David Blaine returns in David Blaine: Real or Magic, tonight!

We are ecstatic to see the return of, former Tannen's Magic Camper and Counselor, David Blaine to television in the much-anticipated special

David Blaine: Real or Magic?

While promoting the special, David gave a little nod to Tannen's Magic Shop in this online interview with Ali Wentworth on her program The Daily Shot!

Tune in tonight to see David's return to magic on TV! Not convinced? Check out Entertainment Weekly's synopsis of what we can expect from David this evening:

Are David Blaine's magic tricks real? Can they be done anywhere? Those are the questions Blaine is addressing in his upcoming 90-minute special, David Blaine: Real or Magic?

Tuesday, November 19th at 9:30 PM Eastern Standard Time on ABC

After working mainly on stunts since 1999, Blaine recently decided it was once again time to stretch his magic-trick muscles on camera. The twist? He wanted to go into the homes of some of the world's most famous people to get real reactions.

From Kanye West to Katy Perry, Robert DeNiro, Will Smith, Harrison Ford, George W. Bush, Olivia Wilde, Jamie Foxx, Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston, and more, Blaine spent the past year making some of the most well-known people in the world question what's real in the comfort of their own living rooms, kitchens, pools, and more….

Best of luck, David and Welcome Back!!!

Patrick Terry Presents: WONDERSHOW!

This Thursday, in Brooklyn, there is magic in the air!

Act now for a sweet Groupon discount here: http://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-wondershow

We hope we'll see you there!

Get Ready for WONDERSHOW - an extraordinary line up New York's best magicians and variety acts!

Don’t miss the extreme circus stunts of Acrocomedian Rudi Maccagi (The Tonight Show), the hilarious 

vaudevillian high jinks of Brooklyn’s own Jonathan Burns (The Late Show), the mind-blowing miracles 

of global headliner, Ben Seidman (The Travel Channel's Magic Outlaws), and more!

Presented exclusively at DUMBO’s Galapagos Art Space, WONDERSHOW is an experience like no other – 

and will feature the best in underground sensations as well as international super stars. 

Like the incredible 

Ben Seidman – who is the only person in history to be named resident magician at the Mandalay Bay, Resort & Casino 

in Las Vegas. 

In addition to several thousand performances at numerous luxury hotels around the world, Ben also worked 

as creative consultant for Mindfreak on A&E where he designed the illusions performed by Criss Angel. 

Additionally, the line up will host a special appearance from Brooklyn based charlatan,Vinny DePonto. As well as spellbinding burlesque 

by New York City’s naughtiest ballerina, Aurora Black. 

The supremely salacious David Slone will serve as WONDERSHOW’s distinguished 

Master of Ceremonies chaperoning the night’s spirit of all things astounding and confounding.

Like nothing you expect and everything you imagine, this unique variety experience, promises to be 

one of the city’s most exciting destinations for magic, mischief and mystery.

Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door

http://www.galapagosartspace.com/wondershow

Axel Hecklau's EVOLUTION Lecture

Recently, Tannen's had the distinct pleasure of having one of Germany's finest magicians, Axel Hecklau, on hand to give a dynamite lecture.

Axel taught some genuine gems from his repertoire, and had an absolute blast with our intrigued audience! He's a terrific thinker, and his work in the art of magic is most certainly worth a look!

Check him out at AxelHecklau.com!

Some highlights:

Axel shares his remarkable Spoonaround routine.

Guests were treated to Axel's handling and thoughts on the classic Rope Thru Neck illusion.

A clever and ungimmicked approach to a popular card tossing routine was a major hit!

We hope all attendees had a great time learning from Axel, and our deepest thanks to Axel Hecklau himself for joining us and sharing his favorite effects!

Help the World Learn About Mario the Magician

Long time friend of Tannen's Magic, Mario the Magician, has been entertaining children in New York City for years, and he's built some truly beautiful and unique magic items for the magic community that are works of art all on their own.

Mario's story is one the world deserves to know about, and documentary filmmaker Kal is eager to tell it! This is your chance to become a part of bringing Mario's story to life, via the crowdfunding giant, Kickstarter!

As of this writing, there are 20 days left to back the project, which include some really fun perks and rewards at a variety of contribution levels.

Click the photo above or this LINK to be taken to the Kickstarter page to learn more about the project and contribute.

We wish all the best of luck to Kal and Katie in bringing Mario's story to the masses!!!

Magic Camp 2013

Less than 24 hours until the campers converge on campus for another incredible year of learning, friendship, and fun at Tannen's Magic Camp 2013!

We hope all our campers have an incredible time, and we hope you come away from this year with a great wealth of knowledge to astonish and amaze with for the year to come!

And if you are new to the idea of Tannen's Magic Camp, be sure to check out the beautiful documentary about the experience, which is now available for download and on demand services.

