Rope Routine #3

This really has been my emergency routine for years. Sometimes my little bit of extra rope got lost and suddenly I was pressed to do something. Flip's DVD really helped me. He has a bit where he does all sorts of costumes with rope. And a bit with knots. So I worked out my own little version which is all about knots. Not only has this routine turned out to be a pretty practical routine onto itself. It's whimsical nature also makes it a good encore piece.

let's go into the detail a little. First knot: regular, Second knot: "scientific knot" by Flip from the "Flip's Truly Magical Rope Magic" DVD. Third knot: It's the one handed knot taken from Daryl's "Expert Rope Magic Made Easy" DVD set. Fourth knot: "The Instant Knot" also from Daryl's set. Fifth knot: Tenkai Rope Through Neck. Sixth knot: A fake untying, again Flip. Seventh knot: The female knot using the horizontal loop principle by Flip. And finally the eight knot: The off beat knot also by Flip.

And there you have it. I really urge you guys to create an emergency rope routine yourself. It's good to have, if it happens.

Rope Routine #2

I really don't know where to start with this one. The main starting point was the Equal Unequal Rope routine, aka Professor's Nightmare. I hate that trick. Not because it isn't great, but because it's over exposed. And tons of magicians are doing it wrong. But enough of that.

I was thinking, maybe that could be done some stuff before going into the streching part. So two ropes, strech first, then the middles of the ropes link. Then the two rings of rope link and unlink, then a knot moves, then the rope is cut in two, twice. And then finally we get into the main streching part. But then as a bonus the whole ropes fuse into one. That's how you make a routine instead of just a trick.

So let's go into the technical aspects. The first streching is a version of what I have seen years ago by Dutch magician Flip Hallema. On the DVD: "Flip's Truly Magical Rope Magic" you will find this. The linking of the middles is actually inspired by Dean Dill's box routine. Just insprired, the method is quite different. The two rings of ropes linking and unlinking is of course inspired by Pavel, the great magician from Czechoslovakia.

The jumping of the sliding knot actually came from watching Francis Tabary work. He is a great source of inspiration and a wonderful human being. The cutting sequence is also his. And I love it.

The last bit of the ropes fusing into one and the knots falling of is taken from the Daryl DVD's on rope magic. I cannot find my DVD's so I guess I have to add the credits that Daryl gives a little later.

Rope Routine #2

So this is all build up for the Equal Unequal Ropes. But there is still a variety of stuff happening. First we got a little bit of rope stretching, kinda foreshadowing the final effect. Then I have the two middles link. I have never seen that in that particular context. What comes close is the old bit with two different colored ropes. Later Dean Dill used that effect in his Dean's Box Routine. But his method is entirely different.

Both rings link. Talk about an age old goodie. It plays well and it is easy to do. For the actual link and unlink I use a move from Willi Wessel's Close Up Ring and Rope Routine. A very good routine, you should check it out.

The next bit with the moving knot is taken from Flip Hallema. He uses it in one of his routines on the DVD of "Flip's Truly Magical Rope Magic" In his version he would untie the short pieces from the supposed long piece, which would then lead into a version of Equal Unequal Ropes done with only two ropes. I decided to make the knot jump back to where it came from.

Then it's cutting the rope without scissors. Now this in taken straight from the works of George Sands and Francis Tabary, who both have - similar in concept - versions of it. I do it twice. The first time to demonstrate, then a restoration and the second time the audience can decide where the rope is cut. Because of the method it really doesn't matter where the audience stops you. You can cut right there and most of the time take apart the ropes immediately. The shift from horizontal to vertical confuses the perception enough to get away with a minor changes in length of the short piece.

If the spectator says stop way later then a little extra effect is thrown in. Basically I pull on the long piece making the shorter piece even shorter. Once the short piece is a short as I need it I would take apart the ropes. Not as beautiful as just leaving it as the spectator wants me to, but it would also hint on the next part of the routine.

Equal Unequal Ropes: There is nothing special about this. Just they way I learned it from the Daryl DVDs on rope magic.

Let's talk about the premise a bit. The concept of holes and their properties. I do this routine in my kids shows and the hole concept is the whole concept of the show. Holes appear and disappear and I talk about the different holes there are. Regular holes, invisible holes, dimensional holes, black holes and so on. And each concept is demonstrated with some tricks. Of course I don't play it straight faced. The kids must be aware that all of that is make believe. And they love it. I tried doing that with adults and they found it amusing, yes, but not worth to devote an entire show to that.