Bruin Blog - Belmont University

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Eric

Secrets & Illusions

Have you ever wanted to be a magician? I have frequently seen magicians or illusionist on television performing miraculous stunts, but I have never actually seen one in person. They always captivated me, being able to disappear or cut someone in half. Last night, Belmont hosted a well known contemporary illusionist, Jason Michaels. On stage, Jason Michaels performed many mind-boggling illusions that could not be explained.

DSCF0027_phixr.jpgFor his opening trick, Jason had his assistant lay on a table. He then strapped her to it so she couldn't move and placed a box over her. He took several sharp metal sheets and pushed them through the box in the center so it appeared that the women had been cut in half. He pulled the table apart and revealed that he had completely separated the assistant. Quickly, he pushed the table back together. He was able to pull the sheets of metal out of the box and when he took of the top, the assistant was unharmed. It was truly amazing.

For his next trick the assistant brought out a plain piece of rope. Jason took the rope and was able to manipulate itDSCF0022_phixr.jpgin ways I thought were impossible. For instance, he cut a piece of the rope off with a pair of scissors. He then took the tiny piece of rope, placed it on the larger section, and magically connected the two back together as if they had never been separated. His rope trick was amazing because it surpassed what I thought was possible.

DSCF0031_phixr.jpgOne of Jason's last acts was a Houdini classic, escaping from a strait-jacket. He had an audience member place the jacket on him and secure it to his back. Then, in front of the audience, Jason was able to get out of the strait-jacket in a short amount of time.

At the end of his show, Jason talked to the audience about the importance of finding your strenghts. He shared his personal story about how he wanted to become a magician at an early age and how he continues to pursue his goal. His speech was very good, urging the audience to pursue our dreams and discover the things that we truly love to do.

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