Details available at:

www.MagicCampMovie.com

David Roth, Brilliant as Usual!

Recently, Tannen's Magic Shop had the honor of hosting the incredible David Roth for a packed-house lecture! This lecture also marked the first time we've explored using a camera and monitor to get a little closer in on the action, a work-in-progress!

We hope all attendees had an incredible time, and we look very forward to the next one!

Below are a few photo highlights from the evening with David Roth:

David keeping the packed lecture riveted!

David shared brilliant routines & wisdom, along with some wonderful and hilarious stories.

Expertly showing how marvelous, yet accessible, coin magic is!

Clearly, deeply enjoying his work & connection to the crowd

Thanks again, to everyone in attendance!

Time to Party!!!

We hope we'll get to see everyone today, as we celebrate with Alex Pandrea for the closing of his month-long lecture tour!

Kickoff time for the festivities is 2:00, see you soon!

Meet Alex Pandrea today (June 29th, 2013) at Tannen's!

Tannen's Magic is beyond excited for the New York Theatrical Premiere of the documentary 

MAGIC CAMP!

The New York Times has published a terrific review of this very special film that you can read HERE.

We hope to see you at the premiere tonight!

If you can't join us this evening, the film will run the rest of the weekend at the Rerun Theater in Brooklyn. Please note that late night screenings are for adults 21 and over, be sure to see the theater's website for details.

After this week, the film is off to Millerton, NY for an upstate run ... all leading up to the film's release nationwide on digital and VOD platforms across the board on July 9th!

We look forward to seeing you at the movies.

Now You See Me Review!

Last night the Tannen's crew was invited to a sneak peak of the upcoming magic film Now You See Me.

The film was a blast, it moved quickly, kept the audience guessing and including some stunning magic! The main character named Michael Atlas played by Jesse Eisenberg always had Monarch Playing Cards in hand and was consistently doing flourishes. Dan & Dave Buck acted as hand doubles for Eisenberg, and as always their work was interesting and graceful.

Along with a fooling version of Force of Thought, one of our favorite moments was when a copy of Bobo's Modern Coin Magic made an appearance sitting on the edge of a bed. It was little moments like this that really made the film a treasure for magicians.

All in all we highly recommend the movie!

Desperate Acts of Magic Screening in NYC

Desperate Acts of Magic, an independent comedy film that happens to be quite magician relevant, will be screening in New York City starting tomorrow! Written about magic, this movie features professional magicians performing real magic without camera tricks or special effects.

"Capable performances...a believable script, and a handful of genuinely hilarious gags" 
- Pete Vonder Haar, The Village Voice 

"Fun. Inventive... Solidly entertaining... 8/10" 
- Mark Leeper's Film Reviews, Rotten Tomatoes Reviewer

The film will be playing at the Quad Cinema in NYC from May 3rd through May 9th. There will be Q&A's with the filmmakers after the 7:30pm screenings on Friday, May 3rd and Saturday, May 4th and after the 1pm screenings on Saturday May, 4th and Sunday, May 5th.

Those who attend opening weekend will get a free Desperate Acts of Magic poster. There will also be live magic performances throughout the weekend.

Buy your tickets now and enjoy the trailer!

Ernest Earick Passes Away

Ernest Earick passed away this past week from cardiac arterial disease.

Earick's underground card classic, By Forces Unseen, has been a pivotal book in magic history. It has inspired legions of card magicians to grow and hone their craft.

"If, someday, some young magician approaches me tentatively to show me his or her creation using one of the sleights contained within these pages, ad my breath is taken away as I realize that this person has had the insight and creativity to pursue my original vision to a place I could not begin to dream of, I suspect that then, and only then, will I know just what a dreadful mistake this book has been. Oh well. Read on."
- Ernest Earick, Albuquerque, February, 1993

Our thoughts go out to Earick's family, friends and many many fans.

Spanish Magic: Dani DaOrtiz and Woody Aragon Seminar and Performance in NYC!

The talented and entertaining duo of Spanish magicians, Dani DaOrtiz and Woody Aragon, will be doing a seminar and performance in New York City this Saturday, April 20th.

Hosted by the Daily Deception and sponsored by the Blue Crown, the event provides a unique opportunity to learn hands-on close-up magic from two of magic's up and coming superstars.

The seminar starts at 10:30 AM and the evening show begins at 8:00PM, both will be held at the Roy Arias Studios & Theater.

You can buy tickets to the seminar and show separately or you can save $13 and buy the tickets together.

Enjoy this video of Woody and Dani discussing the event!

Ricky Jay Movie Premiering in NYC Tomorrow!

Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay is premiering at the New York City Film Forum tomorrow!

