Criss Angel's Levitation
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Criss Angel performed a levitation illusion on the A&E Network television series titled "Criss Angel: Mindfreak". Inspired by a levitation by Jacob Spinney, this version is considered by enthusiasts to be spectacular.
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[edit] Effect
The performer stands facing away from the spectators and a few inches in front of a short wall or chair. The performer appears to levitate up to the top of the chair or short wall.
[edit] How it works
First you need to build your gimmick. The gimmick requires some sort of magnets or other device attached to the shoe to keep the shoes together. You also should use a shoe that is extremely easy to slip a foot out of without touching it. And you need a pair of baggy dark pants and to custom sew a slit down the front of the way that when peeled back, can allow your leg to step though the slit in the pant leg. From behind, this leg should not appear any different than the other, regardless of whether your leg is in or out of it. Attach the bottom of the legging to the shoe so that when you remove your foot from the shoe you can bring it out the front slit of the legging and the shoe will stay in place. When put together correctly the appearance from behind should look like both your legs are side by side and in your shoes.
The magician positions himself facing away from the audience from a distance of about 8 to 10 feet. He should be standing a few inches in front of chair or wall or object that he can step up on. Make sure to keep the audience small and grouped close together. The magician then magnetizes his shoes so that they stick together. Next he distracts his audience with talking and moving of a free arm while the other arm opens up the slit in the leg. While the spectators are distracted the magician then steps his leg out of the shoes and the legging slit and places on an object directly in front of him like a chair or step. Now the magician lifts his body up with the leg that is out of the shoe. From behind it should appear as if his body is lifting up. Because of the gimmick pants and shoes, both legs should look like they are side by side and touching each other. He then can either fall back down and land on the ground or step up onto the object in front of him. Now he needs to distract the audience once more while he places his foot and leg back into the pants and shoe.
Criss Angel has done other levitation acts using a different method. One act was levitating from one rooftop to another rooftop.
[edit] In & Outs
This form of levitation is much like that of the Balducci levitation except that it cannot be performed impromptu without a gimmick and you can levitate much higher. It also has a better range of viewable angles.
- See definition of angles from List of conjuring terms
[edit] Subtleties
This illusion relies mostly on a simple gimmick and subtle misdirection and acting on the part of the performer.
Like the Balducci levitation there are psychological subtleties increase the probability that spectators will believe the illusion:
- The spectators are informed ahead of time that the performer intends to levitate.
- The performer pretends to put a good deal of care in choosing a place to perform the levitation.
- The performer acts as if performing the levitation is difficult and physically straining.
These physical subtleties make the levitation seem more amazing:
- The spectators are misdirected from the performer's method because they are concentrating on the movement of the arms during setup.
- The performer's ability to "move" upwards in a floating manner.
[edit] Credits
Jacob Spinney is credited on consulting Criss for his TV performance of this levitation.
[edit] Other Levitations
- Elevator levitation by Peter Loughran
- Sooperman by Paul Harris
- Zero Gravity by Mike Bent
- Reverse Balducci
