A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MAGICIAN

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MAGICIAN

Dr. Xenia Kisselincheva

“How boring life would be without the lure of mystery and magic, without the lure of a beautiful illusion!”

She suddenly stopped juggling with the Chinese rings and jolted them gracefully onto a metal rod. Then she flipped the jeweled turban off her head and let her shiny black hair loose. All she craved for was a short break after the intense and demanding performance. Swaying across the semi-dark stage, she tiptoed down the steps and joined us at the table. She was relieved to be her old self, Dessie Novkova, a Capricorn, 26 years old, an eager pupil of the illustrious Astor. Before sipping her banana shake, she looked questioningly towards the maestro: “Am I getting anywhere?” He gave her a dignified nod of approval and she beamed all over. The young magician was in a special state of mind at the moment, she was getting ready for her first visit to the U.S. in a few days’ time. Dessie or Daisy, as her colleagues called her, was first going to take part in an international festival in Los Angeles, then she would perform at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, where an exclusive cast of world-famous illusionists performed every single night of the year. Dessie had done special preparation for the occasion: a one-man conjuror’s show, involving intricate fire play and an original number, displaying a fairy scene with flowers. According to Astor, the program suits her temperament very well. She would also give a few performances before the Bulgarian colony in Los Angeles.

It all started as a children’s game. When Dessie was around ten, her granny gave her an unusual present - Uncle Astor’s magic box of tricks, which was accompanied with a booklet. The little girl adored the box, she loved practicing and learning the tricks to the minutest detail. Then at bedtime, she would perform them in front of mom, dad, granny and her younger brother. At that time, she had almost lost interest in dolls, hopscotch and the like, she had definite preference for dangerous boys’ games and for molding all kinds of figurines out of clay. Later, at 14, she was keen on entering the vocational school for stone carving and sculpture modeling, which she finished with flying colors.

 During those formative years, Dessie also developed a passion for fashion design and started weaving her own patterns. They slightly reminded one of the traditional Bulgarian patterns on costumes, table cloths and rugs and when she started her own designer’s company, these hand-woven patterns gave a distinctively unique appeal to her clothes. Today, when Dessie is wholly absorbed with her vocation as a magician, her patterns still capture the imagination of other fashion designers, like Svetla Dimitrova, for instance, you can catch glimpse of them as recurring decorations in her collections.

 As Dessie explains, her particular case as far as magic art goes, contradicts in a way the folk proverb “If you can learn by watching, dogs will turn into butchers”. Her mom, who was a sound producer at the TV, first brought her to the Magic Theater of Astor. It was found right behind the Hemus hotel, it was at the bottom of a garden restaurant with folksy wooden sheds and a fountain spurting jets of water over the stone statuette of a young girl. Dessie did not miss a single show, she could see the best of Bulgarian magic art- the great Astor, Orfi, Irko, Corso, Danko...

Last year the best conjurors from the Balkans performed at the Magic Theater in Sofia, after their participation in an international festival. So, one night, a couple of years ago, when Astor was away on a tour, Dessie dared to perform some of his tricks in front a close friendly circle. She used some of his stage props / properties too. On the next day, the magus was back and Dessie expected to be severely scolded. But, instead, he asked her to repeat her performance of the previous night. He realized right away, she had the knack for it and that she had picked up much just from watching.

Then he took up training her on a regular basis and soon she was able to take part in the 5-th National Festival of Magic Art in 1997 at the Army Theater in Sofia. Getting a first prize for women was her first major success! Dessie admits that was probably the most moving instant of recognition for her - she was  uptight and slightly frightened,  aware that she was being watched and assessed by a bunch of over-critical and fussy professionals.

Later on Astor took her on as a participant in most of his shows, when touring the country. He noticed that Dessie was quick in learning new elements, mastering new secrets of the trade.  She presented her teacher’s tricks but with certain variations, in a style of her own. Soon, she was recognized by the elite community of the magicians - big shots like Orfi and Irko did not mind including her with a 10-minute performance in their grandiose shows when touring the country - Sofia, Plovdiv, Bourgas, Sunny beach, Haskovo and so on. She got engagements throughout 1997-1998.

When Astor was asked to prepare the second part of a circus spectacle, which toured round Cyprus, Dessie was also invited to take part. She was an immediate success, an enchantress captivating the foreign audience. When she came back to Sofia, she was invited to take part in a number of TV shows. But it seemed success did not go straight to her head- she organized free shows for children, for she knew they would remember the experience for good/ the rest of their life.

She continually tried to enrich her repertoire-apart from the classical Chinese rings, she included other numbers like “cutting your head”, “a burning handkerchief in a box”, etc. She tried her hand at different genres-tricks, manipulation and illusions. She learnt how to dance step and some oriental dances. Her experience as a designer helped her feel quite at home on the stage. She already has a growing number of fans. For instance, a fan of hers from Plovdiv got truly fascinated with the Chinese rings number. He had them ordered from a magic shop in Britain but he could not work out how to handle them. He implored her to show him, but Dessie would not give away the secret, it was a professional secret for the few God-elected!

And what are her plans for the future? This year in August, she dares “deep diving” on her own, by undertaking a one-woman show in California.  Next year she and Astor are planning to participate in a world festival in the U.S. Dessie intends to prepare a new number, with more manipulations involved. They are, in her words, the most difficult thing to do. There is no deceit in them - it is just a matter of dexterity and skill. As maestro Astor rightly says, it all comes not so much to speed, but to skill.

Who is her idol in the magic art? She has been lucky to watch the very best both at home and abroad. How about the fabulous David Copperfield? “What he does is very spectacular and beautiful, but it is not so hard to perform. It is a matter of a lot of technical contraptions and a lot of money. While with Astor, it is still a mystery for me. I watch him from two centimeters away, but still I can’t work out some of his tricks.”

It is said that Astor’s restaurant has one of the best variety shows in the country. There you can enjoy the full spectrum of acrobatics, juggling, tricks, dancing and pop music, all of the first order. Some clients book in advance to make sure they can entertain their friends or business partners there. And the garden restaurant has a special appeal on cool and clear summer nights. A special appeal, enhanced by the colorful lights, flickering and crisscrossing on the stage of the temple of magic art, complemented by the romantic gleam of the lanterns under the wooden sheds and finally by the lights, shimmering in the whirlpool of the fountain. In the middle of it, you can’t miss the graceful outline of the statuette. It looks as if a bathing girl suddenly turned to stone. At night she bathes in floods of light, while watching, fully absorbed the pageant of mystery, magic and beautiful illusions. Life would be so boring and bland if it is devoid of them. They also remind us of the parallel world of the supernatural, of the inscrutable puzzles of nature, of the miracles of civilization. And most of all, of our mysterious relation to God, who is maybe the greatest wizard of all, manipulating the interminable pageant of the creation.

Sofia Western News, 1999