the tricks. That's an oversimplification, but that's the way many lay people think.

In one of the articles I contributed to the old Electronic Grymoire, I considered various ways of magically producing a silk handkerchief, ranging from plucking one out of thin air with the bare hands to producing a silk handkerchief from a phantom tube or square circle. To me (and I believe to the average non-magician as well) the more magical effect is the production of a silk from the bare hands. Those methods (there are several different methods of creating that effect) require at least a minimum of manipulative skill, but to me (and I believe to the average lay person as well) they are far more magical than producing a silk from a phantom tube or square circle.

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Magicians produce cards from the air. Taking them from their invisible placement in the air and removes them, they become visible when the magician touches them and pulls them into existence.

Manipulators reveal cards that have been in an unseen placement. Then they convey an statement of, look how clever I am.

Here is another one: Card Fanning of colored backs of fanning decks in not magic, it is manipulation. The skill of evenly fanning a deck of cards to create designs of interesting patterns. This is manipulations that a manipulator performs.

Laypeople do not create the rules of what is magic and what is not magic.

Magicians can use manipulations to produce magic, and manipulators can chose to create magic with their manipulations.

Recently, the trend is that the person is so interested in learning the sleights, that they forget or do not realize that if they, which to perform magic they should make it look magical, not a skill of dexterity.

There is certainly nothing wrong with being a manipulator, it is a fine skill.

Look at the face of the guy in the front row, I think that tells everything.

What's with the quibbling? Galeano's card act has magic (single and fan productions) and manipulation (fanning and single card "finger work). The card catch was a mild "flash" move which is more akin to juggling. The open palm card "introduction" which Bill referenced seemed to me to be just that-sort of getting the audience to tune in to the fact that nothing but cards and bare hands are involved (except for the confetti, etc).

The "ACT" contained elements of magic, manipulation and more. Just like those great performers previously mentioned and not mentioned such as Neil Foster and Norm Nielsen.

Perhaps it is the understated presentational style of Galeano which has caused Bill to arrive at his "not magic" conclusion i.e. that Galeano is not energetic in "selling" the magical effects.

Though the reaction of the audience is the only measure you need, I add my congratulations to those already listed.

They don't do it because would be extremely arrogant to do so. And / or because "magic" (as in the 'feeling' of magic) needs no rules.

But, hey, thanks for clarifying your point.

This is exactly what is destroying magic. People who have not have studied the art of magic, making silly comments like this. Read Dariel Fitzkee trilogy of books.

A big welcome to the Café, Eduardo! Thank you for sharing, and visiting. There is a separate section on card manipulation and flourishes which I'm sure you'll visit and add a lot to the discussion. Your performance was beautiful.

My silly comment was my opinion - the opinion of someone who's been studying magic for almost 30 years and working with said art for 20 plus.

Your rude, uncalled for, answer was - I believe - your opinion. And I respect it, despite all. Wish you could do the same but, since you're entitled to your free speech., please go on.