Even though I think I've seen just about every YouTube clip he's been in as well as his previous DVDs & downloads, my first impression of Utopia is this is a Dani DaOrtiz I haven't seen before. Disc One has him in a formal close up show for approximately 50 spectators and he's more commanding, theatrical yet charming than ever. The show itself has a feel of an actual paid performance being taped for this DVD shoot vs a magic DVD shoot with a live audience (I hope that makes sense). The crowd's reactions were enthusiastic but restrained with none of the over-the-top stuff you almost always see these days on magic DVDs.

The impression I had after watching the formal close up show was DaOrtiz was just toying and jazzing around while performing these miracles and having a grand old time with his audience. David Britland's piece in this month's Genii calls him 'happy-go-lucky' and he's right. Dani is charming, warm, funny, intelligent and passionate about the art which comes through in his performances as well as his instructions and even while conducting 1on1 interviews with producer Luis DeMatos.

Dani speaks in both Spanish and English with subtitles available for seven languages. If you view Dani's teaching lecture on the 2011 EMC discs you'll get an idea of his command of the language and the type of teaching he does on Utopia.

As for the impact of the magic itself, my jaw was dropping throughout both the performances and explanations. The technical difficulty of the set runs from "very easy" (an unintentional running joke by DaOrtiz) to intermediate. You don't have to be a move monkey but some tricks require the ability to handle doubles very well, perform a classic pass, etc.

As to detailed instructions on the moves themselves Dani does provide explanations but this isn't an instructional set on foundational card sleights. DaOrtiz's advice on how to master the picking up of a double from the table and snapping it as a single is to do it 1000 times ("It's very easy").

Utopia is the result of more than a decade of DaOritz collecting field data from thousands of live performances. He shares his knowledge of timing, focus, attitude, human nature, behaviour patterns, perspective and psychology in the art of magic as it was taught to him via the Spanish school of card magic. He says Ascanio, Jose Carroll, Fred Kaps, Gabi Pareras, Lennert Green and of course Juan Tamariz have played an important role in his development.

While most of the tricks are technically within the grasp of an intermediate card person it's the subtleties, psychological games and construction of his routines which makes your jaw drop when DaOrtiz perfectly executes the trick. The lessons are wonderful and this could very well be a new instant classic for card magic because DaOrtiz focuses on what should be going on between the performers ears.

This set by DD is a eye opener. The stuff taught here are by no means easy as hell. But with practice, minds will be blown. The psychological stuff that Dani imparts is priceless eg. how to successfully force a card and he describes a few ways. Practiced the force and it worked and obviously minds were blown. The off beat, casual style is very cool as well.

Teaching is clear and Dani is pure joy to watch. Seriously. He is entertaining even when he speaks.

Pure Magic.

Watching Dani DaOrtiz perform magic makes me feel like a kid again. His presentation-style and technique combine to form a way of doing magic that makes everything seem new again. It also doesn't help that his enthusiasm for the art is contagious. I've been an avid magic hobbyist for almost 8 years now and the tricks on this set blew me away.

What these 4 DVDs offer more than anything else though is an insight into WHY the tricks work. As a sociology major I found this aspect alone to be worth the price of the set. I've never before seen as deep a look into the methods of audience manipulation on a strictly card magic DVD. Some of these methods seem insane... until you see them work. Most of them are simple and stunningly effective, while all of them take practice and confidence.

Overall a unique and amazing purchase that is definitely not for beginners.

I was in conflict with card magic (which is not a very good thing when you are a magician...), and by that I mean that I liked just a few card effects after trying so many of them.
This DVD encouraged me to see card magic in a different way. In a way that shows what is behind card magic (phsychology, perception etc), and that shows that we can like some effects more than others, and IT'S OK as long as you create different ways to express them working on your presentation.

Chapeau bas l'artiste, senior Daortiz!

After playing with magic for a year or so, you should then be required to watch this. It's the best lesson out there in how and what spectators watch, and what they perceive.

When you realize that this guy is performing miracles by performing moves that aren't even moves, right in front of you, you find yourself facing an insane wake-up call. How did the card to the 17th position? He counts. That's it!

You can make a career out of these routines alone. You can make a magical life out of the concepts.

Still... I have to say:

The production of these DVDs, like most of the series, is weak. The production value is high and it's made to look all flashy and smooth, but they sort of overlook things like lesson-quality. There are many moments when you wish SOMEONE on set said "wait, backup and explain that again 'cause it didn't make sense", or "Maybe go back and zoom in on the stack so it's clear", or "maybe go back and change 'you do this' to 'you perform a pass'" etc etc.

Watching closely negates all of this. But, these guys are clearly trying to make definitive works here, and they aren't really focusing on the education quality, which is ashame.

You have to know only one thing: you wont be dissapointed.

Great magic by an interesting and beautifully careless magician. Where Lennart Green is "clumsy" Dani Daortiz seems, like he says repeatedly "I don't care" with his tricks you get the feeling that if you picked a card or imagined a number you could change your mind at any time and he would still know what you picked or thought.

I loved this DVD set.

Just add it to cart. Even though it's expensive, do it. You won't regret it. It has just sooo much magic! Dani is very funny and it's not to hard. Some of the things he goes over require that you can be relaxed when you are performing, and that have a "clear brain" and that when you're performing you have a good conversation with your audience, so he/she "does what you want". What I really did not axpect about this DVD set, was the two bonus tricks, Follow the leader and Crescendo are also explained on there. These are both tricks that you can buy from "the wire" on theory11. I'm very happy that I bought this set, and will never regret it!

I got this set years ago. Learned all that I could and included much into my own sets, despite having a completely different approach. Whereas I am much more "orthodox" in style, I have often taken even some of his closers as between effect miracles. Those moments when the crowd think nothing is happening, THAT is where Dani excels, because EVERYTHING is happening in those moments. I decided to review this set again, because just as we miss small things here and there while reading a book, so too do we miss small nuggets when watching something. I see Dani has changed a few methods here and there (just slight changes) in his more modern performances of the same effects (i.e. he counts cards and has spec stop him on his first effect on disc 1, whereas on his fool us performance he has the spectator count the cards by themselves), which is awesome to see growth.

The psychology taught here is reason enough for any beginner to get this set as their foundation. I often wish these were MY first introductions into the close up world. It creates a completely different mindset in how to approach, construct and carry out new AND traditional effects.

His effects and style definitely have stood the test of time thus far. And let's be honest, we all recognize a great when we see it so odds are 10 years from now will be the same type of review.

amazing! get it now. but i liked his dvd reloaded more