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What was your first magic trick?
This is called snap-change
This is a coin.
I take the coin like this.
It has disappeared.
A closer look at the lives of Vietnamese magicians.
When did you start doing magic?
I have been doing magic for 8 to 10 years.
Around 2002
When street magic started in Vietnam
nobody knew what street magic was.
It was difficult to get Vietnamese people interested in street magic.
Who is your magic idol?
I don't know 'cause I like many.
Surely every street magician idolizes David Blaine.
He's the greatest symbol of street magic.
It can be said that before Blaine, there had been many street magicians.
But street magic has been popular like this because of David Blaine.
Surely my idol is David Blaine.
When I was little, I knew about David Copperfield- a very well-known magician of the world.
And his performances were just different.
They were very creative.
From that moment, I felt like he has transfered an inspiration to me.
Difficulty and Giving-up.
While learning magic, I began to feel depressed for a while.
Magician
I was thinking about giving up.
The biggest difficulty is that magicians are not respected in Vietnam.
In Vietnam, magicians are not considered as real artists
They are viewed just like some con artists fooling around.
That's really challenging for young magicians nowadays.
The best thing abroad is that
street magicians are respected there.
Even though their performances could be a failure.
People still give applause.
For the effort.
But it's different in Vietnam.
That effort is usually not recognized.
That's just so difficult for street magicians.
Then, there is difficulty within the world of magicians.
They don't give street magicians recognition as real magicians.
Therefore, it's very difficult for street magicians to have opportunities to perform on a real stage.
Only old and experienced stage-magicians are hired to perform on stages.
Not many people really know that street magic has been in Vietnam for 10 years.
They don't know what kinds of effect street magicians can bring on stage.
Show producers or event organizers just don't really know about street magic.
Therefore street magicians don't have many opportunities to be hired.
Street magicians now can only participate in small irregular shows.
Shows in cafes mostly where there are not so many audiences.
That cannot help them really develop.
Only makes them frustrated and fail.
You don't have a group or club to share experiences and skills.
You also don't have anyone to get advice.
Why?
Because magic is different with its constraint in sharing and tendancy to maintain secrecy.
The future of magic in Vietnam
What helped me go through the difficult time of my life was the applause of audiences.
The smiles of the people who watched me perform.
In the following years, I think magic will get more and more attention.
and will develop more and more.
Not just in Hanoi but also in Saigon.
If there are people who have true passion and want to stay with magic for a long time
Surely magic will flourish in the near future.
When magicians have belief and ambition.
These two attributes will get them through any difficulty.
Difficulty in acquiring tools and audiences.
And most importantly, it's the bridge connecting one magician to another.
to create a strong magic community.
First, maybe it's just between two friends.
But then it will develop to a big magic community.
A community of sharing lives, sharing experiences.
Together moving forwards.
If you have faith in magic.
and have faith in that community .
There will be success.
Passion and ambition will bring them to stand
under the light of The International Federation of Magic Societies
And they can tell to the world that
I AM A MAGICIAN.
BEHIND THE SCENES
PHONE?