I'm working on a levitation trick that is angle sensitive.

I need a small group of people to gather in a tight crowd directly in front of me, but I don't want it to be obvious why I'm asking them to do it.

Any suggestions?

Do it during a performance, then let the audience stay and you move yourself to where you need to be for it to work with them. If they are spread out, tell them to huddle up cause it might not be easy to see from other ways. Since they don't know what you will do they will be curious and gather like you asked. Be warned, they will ask you to do it again. They always do.

What if say, "Hey I have a secret to tell you all. Come close!" Then I pull them all together into a huddle and whisper, "I'm not sure how to tell you all this, and I don't want you to get scared or freak out or anything, but I have this magic power. I can levitate. I've always been able to do it-- ever since I was little." After the disbelief and the demand to see it I say, "Okay... but I need to concentrate to do it, no distractions, so be very quiet, and don't move.

Then I walk away several feet and, voila.

Any other ideas?

Or just tell them that they should move, so in case you fall down, they want be hurt. )) If you say it the funny way, they will listen and move.

How about get yourself on TV so you have an entire crew that will handle those little details for you?

That is the best environment for those types of tricks.

Posted: Feb 1, 2006 10:53am
By the way that was a joke,not a suggestion.

If you're going to levitate, particularly a la Balducci et al, I wouldn't advise opening with "Hey, I can levitate." Your spectators are going to be poised to drop low enough to bust you.

"I need everybody go gather close enough to focus your collective powers for me."

You could even arrange the crowd during "Mental Photography" under the guise of getting a "Group Photo" of their thought of card.

Tie the entiire group together at the end of a rope routine under the pretense of showing them how to become escape artists. "...but first, while I have your attention..."

To keep their attention off your feet, wear a hat and explain that the next trick is called "Fosbury's Flying Fedora". After you "land", complain that the hat was simply on too tight.


Regards,

-jjg

Hey those are some good ideas! Thanks for the advice.

I'm enjoying the technical aspects of these levitation tricks, but I still need lots of work on my delivery. It's hard to get the angles and the lighting just right. It's hard to keep a straight face. And it's even harder not to repeat the trick when your audience is begging for it!!!