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.

Rope Routine #1

I've been doing ropes when it was still uncool. That means before the common Richard Sanders. So I can say with certain pride: "He has nothing to do with this routine". However the guys that Richard Sanders stole his stuff from are all present here. George Sands and Francis Tabary.

I owe so much to those guys. There is the book "The Award Winning Rope Magic of Francis Tabary" which is also a video lecture, that is worth checking out. The main routine has no real cuts, so you can use the same rope over and over again. So this is great for street work and any charity work that pays little. For real paid gigs I would do real cuts. There is nothing more "real" that scissors going the fibers. Something about that picture says "real", so the following restoration is much stronger.

Here is my preparation so you can see how darn practical this routine is. At home I take a long piece of rope and tie knots in the ends, so they don't fray. Prior to the performance I cut off the knots and put them in my right pocket. That's it. The gimmick is created during the first part of the routine.

The first restoration (wrapping the longer piece of rope around the shorter piece) is something I have seen David Stone doing. I don't know if that is original with him, but I liked the aesthetics of the move.

The next bit is the travelling ends. After both ends have traveled you are in a pretty dirty position. And you might feel very guilty. That leads to horrible creations. Daryl and Richard Sanders both have a weird handling when it comes to regripping the rope, just to makes sure that the hand palming the gimmick looks natural. Just palm the damn thing and move on. Tabary does it right!

Now putting the middle back on the rope is my own creation. And I'm not humble to claim this as my own.

Placing the ends in the pocket and then have a switch between ends and middle has been in my repertoire for a while now, but it got 10x the reactions as soon as I added the real cut through the supposed middle. Try it. It will leave you in a position with a tiny little piece. So the gag of no using the scissors to cut the rope becomes a no brainer.

In the video I failed to put the imaginary scissors away right away, so going to my pocket becomes awkward. But it is a nice motivation to get the next item you need. The fake knot bit.... well Tarbell, what else. The jumping knot bit Daryl.

The second knot could be a spare in your pocket, so don't have to search for long, or it can be another effect.