DKOM Sept 9 Lecture

From Denny's News Letter

"This kid is going places."
-Lance Burton, International Star of Magic

Twenty-eight-year-old Joshua Jay has been called magic's Renaissance man by MAGIC Magazine. It's not hard to see why: he is a performer, lecturer, author, and photographer of all things mysterious.
He maintains a globetrotting performance schedule-Jay has performed in over fifty countries and appears regularly on national television (most recently on Good Morning America and the Today Show).
His performance style is completely unique: he performs with ordinary, borrowed objects, causing them to twist, bend, appear, and vanish at will. At only seventeen years old Joshua Jay was crowned world champion for close-up magic at the World Magic Seminar, and he is now regarded as one of the leading creative forces in the magic world.
But he's not just a performer.
In 2009 he penned a best-selling magic book, MAGIC: The Complete Course,  and had his fine-art photography exhibited in several shows (appearing currently at the Culture Museum in Linz, Austria). How does he do it?
The Secret is Right in Front of You
He figured it out. His dad showed him a card trick when he was a child, and after hours of experimenting in his room, Joshua figured it out. His dad was a magic enthusiast and knew when to be impressed. His reaction was simple: "You have the makings of a fine magician."
"I always tell people I didn't find magic. Magic found me."
- Joshua Jay
His dad was right. Since that day Joshua Jay has made numerous television appearances in magic specials and on programs like Good Morning America, CNN, and the TODAY Show. He has been a headline performer and lecturer in over 50 countries and routinely performs for distinguished politicians and major celebrities. Jay is a headliner at the prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood and is the author of two best-selling books on magic (his first is published in five languages and is now in its fourth US printing). In 1998, he was crowned champion at the World Magic Seminar. Most recently, he was named 2009 International Magician of the Year by Primio Magia, the Latin American Council of Magic.
Joshua is a monthly columnist for MAGIC, the world's largest circulated magazine for magicians.
Joshua also acts as magic consultant for several multi-national toy manufacturers (most recently for Marvel Comics) and has helped design many of the magic sets on toy store shelves.
Revealing Truth
"Joshua Jay is one of America's finest young magicians."
- Richard Kaufman, Editor of Genii, The Conjurer's Magazine
"Good magic hides the trick," he says. "Great magic reveals some sort of truth. It's a form of self-expression. I want my magic to be meaningful. I want people to find more in it than deception. People should enjoy magic, of course, but they should also feel connected to others through it. Magic should cause people to reconsider what they think they know and the way they perceive things."
Joshua does plenty of things that will make you reconsider what you think you know. His main performance style is close-up. Coins, bottles, and borrowed hundred-dollar bills, defying expectations in countless ways. But his passion is cards. ("I'm up to two packs a day," he says.) Not your uncle's card tricks, mind you. These are head-turning, jaw-dropping pieces of strange that have garnered Joshua international renown as a card magician extraordinaire.
Flexibility . right in front of you
From corporate functions to private parties to VIP backstage events, Joshua is performance-driven.
His track record of success includes the production of his sell-out one-man show, "At Home on Stage," that brought the audience into his "bedroom" and took them through a day in his magical life.
He is also an accomplished photographer, and has infused magic into his work. Cheating moves, card sleights, and magical methods become fine art is Jay's ongoing photographic study. In 2009 his magic photography was included at the annual European Capital of Culture Festival in Linz, Austria (where he also performed at the inaugural event).
His appreciation for mystery and psychological nuance have taken Joshua on an already long journey in a still-young life, and left countless audiences applauding in his wake.
"He's not trying to be this cool mysterious stranger," says veteran international award-winning magician Gregory Wilson. "I've known him since he was a teenager and I've performed with him on five continents. I'd like to be able to say I've seen him progress, but he's been good from day one. He's focused, unflappable and self-effacing, which is a very admirable quality. Right away I knew there was something special about this guy."
Joshua's magic is up-close and personal-simple, clear and undeniable. It happens when you're watching, no matter how close you're watching. The secret is right in front of you.
The Secret is Joshua Jay
-By JohnArmato