Michael Dardant is New Orleans' representative to the world of professional magicians. Although Michael began practicing magic about 25 years ago, he did not begin competing until the last five years. Now, Michael is headed to Italy to compete in FISM, the equivalent of the Olympic Games of Illusion. The origins of this world championship of magic go back 700 years to a tournament between wizarding schools that began in the late 1200s. In 2015, Michael will be one of only 12 magicians who will represent North America in this prestigious event. According to Michael, “There will be over 40 countries represented, sending their top competitors”. Regarding the difference between Michael’s type of magic and the magic we see on TV, Michael noted that while he is generally not a fan of magic on TV, he loves the concept of the new television show, “Wizard Wars”. In fact, he recently auditioned for the show. In this podcast, Michael shares his insights about various types of magic and describes his own favorite form of magic. How does one learn how to become a magician? Michael says that magic is one of those arts where aspiring magicians learned in an apprentice-mentor relationship. Michael describes his craft and tells us the locations where he performs his magical art in New Orleans.
Special thanks to Diego Texera for the great photograph of Michael.
Listen to the podcast here.
