ART OF ILLUSION

This beautiful performance with a crystal ball, by Luis Reis in Lisbon, lives at the intersection of magic, juggling and art. 

When juggling creates an illusion, it becomes magic. Magicians in our audience will know that unique thrill when years of practice makes the routine look magical - even to the performer. Adding the Go-Pro mini-camera shows the artistic precision from the performer's point of view.

When you roll a ball between your fingertips ten thousand times, it reaches critical mass. It’s the equivalent of nuclear fission - ball and magician change state together. The ball really IS floating in mid-air even though you can still feel it on your fingers, light as an angel’s wing.

We believe the modern godfather of this crystal ball magic is the one-and-only Michael Moschen. To call him the world's finest juggler is to damn him with faint praise.

We once saw Moschen live at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The performance was beyond perfection. But almost as remarkable was the audience. Every juggler in the world was there - the Flying Karamazov Brothers, Hovey Burgess, all of them. And all the great magicians were there, too - Lance Burton, Ricky Jay, everybody. When the gods descend from Olympus, the demigods show respect. And try to pick up new powers.