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Tabary Rope Magic

What they say:

Tabary's innovative effects, methods, and techniques are unsurpassed in the realm of rope magic. He has elevated rope magic to such a high level it now takes on an elegant artistry that no one else has ever achieved.

In VOLUME 1, Tabary performs and explains his world-famous Rope Act--the one that earned him the title of World Champion. This act has received standing ovations all over the world, and he now explains how to do it in every minute detail.

Explaining his techniques as well as the subtle nuances of rope magic. Tabary teaches you step-by-step this eye-popping, show-stopping routine.


Cost

£22.37 from Penguin


Difficulty
3=Some sleights used

Review

I personally think rope magic is one of the easiest aspects of magic to learn (or say the least frustrating) but nonetheless a very visual one and effective when performed well.

This double DVD is well worth owning for anyone interested in rope magic - beginners to advanced. Indeed, it is very well explained by Tabary and his routines are quite entertaining.

There is a lot of content in those videos and you get a great insight of the possibilities of rope magic and, even though the sleights are relatively straightforward, when mastered, they allow you to create your own routine rather than just copying someone elses...


Overall

The amount of content allows you to choose your favorite effects and sleights without feeling obliged to merely imiate Tabary's style which I think is a great plus point.

Overall a nice compilation giving scope for personal creativity and routines.


Final mark 8/10

Awaiting your remarks and comments on my very first review. I will try to post a few more later on.

This is a title that I've been meaning to buy for a while and I finally got around to it a few weeks ago and if like me, you're into rope magic then this is a title that you cannot afford to leave out of your collection.

I purchased the double DVD of:

1. The award winning Rope Magic of Tabary, Volume 1 - The Rope Act
2. The elegant Rope Magic of Tabary, Volume 2 - Magic with Knots and more.

Note that although there are two volumes, they are pressed onto the same disk.

Volume 1

Includes an introduction, a studio performance of the routine, the explanation and a live stage performance of the routine.

This is rope magic at it's best but that's what you would expect from the F.I.S.M World Champion. The teaching of the routine is explained well and there are plenty of moves here that I've not seen before, and others that look familiar (from other rope routines) but which are presented differently, example such as the sliding ends. The routine ends with a wicked rope morph that just looks awesome and there's a great one liner " I must apologise for my poor English, but I hope that you understand what I say, and not what I do" (For those of you who don't know, Tabary is French and speaks with a strong accent).

Difficulty I would say that this is a 4-5 and is probably not best suited as a beginner DVD if you're looking to get into ropes.

Not too much was said in the original review about Volume 2 so here goes!

Volume 2


After the introduction there are: two knot routines, a three rope routine, a ring and rope routine and then a live performance.

Each routine has both a studio performance and an explanation and you'll love the wanashing knots - as opposed to vanashing (French accent again ). These are typically short routines but the moves taught are so fluid and classy.

The three rope routine is exceedingly clever and IS NOT a Professors Nightmare routine - nothing even similar in case you are wondering. I'd give this a 10/10 on it's own and it's worthy of it's own DVD in my opinion (OK maybe not but it is awesome) as it looks like pure magic, even to me let alone to a spec.

Finally the ring and rope routine which uses a small ring and a thinner piece of rope. There are some similarities with this and Jay Scott Berry's Symphony on a Ring although the latter of the two is a longer routine and is the one that I prefer (although I don't like using a ribbon as JSB does).

Overall, I rate this DVD as 10/10. Why?

Nairolf said:

I personally think rope magic is one of the easiest aspects of magic to learn (or say the least frustrating)

I disagree on both counts. Rope magic requires precision and dexterity whilst you MUST make the moves look natural so as not to raise suspicion. This does lead to you having as much frustration with the ropes as you do with other types of magic when you're learning and you just can't get something right on the mark. Personally, I think that when performed well, routines such as this one require as much skill as any other type of magic.

You can have 50 or so moves in a complex rope routine and just give a glimpse of an end, or worse still drop it on the floor and there is no recovery. This DVD more than any of the other rope routine that I've seen to date brings this fact home to you. You should not perform this routine unless you can really do it justice (and I know that the same should go for all magic but it's all too often ignored).

There are lots of rope routines out there in the market place and a number of them are on DVD, and some very good ones at that.

However, most others are variations on or around the same or similar theme, such as the Professors Nightmare (unequal / equal ropes). The Tabary routine is different! It's highly original and in my opinion is simply a cut above all of the others out there and also in terms of the quality of the magic.

Even if you're experienced at working with ropes, this is not a routine that you will learn and perfect quickly and whilst I've seen many people performing Fibre Optics, Ring & Rope etc. (some good and some .......well, erm), I've not seen anyone performing the Tabary routine live so far (other than the man himself of course).

If you're working with ropes and know a few routines already then in my opinion you can't afford to be without this title. If you;re looking for an intro into rope magic then I really do recommend that you get something else first and work your way up to this.