Impromtu Rise

THE EFFECT: You choose an assistant from the audience and get them to lay on the floor on their back. You take a large cloth or blanket and drape it over their entire body. Upon your command the spectator starts to rise up off the ground. A full two feet in fact! Slowly the spectator is lowered back down again, the sheet is removed and everything is shown to be normal and unprepared.

• Nothing added or taken away
• Both spectator and cloth can be fully examined
• Impromptu, literally only spectator and sheet needed

THE SECRET: This David Blaine levitation style effect has been around for centuries. Despite its age, performed correctly it still looks stunning! As soon as you discover the secret you may think it’s too simple and will never work - Let me assure you it will.

Although completely impromptu and really simple, this is a very strong piece of stage or street magic. Actually go out and perform it and you will see the reactions this gets.

The first thing you need to know is that the spectator you use is in on the trick, they are a stooge or plant by you. To the rest of your spectators they are just a random person. Do not be put off by using a plant David Copperfield uses them all the time!

Your assistant is the one who really performs the magic, without you having to do very much at all. They have to perform a very simple secret move under the cover of the sheet. Start by getting you assistant to lay down on their back, legs and arms together. Now take a large cloth (big enough to cover their whole body) and hand it out to the audience for inspection. There is nothing to find.

Here comes the move, take back the cloth and stand in front of your assistant with your back to the audience, lift up the cloth with your arms spread in preparation to cover your assistant. In this brief moment when the cloth is shielding the assistant, they secretly roll over onto their stomach! As soon as they have done this, bend down and cover their entire body with the sheet.

TIP: You must cover their entire body do not leave any part of them sticking out or the illusion will be discovered!

Spread your hands and pretend to be concentrating really hard on the spectator to rise off the ground. After a few moments your spectator needs to do a very slow push up but keeping one leg, out straight perfectly parallel to the floor at all times. This is what creates the
illusion of levitation.

When they do their "one legged push up" they should stop at the top of the push up for a few seconds then slowly lower back down again. I know this seems very silly and too simple to work but it does.

After the assistant has returned to the ground simply reverse all the moves at the beginning of the trick. Raise the cloth (still hiding the assistant from the audiences view) the assistant rolls over again onto their back, remove the cloth and let everything be examined!

TIP: When the assistant rolls over at the beginning and end of the trick, they must do it on the spot so they don't seem to have moved when the cloth covers them.

TIP: This David Blaine levitation style effect works because of a couple of subtleties. A random spectator is seemingly chosen at the beginning which dispels any involvement on their part. Secondly spectators see the assistant laying on their back at the beginning and end of the trick. With this consistency they have no reason to think that changes!