Greetings 'Furious Flatfooters', 'Ball-room Blitzers',...and those with 'wooden legs',
.....like myself. : )

I've talked myself into creating a FANTASTIC(!) ,...
well,..
hopefully,..
a 'pretty good'
....oK,...
I'll be satisfied with,...a 'not getting caught'(!),..
Dancing Cane Routine.

I've gotten some great info here,..
reguarding 'length',...'lighting'..

But,..I was wondering what thoughts run a-straigh on,...
'compensating'.

Like when the Canes catches,...'the wobbles'...?
Or is accidentially bumped,..
and goes,...'belly up'...?

Do these things,...simply,.."not happen", after a while,...
eliminated, through practise?

Are there a couple of,..'face saving poses',...OR GALANT MOVES(!),..
that anyone would be willing to,....pass on,...
by someone,..
who's gotten SO GOOD(!..!),
....they simply don't need them any more!

{ I know, that WAS pretty slimey,..
I'm desperate. :@) }

Thanks,
gallagher

One reason that cane might "wobble" is that the balance point might be in the wrong place.
What is your cane made of--metal, plastic, balsa?
I bought a balsa cane once back in the 1970's (not an Abe Creekmore cane) and the balance point was off. I bought a white plastic chair leg cap the same diameter as the top of my cane and added it to the cane and it made the balance perfect.

If your cane is a plastic cane (i.e. a Fantasio Vanishing Cane) finding the balance point is trickier because every time you open the cane the location of the balance point may be different. But I found a way to insure that the balance point would always be right.

With luck you will be able to go to this facebook link where you will see my routine with the Fantasio cane at the beginning of a promo video for my magic lecture:
http://tinyurl.com/sonny-magic-lecture
Be sure to turn up the volume to hear the background music.

Since I change the cane to a 25-foot Rice silk streamer, finding the balance point is a little tricker than if you change the cane to silks.


----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Amado(!), THANKS!
.....i was beginning to think,..."No one's doing 'the Cane'!"

I watched your 'danced',..and really like it.
It starts very surprisingly(!).
...and ends 'that way', as well.

It's well thought.

What I'm up to,..is probably 'the roots', of my,...adversities.

I'm aiming for a 'slightly longer',...dance.
Add, that to,..a homemade 'cane'.

Actually,..my 'cane' is a Fanfare,...
I've cut a Trumpet apart,
and put part of a fishing rod between the two ends,..
the 'Horn/Bell' and the 'Mouth piece'.

The weight is pretty,..'oK'.
I'm using a slightly 'heavier' ...'rope' : ) ,
in the moment,..
but that will reduce itself.

I've got the balence 'pretty good'...I think.
A 'bit' bottom heavy,..
but it IS looooonger, then the common...'off the shelf Dancing Cane'.
...and a bit.....heavier.

My wobbles,..ARE,...stablizing,...thru practise...

but,...the dangers,..I believe,...will always be there,...

hiding in the shadows.

Watching YOU performance, though,...as well as David Copperfield's,...(2 minutes!)
....maybe,....I'm wrong.
You both seem very relaxed,...confident.
David Copperfield has a lot of body movement,..'dance', as well.
Both of you guys are quite.....'smooth'.
I like this.

. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .

I've been working with R. C. Buff's initial manuscript, as well,..
while he incorporate no 'dance',...
his 'floats' and 'twirls' and 'balences',..
I think,
might be nice,..,.'outs', as well.

To 'grab' the Cane,...
'balence', 'twirl', or 'float';
as a manuvre, to stabilize.....(?).

We will see. : )

In any case,
I'm thankfull for your thought,...AND Demonstration!

Wishing you a pleasent day,
Gallagher

p.s.: My father's favourite joke used to be:
"I'm so bright,..my mother called me 'sonny'."

....your mother, as well? : )

Hi, Gallagher.
Sorry I've taken so long to respond to your December 18 post. I don't check the Magic Cafe as regularly as I used to.
When you do the dancing/vanishing cane, are you using the gimmick that Fantasio sold with it?
The problem I had with the Fantasio gimmick is that it has a fixed diameter. But every time I set the cane up, the balance point tended to shift.
I adapted an idea that Rob Allen published in the June, 1972 issue of _The Linking Ring_--an adjustable gimmick that pretty much guaranteed that the balance will always be in the right place.

I wrote the routine up in my lecture notes and also published it in the June 2012 issue of _The Linking Ring_. If you don't have that issue and would like to read the write-up, PM me your email address and I'll try to remember to send you a pdf of my lecture notes.

Here's link to another video of my cane routine:
Cabaret of Magic
http://tinyurl.com/narvaez-cabaret-magic
At the end of me lip-synching to "Willkommen" from "Cabaret" I sort of repeat the effect by adapting an idea that Marconick published in his book _Marconick's Original Magic_ as "Floating Cane and Top Hat."

Magical regards,
Sonny Narvaez