Hello all,

I'm not really new to magic, but after looking over all the areas I could post this, I really had no idea which was appropriate. So I thought I'd put it here. Sorry if this was a poor choice.

My question concerns magic schools. Recently I was reading the May 2006 issue of Magic Magazine, specifically the article on Channing Pollock. It mentions how he attended the Chavez School of Magic, college of dexterity and apparently how he was able to use his GI Bill for it. So I'm wondering, is/was this a real school? An actual college? The fact that he was able to pay for it with the GI Bill would indicate to me that it is, but I'm not overly familiar with any restrictions on the use of the GI Bill.

I'm curious because I love the idea of this. I know there are specialty colleges of all sorts but never realized there might be one for magic. Just curious if anyone has any information on the Chavez School or any current such schools. Even if the Chavez School is not still around I'd love to hear some information about it.

Thanks all for your time.

http://www.lanceburton.com/learn/fraternity.html Scroll down abit to get the info on the Chavez School of Magic which is still in operation.
Cardamagically,
<<<KRaZy4KaRdZ>>>

Negrette,

I'm currently enrolled with the Chavez Studio. It's headed by Dale Salwak, and you can either do private study in California or home-based study. It focuses on manipulation of cards, coins, billiard balls, thimbles, and cigarettes (or similarly shaped objects), but also includes lessons on showmanship, stagecraft, routining shows, using music, agents, etc. There's also a primer on doves. I've been unable to work on it for awhile, but have just started back up.

You can find more info at Dale's site - http://www.dalesalwak.com/
Don't hesitate to contact him with questions. He's very nice, and is more than willing to help!

Btw - it's true that after WWII the GI Bill paid for veterans to attend, but that's no longer the case.

Wow, that's incredible. Attending a school like would be an excellent way to really delve into the art I'm sure. I'm curious though, would the home-based study be any different from actually just studying from some of the classic books, like Card College, Royal Road, etc.?

The course is more about manipulation and developing skills on a stage rather than close-up magic. However, a close-up pad is just a small stage.

The best part of the course is that it doesn't give you different productions/vanishes/etc. only to leave you to figure out how to piece them together to make a routine, like many of the available books and videos.
Take McBride's Card Manipulation and World Class Manipulation series for example. I have both, and they're excellent. But, what they lack is teaching you how to take what you've learned and develop it into a routine. It's like giving you different colors of paint, and leaving you to paint a masterpiece without knowing the fundamentals of art. The Chavez course, on the other hand, gives you full routines that you can use as is, or as guidelines in creating your own. There's nothing else out there like it.
Besides, books and videos don't give you feedback. You can send a video of yourself at anytime to Dale, and he'll critique your performance and give you advice on improving.

I have a friend called Harry who attended to "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" I think... maybe this could help

Isn't that the one headed up by Albus Dumbledore? He seems like a swell fellow!

Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger (and others) teach in Las Vegas at the McBride Magic and Mystery School.

http://www.magicalwisdom.com/school.php

Best,
-Ananda.