THIS!
(As in: this website, not this message).
I hope that www.vincentgambini.com can be a space both for showing off my wares to the world, as well as posting interesting links, videos and thoughts on magic and the performing arts.
To start off:
ALTERNATIVE MAGIC
Magic is no longer about long capes and bunny rabbits (I know, it's a shame), nor glamorous assistants being hacked to pieces. As an art form magic is evolving, it is shedding its tired stereotypes and acquiring a more contemporary flavour (or at least, I hope it is).
Yes magic is a form of spectacle, but entertainment doesn't have to be cheap or nasty: there are always alternatives. Just think of how comedy has its "alternative comedy" scene. The same goes for theatre, dance, the visual arts, music. How about an "alternative magic" scene? Well, wand-waving comrades and spellbound audiences, it's time to forge into the unknown, and see just what forms alternative magic might take.
A piece of alternative magic that continues to inspire is Penn & Teller's version of the Cups and Balls, in which the duo purport to explain the trick by using see-through plastic cups. And yet, because of the speed and the amount of information they detonate on the audience, the explanation becomes merely another dazzlement, a deceptive act in its own right. They open one door to show that there's another door, then another, and so on.
A video link to their performance is here, enjoy!