One of my high points when going to conventions was watching Lavand do this live. It sent chills up my spine. The Youtube video is a little different than what I saw but is still good.
The routine reminds me of Senator Crandall's one cup routine from one of the Tarbells.

I have my own version of this routine with my own comedy poem, this is an ancient trick much older than Levand. But I use Maltesers - round chocolate honeycomb sweets - I don't know whether you have these sweets in Amercica, maybe they are called something else there, but they are a very well known top selling sweet here in Britain. But I don't use the actual sweets as the chocolate would melt. Use brown plasticine rolled into balls so that they look just like Maltesers and bring them out of a Maltesers packet at the start of the routine. I think any similar sized chocolate sweet that is common where you are with a cup of tea would fit into this routine.

I think these are something like a candy we call "Whoppers".

Good idea, really.

The Whoppers candy of the U.S. is the closest thing you get to the Maltesers from the U.K. Not quite the same but they would work just fine.

Bill beat me to it: Good idea!

I think it makes a great after dinner trick as is. The audience doesn't know or think the cup is being used as an aid. A few balls of bread from the bread basket, a nearby espresso cup. Performing as a tribute is a great idea. You could also say you were performing it one-handed so you couldn't pull any funny business. Or you could just perform it one handed without drawing attention to that fact. I think that could work just as well.

Those of you who use balls made from hard material, how do you keep them from making noise when you drop the concealed ball in the cup?

Fundamentally a very simple trick (a variation of the old two-in-the-pocket-one-in-the-hand trick) but in the hand of Rene (and he has only one) it's one of the most beautifully executed routines I think I've ever seen - magical, poetica, and so brilliantly natural. This is "impromptu magic" at its best ("waiter, can I have some more bread, please?"). After watching it, you really want to applaud. And should. One of the best of the best.

Fortasse

Absolutely one of the most beautiful peices of magic out there.
I agree with what has been said, if you're going to do this routine, do it brilliantly or not at all.
In case you're wondering, no I don't.
:-P

I sometimes do a modified version of this with my standard cups and balls (copper cups, wood+crochet balls). I say that I'm being as honest as I can possibly be and put one arm behind my back as I perform it. I've found that you can prevent hard balls announcing themselves by aiming the second drop carefully- IFYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN
definitely one of the most beautiful pieces of magic. It is so simple that it is impossible to fathom- and THAT, to me, is as close to real magic as mortals get.

I have seen Senor Levand do this a number of times and am amazed at how strong it is.

See my 2 in hand 1 in pocket with cups and balls at http://www.pete-biro.com

Are they his natural body language, or is he performing? I like to think that is what makes him a great performer. He makes you think it is natural. Many of his gestures are convincers and are tied to the words he is speaking -- numbers and counts. In fact one date he speaks is completely fabricated so that he can make the accompanying gesture.



Doesn't have to be done entirely one-handed and, in my opinion, there is no attention on number of hands being used. I don't see any need to explain the cup any more than in cups and balls. If performed w/ an espresso or demitasse cup and bread, perfectly logical as an after-dinner bit.

I saw Lavand twice in Villa Gesell a beach south of Buenos Aires where he performed during the summer time in a small theater. 20 years ago or so.
While he looks very natural, he is constantly performing/acting, nothing is natural (they look natural or spontaneous), but all the moves have a meaning in the routine they are very well motivated as well as the script, I don't recall exactly now but when he is reciting the poem (the moon, the shadow and me) and talks about the poet of the 4th Century, at the time he said 4th century he shows his four fingers, of course it is perfect timing, reading the book later on and without going in details I understood why the 4th century and the 4 fingers, all allow for the crumbs to be handle without anybody suspecting anything. Perfect routine, excellent blocking and acting, and the script is so pretty that you feel you are listening to an old poem written centuries ago.

One of his tricks that people don't talk much is The Greek (El Griego), where he tells the story of how he taught a card shark to paint and unpainted 4 cards. Look for it in youtube it is a small jewel.

I love Levand's work. I think part of his magic is the fact that his motions are formal and "latin". They look just a bit strange to American eyes and provide a bit of misdirection. A modern American couldn't look natural with the same presentation. How to find out own style -- there's the rub.

As for "crumbs," I bought a toy gun that shoots foam darts, and I cut "crumbs" from the foam (about 1/4 inch). They are firm to handle but don't talk at all. The darts I found were yellow and show up just great against the black espresso cup and saucer I purchased in a kitchen store. BTW, the store was great; they broke up a set of four cups so I could buy just one.

Does anyone know when (even roughly) Lavand started performing The Three Breadcrumbs? And is there any information about how he created it? I know it's a variant on two in the hand and one in the pocket, which goes back to Hocus Pocus Jr., but I'm wondering if the thinking was as straightforward as "how do I do this classic effect with just one hand?" or something more, such as wanting to do some version of a cup and ball routine with one hand.

R. Paul Wilson has a similar routine that I guarantee will fool you.

Such an excellent routine. It's tempting me to get his DVD set, Maestro.

Maestro is worth it not just for the performance/explanation of this routine and many of Lavand's card routines, but especially for the conversations between Lavand and Luis de Matos re: Lavand's philosophy, approach to magic, etc.

It’s hard to accept that we recently lost two of the great contemporary philosophers of magic. They took the art to such a sophisticated level.

René Lavand and Eugene Burger. RIP

Hola cavaleros ! I have been playing with the routine as per in the book 'mahic from the soul's.
It mentions that this is a perfected version relative to olders that were taught (idk where)..
Anyway watching the maestro perform on the many YouTube archives, I can't help to notice there seems to be as many routines as videos (moves are same but at different time), which pattern is in your opinion the most deceptive ?
Looking forward to read your opinions and suggestions
Thanks

Brick tilley has an ebook called CRUMZ on a popular website revealing his discovery, the material to use to make the balls.google him, you'll find the site...