Our production center is called “illusion”. This word captures the entire sense of our occupation.
Indeed it suffices to recall, that word “illusio” is translated from the Latin as “error” or “fraud.” But how it came to be associated with the word “focus” is unknown.
There are several explanations given and the most popular of them is that it all began with a translation from the Latin Mass, “hoc corpus est (enim) (meum),” “this is my body.” It was pronounced by priests with the evening meal and symbolized religious rite the transformation of bread into the body of God. Later the word combination evolved into “hokus-pokus” and it began to be used for all forms of transformations.
The skill of magic long ago was conceived supposedly several thousand years prior to our era and many consider ancient Egypt is the birthplace of magic.
Much has changed from the past. The contemporary conjurer can do practically everything. Illusions can be categorized as: mathematical, graphic, optical, logical, mnemonic, psychological, the senses of smell, touch, sound and sight, and plastic, chemical, physical, equipment, complex, and public.
As you can see, there are very many forms of magic. Many conjurers amuse spectators at parties and concerts. But only few dedicated their life to study and perform the so-called “large illusion” show. This type of production requires not only enormous expenditures of time and money to build and rehearse the effects but it also requires the synthesis of creative thought with engineering craftsmanship.
This occupation very difficult, but when it is done successfully, both the spectators and the magician receive unspeakable satisfaction.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union put pressure on itself and also our magic. For long years the magic left the position of prestige it once enjoyed. Even Russia’s entire illusion association decomposed into the small corporate interests.
Today there is not more than five professional associations: such as the State Theater of Anatoliy Lyashenko’s illusions; the Moscow Cloud of the Conjurers; and President Vasiliy Rudenko and so on. These groups support interest in the Russian magical skills, search for ways to the revive the lost rich traditions of Russian magic.
In Russia now, not more than 150 conjurers possess the skills to be considered of a high-level and not more than five work in the “large illusion” shows.
To work in our genre, as I mentioned earlier, is incredibly complicated. For instance, at the International Festival of Illusion, in the Polish city Gdynia, there were only three nominations: “general magic”, “manipulation” and “comic magic.”
In the incredibly large area that makes up the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, we could not locate artists who work with large effects or illusions.
This is why, one year ago I planned to destroy supremacy of the illusion world by those who travel across the ocean to subjugate “old lady Europe” with truly impressive tricks.
It was not hard to figure out how to…
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