Desire and personality are the ingredients of a successful career
Everybody knows that there is no such thing as magic, but the enigmatic performances that magicians give can have people gazing in wonder and awe. And although not all aspiring magicians will be able to achieve the same levels of success as world-renowned illusionists such as David Copperfield and Paul Potassy, there are a host of local magicians who perform magic at private parties and public venues and take their profession extremely seriously.
For aspiring enthusiasts who want to take up the profession in Hong Kong or want to receive training in the field, there are, unfortunately, no registered institutions here that offer magic-related courses, so a lot of magicians learn tricks through a variety of sources including self-learning.
'In the beginning novices buy many magic-related products and learn to do the tricks from the instructions, and exchange ideas with their friends who share the same interest and enthusiasm,' said Pang Wing, director of Andy Magic Enterprise Company.
Raymond Tam Pang-fei, director of Magic Art Services, experienced this when he set out on his career as a magician over 10 years ago: 'I remember when I decided to become a professional magician my only source to learn magic tricks was through magic products sold at shops and print materials such as books.
'But now people have more sources through which they can learn the tricks more easily, such as video clips on the internet, and a wide selection of local and overseas videos demonstrated by experienced and professional magicians, and these sources can be purchased online or at stores,' Mr Tam said.