The movie traces Ricky Jay's influences, from his apprenticeship at age 4, with his grandfather, to such now-forgotten legends as Al Flosso, Slydini, Cardini and his primary mentors, Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller.

"One of the most compelling characters in magic gets his due..."
- John Defore, Hollywood Reporter

"Wonderfully engaging..."
- David Edelstein, New York Magazine

For magic lovers this film is a must see. Showtimes start tomorrow at 1PM and continue all day. The film runs in NYC through April 30th.

Check out the movie's trailer here.

10 Ways to Use Your Flash Thumbtip!

The Tannen's Magic staff put on their thinking caps and came up with ten creative ways to use the Flash Thumbtip.

They are...

1. Sneezing
2. Vanishing a Coin
3. Hypnosis?
4. Waking Up Your Best Friend
5. Exploding Light bulbs (Big Bang)
6. While Taking a Bite Out of a Coin (Bite out Coin)
7. Escaping from Handcuffs (Handcuff Escape: Professional)
8. Changing the Two of Diamonds into the Jack of Hearts (skills)
9. Solving the 'Heckler' Conundrum
10. Defeating the D'Lite

For the full 10 Ways to Use Your Flash Thumbtip experience, enjoy the video here. 

Card Tricks part of the Princeton Curriculum

A new seminar for Princeton University Freshman focuses on teaching mathematics through card tricks.

Students learn mathamatical based card tricks and a part of their homework assignments even include inventing their own tricks!

"This course is meant to show that math is not a robotic science at all. It is an art and has a truly creative side. That's how mathematicians approach mathematics — creatively," said Manjul Bhargava the instructor and creator of the seminar.

Now high school magicians have a new, and very good reason, to apply to Princeton!

Tannen's Campers on the Today Show with David Copperfield!

Tannen's Magic Campers Kayla Drescher and Jeff Prace appeared on NBC's Today Show this morning as part of their Magic Monday series!

Kayla and Jeff each performed a trick as part of a mini magic competition judged by David Copperfield. Kayla performed a spellbound routine using bottle caps and Jeff performed his highly-acclaimed GUM routine.

Copperfield awarded Kayla the first place trophy which included a trip to Las Vegas to see his show at the MGM Grand and a tour his magic museum.

Congratulations to Kayla and Jeff for the awesome TV spot, we're looking forward to having both of them back at Tannen's Magic Camp this summer!

You can watch the video here.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Wall Street Journal Reports on the Conjuring Arts Research Center

Bill Kalush at the Conjuring Arts Research Center

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about Bill Kalush and the Conjuring Arts Research Center.

The article focused on the growth of the library and its importance to magic history. It also included wondrous descriptions of this ever mysterious New York City magic spot.

The library is a warren of rooms with towering bookshelves and velvet drapes. Labels mark sections on such topics as mentalism, ventriloquism, juggling, hypnosis, escapology, sleight-of-hand and cheating at gambling.

Originally the private collection of Kalush, the library has since grown into a resource utilized by magicians all over the world including Las Vegas regulars David Copperfield and Teller.

If you want to do your research at the Conjuring Arts Research Center remember to make an appointment, and don't even think about browsing!

NEMCON Review

BY GEORGE WELLS

If you have never attended NEMCON you are missing a great 1 day convention.

Only and hour and 40 minute drive from Manhattan, this 1 day event is an early morning to late night gathering that gives a good bang for the Buck.

The nice bonus at this 1 day convention is the annual Silent Auction. This year there were autographed, limited edition Lance Burton posters as well as a number of DVD sets including one from René Levand which had a large interest.

Lectures featured Paul Gertner the honoree of the show who devoted a chunk of his lecture to the business of getting gigs and retaining clients. Solid advice from someone who is definitely an authority. Of course, Gertner included his ever in demand cups and balls routine featured in his out of print book Steel and Silver.

Another great lecture at this year's convention was the always entertaining Tom Burgoon who kept all attending in stitches throughout his talk.  Burgoon is very funny and extremely creative with his magic and gags.

The mid-day close-up show included the above lecturers as well as Atlanta Magician Ken Scott who was very amusing. Also performing was an impressive young magician, Oliver Dodd, a previous SYM competition winner.

The evening show lasted a little over 3 hours and included the very smooth peformance of George Sarterial who did a great dove act which brought to mind the renowned Lance Burton.

It is really worthwile to attend this very well executed 1 day gathering. You will be glad you did.

The evening show had a surprise short performance from Eric Dittleman, a runner-up
on the most recent America's Got Talent.

Michael Vincent's Quest for Mastery

Michael Vincent at Tannen's in NYC

British magician, Michael Vincent, lectured for a sold-out Tannen's crowd on Tuesday night in New York City. Michael shared his thoughts on how to adjust a close-up trick into a parlor effect that plays for dozens of people.

