“ You can tell when someone has been learning magic from a screen ,” he says . “ It ’ s sort of like learning in a bunker . You really need to learn by being there .”
This year ’ s New York Magic Conference was technically the third one-day meeting organized by Dadras and his family . He held an event in June 2023 , which consisted of four magic lectures followed by a formal show . Then in November 2023 , he hosted a magic history conference . Though the number of attendees were relatively small , it ’ s clear Dadras has learned a lot about what makes a conference good .
One of the most interesting things about Dadras ’ s events is just how much he stresses the importance of audience interaction . At his magic history conference , for example , audience members were engaged in roundtable discussions , rather than just sitting quietly listening to lectures .
The New York Magic Conference had a wonderful session in which magician Sara Crasson , who is the producer of the Flavors of Magic show , performed a new routine she has been working on and then took suggestions for improvement – first from a panel of selected magicians and then from the audience . The session was informative , spirited , and collegial . And I can ’ t stress enough how incredibly brave it was for Crasson to perform a work-in-progress in front of her peers and face a public critique .
The 2024 New York Magic Conference honored magician Eric DeCamps , who received a lifetime achievement award and performed some of his signature routines , including Egg Bag , Ring on String , Cups and Balls , Ramsay ' s Cylinder and Coins , Cards Up the Sleeve , and Thimbles . Following his performance , DeCamps was interviewed by Joe Devlin ( Devlin Matador of Magic ). DeCamps talked about the history of New York magic , his personal development , and what he considers the hardest task for any performer : “ figuring out who you are .” ( Full disclosure : Eric is a friend who connected me with Dadras for this article ).
The 2024 conference also featured performances from four “ stars of tomorrow ,” including Jacob Greenwald , Shoji Naruishi , Charlie Philips , and Dan Winter . Naruishi , who is only 12 years old , did some amazing card and coin work . But what really stood out was his charming and engaging personality , which was well beyond his years .
The same could be said of young magicians Greenwald , Philips , and Winter . The three performed a joint act they ’ d developed for the Magic Castle in Hollywood , CA , with tons of strong magic and clever bits of business . And again , what really stood out was how much care and effort the three took in developing engaging , interesting , and distinct performance characters .
( As an aside , magician Asi Wind was in attendance , and you could really see the influence his work is having on a young generation of magicians . Greenwald , Philips , and Winter credited Wind and others with helping them completely revamp an earlier iteration of their show . Wind “ pounded us with notes ,” says Winter ).
Overall , Dadras describes the New York event as a success . And as he looks forward to the September conference in the Catskills , he is more than aware of the financial challenges . “ If we can break even , that would be wonderful ,” he says . “ I think eventually it will evolve into a not-for-profit . That ’ s why there are no conventions . You can ’ t break even .”
But he also firmly believes in the importance of what he ’ s trying to do .
“ I felt that we needed to do something in New York ,” he says . Speaking of the most recent event , he says , “ If you looked at that room , there were people younger than 30 and older than 50 . There ’ s not as many in that middle age group . There ’ s kind of a lost generation . There hasn ’ t been an infrastructure of knowledge .”
“ In the past , New York was dominant ,” Dadras adds . “ It ’ s been eclipsed in a way by Europe , Asia , South America , and other parts of the United States . There hasn ’ t been a cheerleader beating the drums about magicians from New York .”
It ’ s nice to know Dadras is in their corner .
Eric DeCamps
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