Hey guys, quick question(s),

i was looking at The effect called "dancing Butterflies" and thought that it would be a great ending to "Life" taught by Daniel Garcia in vol. 2 of "The Guerrilla Guide to Loops". To sum this up, "Life" is basically about a dollar bill that folds itself into a butterfly and flaps its wings in your hand. My question is this: would I be able to rig up something to use the folded bill in place of the paper butterflies? My other question is whether it would be easier to use IT and call it done.

Thanks in advance!

Jeff McBride does a beautiful version of the Dancing Butterflies effect, and it is the only with which I am familiar. I will use it as my basis for this recommendation.

One thing you must consider is that a folded dollar bill is at least 7 times as heavy as the paper butterflies commonly used for the effect. The routine usually involves using a fan to cause the butterflies to "dance." If one were to attempt this with folded dollar bills, he would shortly run out of breath due to the physical demand placed upon his wrist by the combination of gravity and heavy paper that would have to be overcome by the fanning motion. Ultimately, this would be not only impractical, but rather unpleasant to watch. Thus, to make the butterfly float, I recommend using IT.

Keep in mind, however, that the life-like movement of the butterfly's wings at the culmination of the "Life" effect is a beautiful moment, and you may risk overdoing it if you add a levitation at the end. Furthermore, the levitation won't look as realistic as does the movement of the wings. Such being the case, I would offer this alternative: make the movement of the butterfly a transformational moment, during which the butterfly begins to literally come to life. If you can find a way to turn the bill into a living butterfly after it begins to move its wings, you will have a finish that is far more powerful and meaningful than any IT levitation. You will have created life with only your bare hands. That, in my opinion, is the purest sort of magic.

Found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=1rA5QNogGJw&NR=1

To start, thank you for the advice. I have a question though: do you or anyone else know any methods for concealing a butterfly? Are there any books? I have seen Cris do it on one of his infernal shows (I do not know why i was watching it, alright?). So, if there is a resource I could use to learn butterfly manipulation, please, do tell.

Live butterflies are extremely delicate. Just touching their wings causes them to lose "powder" (for lack of the proper term) and damages them.

If you're inclined to experiment, I'd try something like a pill bottle in your hand where they can crawl out on their own onto your fingers and fly away. Chilling them puts them into a state of "hibernation" Wedding suppliers will ship boxes of butterflies this way to their clients.

You might also consider Christian Schenk's Metamorphosis. Check his site Here Basically, the effect is somewhat like Jim Pace's "The Web". In his version, the spectator finds a butterfly on the back of their hand. The butterflies are made out of a really nice card stock and Christian offers refill packs. That being said, you can find some really nice looking fake butterflies at local Craft Shops and substitute those instead. Either way, Schenck's effect looks really quite beautiful. The antique looking cards he provides are truly a masterpiece in themselves. You can also provide a nice segue and background story to really "sell" this to audiences.

Here's what I'm thinking: If I keep a cold butterfly in a handkerchief with a double pocket, I can put the dollar butterfly into the hank and refold so the pocket is open waiting for me to pour the real butterfly out and warm it to fly. This theory needs some SERIOUS tweaking, but i think it's a good start. Can anyone build on that before I buy a case of butterflies?