To be or not to be a Professional or an Amateur Magician
An amateur magician is anyone who has a minimum amount of talent, skill
and knowledge when it comes to performing magic tricks. He or she may
be anyone who knows one magic trick or at least three magic tricks.
But basically, a more technical definition of an amateur magician is
anyone who does not in any way practice magic as their trade, even if
he or she knows four, five, six or more than a number of magic tricks.
This is regardless of how good, better or excellent he or she may be in
performing flourishes, sleight of hand or optical illusions.
However, there are those amateur magicians who try their very best to
expand their current knowledge as well as repertoire and still practice
magic as their primary source of income. People who do this are
usually called hedge magicians. This is in order to differentiate them
from authentic professional magicians who make practicing and
performing magic as a trade and make an actual living doing so.
Meanwhile a professional magician is anyone who has a little bit more
knowledge and talent compared to an amateur magician. These
professional magicians know sufficient magic that makes it enough for
them to use it as their primary source of trade and income, as well as
not using magic to assist them in a trade other than magic.
So technically, even if a barber performs his job using magic and no
matter how many tricks he or she knows and is capable of, that barber
is still not considered as a professional magician because his primary
trade is cutting hairs and not necessarily being a magician.
Another way to differentiate a professional magician from an amateur is
by the way he or she does flourishes.
According to the Online Encylopedia of Magic, a flourish is any sleight
that is performed for the purpose of entertaining an audience and does
not in any way contain any moves that are hidden. Most sleights that
are performed are done so in order to deceive a captive audience and
to do something that can not be detected. Meanwhile, a flourish is any
trick that is done to draw the audienceís attention away from where an
actual sleight is simultaneously being performed.
There are some magicians who consider the performance of a flourish as
simply a finger exercise and not really actual pieces of performance.
But those magicians who do put in and include flourishes in their act
are considered by some of their fellow magicians as a seriously skilled
performer.
If a performance consists of a card trick wherein the cards are spread
out on the table and when a performer does a pressure card fan, the
image that that performer projects is one of professionalism and
experience. But a performer of magic who simply holds the cards and
then spreads them slightly, may then be considered more as an amateur.
Although this may or may not be true or this may not be considered as a
hard fact, this is the perception and the impression that a
performing magician usually gives to an audience.
Flourishes are done not just as a form of show-off to the audience, a
flourish is also done for the purpose of presenting just how a
performer is truly dedicated to the magic act. It also shows the
degree of professionalism one has for the performance.
When a flourish is done, it makes it easier to know the difference
between a magic trick performed by an expert magician and your friendly
neighborhood Jim who is doing a card trick.
A skilled performer comes off as a natural and will ultimately receive
more credit for his or her performance as well as recognition, not to
mention that good old respect for the skills he or she has.
When a spectator is looking at a magic trick where the occasional
flourish is done, that performer is also seen as more than a magician
but a person who is passionate at what he or she is doing. It is
therefore so much easier to hire a magician who has more skills and
experience than one who needs to practice his or her craft more.
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