Thanks to Mr. Richard Kaufman, I am authorized to post the review.
Thank you so much Genii team !
"Coin workers will salivate at the effects featured in this new disc from France’s Lawrens Godon. His debut DVD is a well-produced effort containing 14 routines with the subtitle "Visual Coin Magic for the Advanced Magician". Mr. Godon has chosen not to speak on this disc. Both the performance and teaching segments are presented to musical accompaniment, and the teaching is done via close-ups, slow-motion sequences, and captions. That instructional approach is a lot easier to write about than it is to execute, and so when it is done well it merits some attention. I was surprised at how smoothly the overall concept was realized.
Naturally, this approach makes it easier for a performer to produce discs for different world markets with the same footage. However, another important aspect of this design is to emphasize the visual nature of the effects, which you could easily use in a loud nightclub or in settings where language might be a barrier. The routines are performed standing, making them suitable for multiple envvironments. Angles might take them less useful for say, strolling situations, but the experienced performer could probably position himself appropriately in a room to make many of these routines feasible.
Many of the handlings revolve around the use of a particular sleight, the rear thumb palm, to a degree unlike anything I’ve seen before. David Stone was the last performer to make me take notice of this relatively underused technique. Mr. Godon has explored effective ways to get the coin into and out of the grip, including a production from the rear thumb palm that is much like David Roth’s tabled "Pop Out" production from CoinMagic, but raised to a stand-up position. (Plan to practice that one over the bed for a while).
Mr. Godon applies the rear thumb palm and other off-beat moves (e.g. the Harada Hold) to create surprising variations on some classic plots as well as some new ideas. My favorite, by far, was "Silk Contact", a beautiful variation of Vernon’s "Silk and Silver". "A-V-A (Appear-Vanish-Appear)" and "Spellboundary" are also worth your notice.
There’s no argument that many currently popular coin techniques produce unwelcome tension in the hands. J.W. Grip, the Harada Hold, and the rear thumb palm all have their weaknesses, but MR. Godon has done an excellent job in routining and motivating the maneuvers to minimize the undesired tension. The result is a worthwhile collection of stand-up sleight-of-hand coin magic. Master even one of these routines and you’ll have a showpiece to be proud of".
Reviewed by Joe M.Turner for Genii Magazine (June 2011 issue)-Copyright 2011 by The Genii Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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