He was giddy with enthusiasm when describing his effects and theories on how to master the art of magic. Michael told us that he believes mastery comes through unconscious competency, he said once a magician reaches that state "the magic just happens." His influence for this idea was Bruce Lee who described mastery as "Mushin No Shin" which translates to "A State of No Mind." Michael's goal is to achieve that state with every piece he performs.

For the past 15 years Michael has obsessed over Dai Vernon's Travelers which was first published in The Stars of Magic. Michael has put his soul into the routine and has transformed it into his variation where his hands are always shown empty before going into his pockets to retrieve the signed aces. This routine was thoughtful and  powerful and is available for the first time ever in Michael's book The Ultimate Travelers.

Enjoy this video of Michael at Tannen's!

Narratively Writes about Tannen's!

Tannen's Owner, Adam Blumenthal

Online magazine, Narratively, stopped by Tannen's last week to write a feature article on the store. Narritively describes itself as "devoted exclusively to sharing a city’s untold stories—the rich, intricate narratives that get at the heart of what a place is all about," and in the article they certainly share the true magic of Tannen's.

In the article, titled, Miracles on 34th Street, the reporter interviews store employees and shares anecdotes from her experience at Tannen's.

Tannen’s is about its tight-knit community of magicians. Those amateur magicians come in to practice at the black-painted round table in the middle of the showroom, testing tricks against each other or on unsuspecting civilians who have wandered in.

Narritively successfully reveals the feel of the store, we hope you enjoy the article!

Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Tannen's Magic Camp!

The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article today on Mitchell Rothstein, a 13 year old professional magician who doesn't fit the archetype of what a young magician should look like.

For the article, the paper interviewed Tannen's General Manager, Jared Molton, on the current trends of magic amongst young people. This is what he had to say:

"Accessibility to YouTube is absolutely one of the factors that's sparked the current craze in magic for kids," Molton said. "It's a way for kids to access magic because on YouTube, professionals - and 10-year-old kids - share what they know. So it creates an instant community"

As an example of how magic is growing in popularity, Jared mentions that this year's enrollment at Tannen's Magic Camp is already at an all time high.

If you haven't registered yet, register today!

Kainoa Harbottle WOWS New York Crowd

Kainoa Harbottle and David Roth

Kainoa Harbottle describes himself as an expert amateur conjurer, and the inventor of sundry clever sleights and expedients. Indeed that self-description holds true. Last Thursday night, at his Tannen's lecture debut, Kainoa totally blew away the New York City crowd with his clear and direct routines and his impeccable chops.

Kainoa's lecture focused mostly on coin magic but did include some card magic, one highlight was a very fooling in the hands false faro shuffle. Still, the coins really stole the show, at one point Kainoa produced dozens of coins, each one appearing from nowhere and rolling over his knuckles before falling into an opaque goblet.

Lecture notes are available in very limited quantity so give Tannen's a call if you're interested at 212-929-4500.

Take a look at the photo album here and watch this video of Kainoa saying "hello" from Tannen's!

Sleight Ascent - A 365 Day Magic Challenge

Tannen's customer, Alex Schaeffer, has just just completed a 365 day magic challenge entitled, The Sleight Ascent. Every day over the past year he posted a video of a different effect. He started and finished the project on his birthday, uploading the final video on his 24th birthday yesterday.

Check out the video that summarizes the project, and be sure to take a look at the other videos on his blog.

Is Magic An Art?

Dan & Dave Buck, Jason England and R. Paul Wilson have recently teamed up to release a short film on YouTube wherein the top magicians in the world are posed with one question... Is magic an art?

"Oh, it's absolutely an art and a creative art."
- Johnny Thompson 

The short video features Dani DaOrtiz, Chad Long, Asi Wind, Johnny Thompson, Lance Pierce, John Bannon, Brad Henderson, Richard Kaufman, Eric Mead, Gary Plants, Michael Weber and Christian Engblom.

Check out the video here, it's definitely worth your time and thought.

The New Yorker Profiles Apollo Robbins!

The New Yorker magazine highlights magician and pick-pocket specialist, Apollo Robbins, in its latest issue.

"In magic circles, Robbins is regarded as a kind of legend, though he largely remains, as the magician Paul Harris told me, “the best-kept secret in town.” His talent, however, has started gaining notice further afield. Recently, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and the military have studied his methods for what they reveal about the nature of human attention. Teller, a good friend of Robbins’s, believes that widespread recognition is only a matter of time."

Read the full article here.

Apollo stops by Tannen's whenever he's in New York City so we're so thrilled to see him getting this positive media attention. If you want to learn more about pick pocketing check out How to Pick Pockets for Fun and Money, The Watch Steal DVD and the Professional Stage Pickpocket.

Many thanks to our friend George Wells for sharing this article with us!