Raising a wannabe Houdini but don’t know where to start their training? Well, Bengaluru-based magician Nikhil Raj is set to teach magic to children aged six to 11 under the Institute of Magic and Allied Arts’ Junior Magic Course.
The two-day online course, beginning April 11, will be held on Zoom. It costs ₹600 and the sessions will be of 90 minutes duration.
Nikhil, who has been around magic since he was a child thanks to his renowned magician-father Prof Raj M, says: “People have this stereotypical idea that magic is performed with a lot of props. My basic idea is to teach magic using daily objects, from plates, cups and stationery items to coins and currency notes. I will also teach the children a couple of sleight-of-hand tricks and methods of misdirection. The other thing I will be teaching is stage presence. They need to understand what angle they need to stand at and the things they are supposed to say.”
As for whether there is a starting point that every aspiring magician has to pass before proceeding further, Nikhil says, “These are mostly basic tricks that I will be teaching them. Sleight of hand is something that children need to know if they want to have magic shows. However, I will also be teaching other tricks. For example, I will be teaching a magic trick with a pen and showing variations (of tricks) you can perform with the pen.”
Stating there is nothing like too young to start learning magic, Nikhil adds, “Since magic is a unique art, I’m pretty sure that not everybody is familiar with the tricks we do. Anybody can perform.”
For registration, call 9916552979 or 9449074966.
