Hello,


I have had several people from time to time while working at resturants say: "Cool, but can you levitate?"


Have any of you working resturants come up with an effect you can do at resturants? your usually surrounded and most self levitations are all angle sensetive. Each has its own positives and negatives.

I like "E" version that has that lift but $600 and its still VERY angle sensitve.

I don't know what version you are referring to ("E"), but there are a few levitations that will fly in restaurants (pun intended). Elevator and Skywalker come to mind.

Skywalker is around $20
Elevator is around $90

Skywalker requires you to build the gimmick.
Elevator comes pre-made.

Skywalker handles walk-up=levitate=walk-away, you don't do anything funny.
Elevator requires you to touch your feet just before the levitation.

Skywalker is very uncomfortable to wear for long periods.
Elevator causes no discomfort.

Both are approximately 80% angle friendly.

My suggestion:
Buy Skywalker and play with the gimmick. The people who wrote it didn't think it through very far, but overall it's an interesting levitation and it's VERY convincing if done right.

If you do buy Skywalker, let me know and I'll tell you how to add a little something to make it 100% angle friendly.

On a side note, Skywalker will not cause that much discomfort if you only wear it for short periods. If your restaurant night is the standard 3 hours, you'll probably be okay.

Personally, I find self-levitations a waste of time, effort and money...but that's just me. It's not part of what I do.

When someone asks me if I can levitate, I say, "No, I don't levitate, but I did raise a child once...[pause]...she's in college now." Everybody laughs and I continue on with the reason I am actually there.

Notice, though, my choice of words. I say, "I DON'T levitate." Not "I can't levitate." The subtle suggestion there is that I could if I wanted to...

Of course, you don't have to bother with that sort of psychological subtlety. I mean, what's the connection between doing some close-up magic and actually levitating yourself? Does the ability to do one follow from the other? In other words, does being able to make someone's thought-of playing card appear face-up in a face-down deck somehow imply that you should be able to make yourself fly around the room? IMHO, no. If, however, you are somehow giving people that impression, you better be able to back it up.

My point was people ask. I orignally would say a wise crack but it comes up alot more now. Obviously has to do with the Angel and Blaine shows....


Its a question alot ask now.

"Do you know how that guy levitated off the floor?"

OR
(after a effect)

"Cool, but can you levitate?"

And my point was that I say, "No." Doesn't matter how often or how many people ask (although I have to say I'm hardly ever asked); I still say no. Doesn't matter if they saw Blaine or Angel levitate on TV... neither of them levitated in a restaurant. I still say no.

As dbaker_creator pointed out, there are levitations available that might work in a restaurant situation (though I'm not convinced they would or that levitating in a restaurant is practical in the first place), I don't feel obliged to levitate just because people ask if I can.

Re Angel's restaurant levitation... did that involve a chair? The ones I'm thinking of are the elscalator and the building-to-building.

As to the table-mapping, yes...exactly. That's why I consider them impractical for restaurants. The magic I choose for restaurant work can be done in ANY restaurant, regardless of table-mapping. That's part of what I look for when choosing restaurant material, and one reason why I don't bother with self-levitations.

I have been asked that question all the time. Here is my answer..."Well, just about everyone asks me that and all I'm going to say is....I'm not telling." This answer doesn't say 'yes' and it doesn't say 'no.' If you say "yes," they will ask you to do it and when you don't, you lose credibility. If you say "no," you lost credibility lol. The answer I listed above creates a sense of mystery and if you amazed them with all the other tricks beforehand then they will come to the conclusion that you CAN levitate but you're not going to. Just remember, "Create the impression that it's not so much what you have done as what you could to if you had the time." --13 Steps to Mentalism

If it was me, I would not try and levitate in a restaurant because of all the angles, and there are staff trying to get by going to kitchen and to serve other guest coming in to the restaurant so you get in the way. I try to do fast simple, easy quick tricks that are no angle problems and everyone can see from the table without having to move. It all depends on the restaurant enviroment.


-MagicTay