Nevermind Harry Potter and his little magic wand, the real magic starts when magic
meets burlesque!

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” “A magician!” — Ah, didn’t we all? If you
- like moi – used to dream of pulling cute little fluffy bunnies out of your magic top hat,
playing magic tricks and enchanting the crowds for a living, this burlesque magic post
will make your old wishes of magic wands reappear – as if by magic! – before you even
finish saying the words: Hokus Pokus, Abracadabra!

Not even magic Kylie could resist playing a bit of burlesque magic enchanting us all
through the lens of the fabulous Ellen von Unwerth for Spanish fashion, jewellery
and accessories firm Tous.

I know!!! Don’t you just wish you too had a magic wand?

Now, here’s a trick! *insert magician pose here* Close your eyes and think of
a burlesque magician and tell me what do you see in 3, 2, 1 … Now!

Now, take a look at these burlesque magicians and tell me if that was exactly
what you had in mind…

Meet Eric Walton: writer, actor, sleight of hand artist, raconteur, winning entertainer,
magician and burlesque magic performer…

His slogan?

‘I came. I saw. I conjured.’

(Oh! We are bewitched!!!)

Armed with some amazingly charming wit and a fabulous award winning one man
show called: Esoterica – written and performed by himself! – Eric ventures into the
realms of philosophy and metaphysics, asking questions like: “Destiny vs Free Will”,
“What is Perception?” “Is This Your Card?”

His show is about ideas; big ideas, like: perception, destiny, memory, deceit, psychic
phenomena and so on, but beyond its academic trappings, Esoterica is a very funny,
very ironic and dry show, where Eric has often been compared to Oscar Wilde, Vincent
Price and the devil himself!

But that is not all! He has some more serious tricks up his sleeve.

His fabulous show has been produced in New York City, London, Edinburgh and
Brighton, has been on tv in both the US and the UK and has travelled over five
continents, including a recent performance at Cirque Du Soleil. Not to mention
being hailed by critics from publications such as the Times of London, Backstage
East, The List and NYtheatre.com among many others.

Eric has even shared his thoughts on the connection that exists between imagination
and magic in the book “Imagination First: Unlocking The Power of Possibility” by Eric Liu
and Scott Noppe-Brandon (Jossey-Bass, 2009).

Isn’t he truly inspiring? If you too want to break into the burlesque magic world and
release your inner magician, here is some first-hand advice from the man himself:

“Get thee to a nunnery. And by ‘nunnery’, I mean ’stage.’ Performers need time on stage, in front of an audience and the more you do it, the better you’ll become at it. And you should practice all the time. Also, if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse who discourages you from being a performer, you should either break up with or divorce him or her.”

Best read according to him: ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra‘ by Nietzche.

Now, if you’d like to learn magic for handy purposes -such as, say, the removal
of clothing- your best man is 2009 winner of Best New Male at the London Burlesque
Festival, the lovely: Equador the Wizard!

Here is Equador performing some magic boylesque with his ‘handkerchief of truth’.

Isn’t he fabulous?

But it isn’t just the boys who know the secrets of burlesque magic, so do the girls!
Take a look at the very lovely Violet Valentine and Masuimi Max playing magic tricks
on each other with their magic wand in this super cute vintage style burlesque short
by Travis Stevens…

… And we can’t talk about burlesque magic without mentioning the fabulous,
the one and only burlesque and Hollywood icon who inspired the character of
Jessica Rabbit, the glamorous, stylish and drop dead gorgeous: Veronica Lake
who was already playing magic burlesque back in the 1940s. Watch her on
Femme Fatale playing some of her glamorous magic tricks to her audience.

Isn’t she stunning?

Burlesque magicians also remind us of this awesome shot by the fabulous
photographer Polly Borland.

How was that for a little bit of abracapokus, pokuscadabra?

If you – like us – love magic and burlesque, come over and learn a trick or two
at London’s own Moulin Rouge; the best cabaret, magic, comedy and burlesque
show in town: the Wam Bam Club at Cafe de Paris!

Magic top hat, white fluffy bunnies and magic wand optional.

Click here to book your tickets to next Saturday’s fabulous comedy, magic,
music and burlesque show!

xoxox
Nonita

Links:
www.wambamclub.com
www.cafedeparis.com
www.ericwalton.com
www.violetvalentine.com
www.equadorthewizard.com
http://iamtrouble.com/
www.pollyborland.com
www.ellenvonunwerth.com