This is a fairly good observation. However, Gazzo's presentational techniques will work even better with technically correct sleights. He did his routine that way until his stroke. If you don't think so, you don't know Gazzo.

The idea that technical correctness and good entertainment are somehow mutually exclusive is taking a very narrow view of magic.



It's like all of Rafael's work -- worth getting.

that's not to say that gazzo does not teach good sleights, however. He spends great detail on the false pass and palming afterward, the backbone of cups and balls

I wouldn't say that these sleights are the backbone of cups and balls. There are others that are equally important.

Since we are in an open forum, I do not feel comfortable discussing the inner secrets of ball manipulation. However, you state in your first post that you just learned the cups and balls from Gazzo's DVD, being a total beginner. Do you think that qualifies you to state that you don't need anything else?

If you are a total beginner, I would really recommend that you look at other things that are available.

Gazzo is a very close friend of mine, so I don't want you to misinterpret what I'm about to say. Even Gazzo would recommend that you look at other sources, too. There are DVD's that I think are wastes of time for beginners.

If all you want to be is a Gazzo clone -- then you have what you need. If you want to explore the cups and balls, you will need more than that.

Gazzo arrived where he is with the cups and balls by years of experimentation. He eliminated everything that doesn't fit him. But there may be things that you can use that will fit you better than they fit Gazzo.

Id have to agree.

If all you have seen or studied is Gazzo's routine (which is great) then you essentially know that one routine which is geared towards buskers. Leaving out the obviously great Ammar 2 disc set, take a look at Benatar's 'elegant' routine. Being a routine geared towards close-up work it is a totally different experience. Read Bob Read's Penultimate routine and marvel at how one man could come up with such an great routine and such hilarious patter. The Magic Teach In DVD is also fantastic to see the legends work and see how each made their own custom routine that worked best specifically for them.

I suggest picking up all the cheap cups & balls booklets you can find on eBay (or better yet your local magic shop) to get a better idea about the MANY routines, moves and patter that can be done with the cups. That's how I started out and it gave me a great foundation.

-todd

Bill is right. Gazzo has shown me lots of cup moves that he used to do or that he just knows but doesn't use. The more you know, the more options you will have to draw on.

Jim

Like Jazz... learn all there is and you can do anything with the cups.

Posted: Jan 24, 2007 7:53pm
I can't believe I've been doing cups for 50 years now... ech

I love to watch Tommy Wonder's 2-cup routine. It is a lesson in misdirection, or more properly, audience control. It is on one of his DVD's from L&L and in his books. I wish I had seen him in person. It is not an introduction to Cups and Balls, but a lot can be learned about cups and balls and magic in general from it.

Although it's not the best place to start, I cannot recommend Al Schneider's DVD highly enough. Above all things, it's a lesson in economy of motion. That's what really stands out. No wasted motion. Instead, everything he does is precise, purposeful, unambiguous......and cool. The result is a naturalness that makes the magic all the more entertaining.

It reminds me of something I read about what Dai Vernon said about Charlie Miller's practice habits : that Miller would study the mechanics of a particular move for hours on end and practice it until he got it down pat, and then he would spend even more time just trying to make the move look natural!

You get the same feeling watching Al Schneider perform the cups and balls.

Fortasse

Hmm, I seem to have presented myself inappropriately. Let me clear up what I'm saying.

Whenever I learn some magic routine (I mostly do cards, it's the odd propped stuff that's new to me) I never copy the routine word for word and often the order of the sleights changes when applicable. It does not feel morally correct to just steal someone elses work, I would feel almost patronizing to them in believing I could do it just like them.

The routine I feel give sleights and such that a beginner can mold and mesh into his own routine, and with the diversity of the moves given by gazzo allowed me to "figure out" many, many sleights that I see in magicians cups and balls videos posted on youtube or other video sources.

I understand some of us put aside a larger budget for these magical endeavors, but for my own financial reasons I am forced to believe in picking one video and standing by it.

And as for the worrying about becoming a "clone" of whoever the teacher is, that isn't a problem I would worry about. I find that I correct myself more in copying a line or presentational style of my german teacher (who does a lovely cups and balls routine) whom I've seen do a routine once rather than Gazzo whose video I own. Whoever grabs you the most in their routine will probably be the subject of your imitation, and if you've seen anyone else live than it probably isn't gazzo. Magic simply isn't as magical on video.

Eh, hopefully that all came out right.

That came out better, but believe me, with the exception of a few routines, you tube is not the best source of video on the cups and balls.