Conference speakers

2011 speakers 2010 speakers

This year the Essential Magic conference will present you with 33 of the world's greatest magicians, and as a very special guest, David Copperfield, who will be joining us live from Las Vegas for Q&A and a Magic Museum tour.

David Copperfield, Joining us live from Las Vegas

(United States)

We are very happy to announce that David Copperfield will be joining us via live video link from Las Vegas and giving an exclusive interview for EMC members. You will have a chance to choose the questions. This is a unique opportunity to hear from one of the greatest magicians ever, a performer who redefined what it meant to be an illusionist in modern times.

Akira Fujii
(Japan)

Akira is renowned for his perfectly executed technique. Perfection is the goal as seen in his beautiful Linking Cigarette routine or in his demonstrations of a faultless pass with a deck of cards.

Bruno Copin
(France)

Bruno Copin imbues inanimate objects with life in the most magical way. Cards flip, spin, move and dance as they play out stories of life and love. A master of threadwork, he brings a new dimension to this favourite device of the conjuror.

Dan Buck
(United States)

Dan (and Dave) have been called "visionaries" in the art of magic and cardistry. They are world renowned for their unique style and transformation of the craft into visual art.

David Berglas
(United Kingdom)

David Berglas is a true international man of mystery. Miracles are his trademark, always taking an effect beyond the limits of magic into the realm of the impossible. He is the creator of the legendary Berglas Effect

Eric Mead
(United States)

Eric Mead brings his years of experience and eclectic knowledge to bear in creating customized content for companies and events. His quick wit and subtle sleight-of–hand make him one of the most sought after magicians working today.

Jonathan Bayme
(United States)

Jonathan Bayme is the CEO of theory11, an online collective of magicians dedicated to creating, performing and teaching original and practical magic.

Lu Chen
(Taiwan)

Lu Chen will be known to magicians because of his appearances on You Tube where he performs magic with style and creativity. Talented, skilled and successful he is the most famous magician in China, ushering in a new age of contemporary illusion.

Marvin Berglas
(United Kingdom)

Marvin created the range of Marvin’s Magic conjuring sets that are sold throughout the world. Many of the top names in magic honed their magical skills working as demonstrators in the Marvin’s Magic outlets in Hamleys and Harrods in London.

Paul Daniels
(United Kingdom)

Paul Daniels is a star, of comedy and magic. He is an incredible showman, a skill that drew audiences of millions to his long running BBC television series. He is the most famous magician in the UK.

René Lavand
(Argentina)

René Lavand is a phenomenon. A performer of style and elegance whose skill with cards is legendary. He is an inspiration and his unique approach to magic does much to turn the craft into an art.

Stan Allen
(United States)

Formerly a professional magician Stan Allen is now the editor and publisher of MAGIC Magazine. In 2011, Stan and his team will produce the fifth MAGIC Live! gathering in Las Vegas, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of MAGIC.

Apollo Robbins
(United States)

Apollo Robbins utilizes pick-pocketing and sleight of hand to demonstrate proximity manipulation, diversion techniques and attention control. This diverse set of skills gives him a unique insight into the psychological aspects of magic.

Chris Power
(United Kingdom)

Chris Power has been performing close-up magic for over thirty years. He blends a humorous laid back performance style with a keen understanding of his craft to memorable effect.

Dani DaOrtiz
(Spain)

Dani DaOrtiz is a rising star of Spanish close-up magic. He has many publications to his credit and is the editor of ElManuscrito, a magazine which focuses on articles of lasting depth about the foremost figures and milestones in magic.

David Britland
(United Kingdom)

David Britland is a television writer and consultant specializing in magic and deception. He co-created The Real Hustle and has worked on many British shows including Secret Cabaret, Max Maven’s Mind Games and Derren Brown’s specials.

Gaetan Bloom
(France)

Gaetan Bloom is one of the most creative magicians on the planet. He has a knack for creating entertaining effects made possible by devilishly clever methods that not only fool laypeople but destroy magicians.

Jordan Gomez
(France)

Jordan Gomez is famous for his awarding winning act in which he manipulates CDs. They appear, vanish, multiply and change colour. It is an act that has taken him all over the world including the FISM World Championship of Magic.

Luis de Matos
(Portugal)

Luis de Matos is a professional magician in Portugal and creator of Studio 33, the facility which hosts this web conference. He has been appearing on Portuguese television since 1990, his latest series being the 13 x 1 hour show Mistérios.

Max Maven
(United States)

Orson Welles wrote that Max Maven has "the most original mind in magic." He has performed in every kind of venue, consulted for most of the top names in magic, and published over two thousand articles, tricks and essays. Now, he is very tired.

Peter Lamont
(United Kingdom)

Dr Peter Lamont is a historian, psychologist, and writer on magic and the paranormal. He has lectured to, and written for, many different audiences around the world, including academics, magicians and normal people.

Richard Wiseman
(United Kingdom)

Richard Wiseman has researched the psychology of magic and produced several magic-based videos for You Tube, including the viral hit, The Colour Changing Card Trick. He holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology.

Topas
(Germany)

Topas is a World Champion Manipulator. His dexterity has taken him around the world. He was awarded Grand Prix Magiques de Monte Carlo and World Magic Award 2008 in the USA. In 2010 Topas will tour his illusion show, Surprise, in China.

Ava Do
(United States)

Ava Do combines her academic training in Psychobiology and experience as a professional therapist to create a unique brand of entertainment. She has performed her distinctive blend of con games and mentalism for worldwide corporations.

Christian Engblom
(Finland)

Christian Engblom is a magician who became known to cardicians around the world for the creation of a unique move, the anti-faro, an extraordinary move that literally unshuffles the deck.

Dave Buck
(United States)

(Dan and) Dave have been called "visionaries" in the art of magic and cardistry. They are world renowned for their unique style and transformation of the craft into visual art.

David Kaye
(United States)

David Kaye was nominated New York's top children's entertainer by five publications. He performs 300 shows a year, many for celebrities, and lectures and writes on this important and highly specialised field of magic.

JJ
(United Kingdom)

JJ is one of the presenters of the incredible Bizarre Bath Comedy Walk, a magical walking tour in the UK where facts are thin on the ground but mystery can be found in abundance. He is also co-publisher of Opus Magazine with Chris Power.

Lennart Green
(Sweden)

This Swedish card trick maestro has been baffling audiences for years with card tricks that seem barely under control. In 1991 he won the grand prize in close-up card magic at FISM. He continues to fool even the experts wherever he goes.

Marco Tempest
(United States)

Marco Tempest's masterful blend of digital media and magic has enabled audiences to glimpse the future before technology gets there. His imaginative combination of magic and computer-generated imagery is unequalled within the performing arts.

Mike Caveney
(United States)

Mike is a member of The Inner Magic Circle. He was recently voted Stage Magician of the Year by the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. Since 1979 Mike Caveney's Magic Words has published over fifty books on the history, practice and theory of magic.

Peter Wardell
(United Kingdom)

Peter Wardell is one of the best street magicians in Europe. He combines skillful magic with sharp comedy and superb audience skills. He has won numerous awards for comedy, stage and close-up magic.

Rudy Coby
(United States)

The Labman is back. Crazy, Comic and Cool describe Rudy Coby’s comic book style of magic where his Labman character turns reality into comic book impossibilities. Mad, magical and unmissable.

William Kalush
(United States)

William Kalush is a lifelong student of sleight of hand and the history of magic. He is the founder of the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York and the co-author, with Larry Sloman, of The Secret Life of Houdini.