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I'm a big fan of Eugene Burger's work and in my quest to learn close up magic have been studying his dvds and working on a number of effects that he teaches. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to dvd's of other magician's who have a simlar style to Eugene Burger in close up magic. Many thanks in advance.

Books, books, books...

When a beginner asks me what books to read or how to improve their magic I will always recommend Eugene's "Mastering The Art Of Magic".
When I read this book many years ago it transformed my abilities and presentation.

Darwin Ortiz - Strong Magic. Chock full of practical advice, much of which can be immediately applied to your act.

SpareJoker wrote:Darwin Ortiz - Strong Magic. Chock full of practical advice, much of which can be immediately applied to your act.

And Designing Miracles.

neil_the_newbie wrote: I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to dvd's of other magician's who have a similar style to Eugene Burger in close up magic.

There is nobody else that performs in his style. And the important message that runs through all of his books, is the importance of individuality.

DrTodd wrote:

SpareJoker wrote:Darwin Ortiz - Strong Magic. Chock full of practical advice, much of which can be immediately applied to your act.

And Designing Miracles.

Just to help the OP, DM focuses more on effect design, SM is more about performance (character, presentation, etc.)

Eugene Burger is very good indeed and I do like his pontifications in print. However, I do feel that he tends to over present (especially with mentalism) which is a major fault of American magicians. You can actually have too much showmanship and there are times it is wise to cut the yap and get on with it. My other problem with him is that he touches spectators and he even advocates doing that in one of his books. I believe you should never touch physically touch people unless it is absolutely necessary such as for pickpocketing or say the sponge ball trick or a coin transposition in the other person's hands.

I am very skilled at deducing body language and I have seen spectators recoil when Eugene touches them although of course they never say anything about it. Performers should keep their hands off people when they work. You are invading their body space and not everyone likes it.

I couldn't agree more on all points Mr Lewis!