Levitation magic tricks have become the rage since the debut of the David Blaine levitation on his acclaimed Street Magic special. After watching the TV special, everyone and his dog wanted to learn how to levitate. Although magicians have been doing the floating lady illusion for a long time, it did not have the impact on audiences the way that David Blaine’s self levitation did. The way it was shown on TV, it seemed to be completely impromptu and unprepared. He seemed to have just levitated up from the sidewalk in front of the crowds.

David Blaine levitationLevitation magic tricks can be grouped into two major categories:-

  • Self levitation magic tricks: The magician levitates himself or herself off the ground for a brief period of time.
  • Object levitation magic tricks: The magician makes an object float and move about without any visible means of support.

There are many different ways for performing self levitation, some more convincing than others. Here, I would like to highlight four of the most popular methods in use at this time.

The Balducci Levitation
This has been around for some time but was only popular after David Blaine used it in his TV special. This method doesn’t require any gimmicks and is completely impromptu. However, the audience is restricted to a back view of the magician’s feet.

The King Rising Levitation
This is a variation of the Balducci Levitation created by Corey King and allows the audience to see a side view of the magician’s feet. It is more convincing because both the performer’s feet are clearly seen to leave the ground. Although no gimmicks are used, it involves a bit more work to get into and out of the effect than the Balducci.

The Elevator Levitation
This is a more versatile levitation created by Peter Loughran that allows the audience to view the performer’s feet directly from the front. It also has better viewing angles and the magician can even turn his body while levitating. This method uses a gimmick that is quite compact but needs some practice to get used to. Peter has designed two versions of this. Elevator 2 has some enhancements that improves upon the first version.

The Criss Angel Levitation
Criss Angel has come up with a levitation that goes much higher than all the other methods. However, the drawback is that the magician has to turn his back on the audience and the viewing angles are not so good. There is also a much more elaborate gimmick that needs to be built following the instructions on the DVD.

I believe that you can use several methods, depending on your performing situation. Act the part and believe that you are actually levitating and the illusion will be much more stronger and effective.

As for the other levitation magic tricks where the magician causes objects to float, there are many different methods used for different objects and it is impossible to go into all of them here.

If you are just starting and would like a strong floating effect that is self-contained and can be performed anywhere at a moment’s notice, I highly recommend you get the Tarantula by Yigal Mesika.

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