Back in the day “Sidewalk Shuffle”, created by Martin Lewis, was one of my staples. I think I first saw it performed by Doug Henning on one of his TV specials around 1977. 
When ever I performed “Sidewalk Shuffle” I always followed it up with “What’s Next”. (Affectionately referred to by my buddy and me as “Dots Like Hell”). A genuine slice of magical cheese to be sure. But it plays so well after the “Shuffle” that I can’t imagine not performing these two effects together. So that’s what was on the menu for this Magic Friday. Sidewalk Shuffle followed by “Dots”.
The funny thing is, for years I was performing Sidewalk Shuffle all wrong. I followed the directions and my handling was correct. No problem there. My timing was fine and people were amused and baffled. So what was I doing wrong? It was my performance. I “looked” like an amateur. It never dawned on me until recently that my performance of the effect was amateurish. Last year God jerked a knot in my tail and set me right on a number of issues. This led to the re-ignition of my passion for magic. Fortunately, my thinking now is more objective than it was 20 years ago. (We may define “objective” as not tequila infused).
One of the problems with my performing was that I didn’t trust myself. And it must have been obvious. Without realizing it I was not performing the effect. I was watching it. While holding up the jumbo cards I would hold them a bit to the side so I could also see what was happening. Although nobody criticized me for it, I must have looked ridiculous at worst and unconfident at best. Nobody enjoys a trepidatious(?) performer. No, an accomplished and professional performer would be confident to the degree that there would be no need to even glance at the cards.
It’s simple really. It is the essence of Dai Vernon’s greatest gift to magic. Naturalness. If I were really telling a story about being hustled in the big city I would be focused on the story and the audience, not the cards. And so, this would be the only way for me to perform the effect. I had trouble remembering the initial set up, but once I got started, it all came back to me like a flash. (Muscle memory is a wonderful thing)! After a few hours rehearsing, I was ready to perform. What a joy it is to perform with confidence! Instead of obsessing over whether everything was on track or not, I was enjoying the faces of my audiences. This is far more entertaining to me than watching my own hands! As an added bonus, being focused on the spectators’ reactions makes it astronomically easier to fine tune the timing. During the 3rd performance there was a malfunction. Operator error actually. During the second phase I replaced the blank card on the bottom instead of the top. This of course led to a misalignment that could not be surreptitiously repaired by the time I realized something was wrong. So I was forced to stop right there and jump right into “Dots Like Hell”. That audience knew that something was wrong,
but I performed the silly dots trick with so much enthusiasm that when I was finished the audience all but forgot my slip up and was satisfied with another “Magic Friday”. The rest of the performances that day went as smoothly as the first two. I’m actually happy I goofed. It reminded me that although there is nothing like performing with confidence, one should never lose sight of the invisible hyper-awareness necessary for performing quality sleight-of-hand. Balance Grasshopper! This is another example of the practical lessons I have been learning since August. And the real beauty of it is, I have a willing and skeptical audience in front of whom I can work out these sorts of kinks. It’s the perfect symbiotic relationship. They get 10 to 15 minutes of free entertainment every Friday and I get the opportunity to test, perform and refine my skills as I build a quality repertoire. I should have done this 20 years ago. But I was not ready. I believe God had something else in mind for me between then and now. Oh yes. But that is a whole other story…
When ever I performed “Sidewalk Shuffle” I always followed it up with “What’s Next”. (Affectionately referred to by my buddy and me as “Dots Like Hell”). A genuine slice of magical cheese to be sure. But it plays so well after the “Shuffle” that I can’t imagine not performing these two effects together. So that’s what was on the menu for this Magic Friday. Sidewalk Shuffle followed by “Dots”.
The funny thing is, for years I was performing Sidewalk Shuffle all wrong. I followed the directions and my handling was correct. No problem there. My timing was fine and people were amused and baffled. So what was I doing wrong? It was my performance. I “looked” like an amateur. It never dawned on me until recently that my performance of the effect was amateurish. Last year God jerked a knot in my tail and set me right on a number of issues. This led to the re-ignition of my passion for magic. Fortunately, my thinking now is more objective than it was 20 years ago. (We may define “objective” as not tequila infused).
One of the problems with my performing was that I didn’t trust myself. And it must have been obvious. Without realizing it I was not performing the effect. I was watching it. While holding up the jumbo cards I would hold them a bit to the side so I could also see what was happening. Although nobody criticized me for it, I must have looked ridiculous at worst and unconfident at best. Nobody enjoys a trepidatious(?) performer. No, an accomplished and professional performer would be confident to the degree that there would be no need to even glance at the cards.
It’s simple really. It is the essence of Dai Vernon’s greatest gift to magic. Naturalness. If I were really telling a story about being hustled in the big city I would be focused on the story and the audience, not the cards. And so, this would be the only way for me to perform the effect. I had trouble remembering the initial set up, but once I got started, it all came back to me like a flash. (Muscle memory is a wonderful thing)! After a few hours rehearsing, I was ready to perform. What a joy it is to perform with confidence! Instead of obsessing over whether everything was on track or not, I was enjoying the faces of my audiences. This is far more entertaining to me than watching my own hands! As an added bonus, being focused on the spectators’ reactions makes it astronomically easier to fine tune the timing. During the 3rd performance there was a malfunction. Operator error actually. During the second phase I replaced the blank card on the bottom instead of the top. This of course led to a misalignment that could not be surreptitiously repaired by the time I realized something was wrong. So I was forced to stop right there and jump right into “Dots Like Hell”. That audience knew that something was wrong,
but I performed the silly dots trick with so much enthusiasm that when I was finished the audience all but forgot my slip up and was satisfied with another “Magic Friday”. The rest of the performances that day went as smoothly as the first two. I’m actually happy I goofed. It reminded me that although there is nothing like performing with confidence, one should never lose sight of the invisible hyper-awareness necessary for performing quality sleight-of-hand. Balance Grasshopper! This is another example of the practical lessons I have been learning since August. And the real beauty of it is, I have a willing and skeptical audience in front of whom I can work out these sorts of kinks. It’s the perfect symbiotic relationship. They get 10 to 15 minutes of free entertainment every Friday and I get the opportunity to test, perform and refine my skills as I build a quality repertoire. I should have done this 20 years ago. But I was not ready. I believe God had something else in mind for me between then and now. Oh yes. But that is a whole other story…
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