Micheal Close's Explorer 1
Teaching the magic beyond the tricks
Has your magic has plateaued in spite of owning shelves of magic books, a hard
drive full of instructional downloads, and drawers full of magic
effects? Enter “Explorer 1: Transform Your Magic” a 6 week online course
offered by Michael Close.
As you are likely aware, Michael is well known in the magic community for his
excellence as an author, a creator, a performer, and a consultant. For
those unfamiliar with Michael’s work, I encourage you to read Jamy Ian Swiss’
2018 article “The Paradigm Shift – Volume One & Volume Two by Michael
Close” at Magicana.
I participated in the beta testing of these classes, in addition to auditing the first run of the course. The classes methodically cover foundational sleights with both cards and coins. One of the biggest benefits to learning from Michael, a performer with decades of experience under his belt, is that he teaches fundamental material with an awareness as to how the skills will be applied as one advances their ability. In other words, the foundational sleights are taught in a versatile manner, ready for use in more sophisticated situations. This approach results in accelerated learning – you only have to learn a skill once!
Thinking outside the box.
Michael’s approach to teaching magic, mirrors in many respects, The Royal Conservatory of Music's approach to the method and practise of teaching music. (This comes as no surprise given Michael’s Masters Degree in Music Theory and Composition.)
What do I mean by this? A music teacher will introduce their student music theory concepts (such as a key signature, and rhythm), and provide them with a piece of music to practise which incorporates these ideas. As music students practise with the goal of performance in mind, the teacher will discuss musical technique, as well as introduce critical analysis of their student’s efforts.
On the surface, Micheal teaches foundational sleights, along with tricks which incorporate these fundamental skills. While the tricks are logical a vehicle to demonstrate the use of the newfound technical expertise, they more importantly serve as case studies for broader theoretical concepts important to maximizing the entertainment value of magic performance.
Simply put, the tricks are not the lesson. They are the springboards that permit Michael to introduce theory that elevates the performance of magic.
Michael presents his well crafted lessons in a manner which is clear and
easy to follow. Nuggets of wisdom gleaned from years of performance and
consulting pepper every session. The classes are a safe and nurturing
environment that puts the students at ease. In these classes, questions
in search of understanding are always welcome.
Michael provides a manageable amount of assigned and supplemental reading, invoking wisdom from magicians such as Jamy Ian Swiss, Juan Tamariz, Larry Hass, Jon Racherbaumer, and of course Dai Vernon.
As an added bonus, course enrollment includes exclusive, limited-time access
to the Ask Alexander Digital Library, provided
by the Conjuring Arts Research Center.
In keeping with the music class analogy, during the course Michael said this about foundational sleights:
“... one of the good things about developing a toolbox of techniques of sleights that you are competent at, is it makes reading magic books a lot easier. You're almost like musicians when they sight read a piece. If I have all my scales and my arpeggios and all these things under my fingers to a reasonable degree, then as I look at a new piece of music, I can get a sense of what that piece of music is as I sight read.”
Similarly, if you embrace the theoretical concepts, while also developing your analytical and critiquing muscles, you will be able to utilize this knowledge to enhance any magic performance, from close-up to stage.
I
had an overwhelmingly positive experience participating in these
classes. If you’re looking for a way to shore up your sleights, and
elevate your presentation skills, this is the course for you!
To
register, or for more information, visit Micheal's website at MichaelClose.com.
Disclosure: I beta tested and audited the classes as a guest. The opinions expressed above are entirely my own. I did not receive compensation for the writing or the publishing of this article.
