"Traverse" DVD by Calvin Lauber
Suggested Retail USD$19.99
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 5 Out of 10

"Traverse", Calvin Lauber's Matrix routine taught on DVD, that, while far from being revolutionary, is still an interesting take on the classic.

Lauber's routine is the "Chink-a-Chink" flavor of the Matrix and, as such, consists of four coins being placed in a square formation, covered one at a time with the hands, and results in all the coins gathering together in one of the corners. The plot is about as standard as it gets.

The moves are as well. Though the ads blow the horn for this one loudly as being "revolutionary" and introducing a "new concept" in coin magic, anyone who has been around the block a few times will recognize the work of Gallo here, as well as Gertner and Williamson. Lauber, to his credit, altered the moves slightly, changed things around a bit, and the end result is a bit intriguing.

Lauber certainly has put everything together in what is a very easy version of the classic. Relying on an old move with a bit of staging to remove some of the trickier bits usually included in this type of thing, it is quick to pick up. You will be spending some time with it to get some angle issues down and get comfortable with the sequencing, but otherwise this is quite simple. Lauber also gets points for keeping things as impromptu as he can: four coins, a covered surface, and you're ready to go.

On the negative side, "Traverse" loses some of the straightforwardness other versions possess, with a little more hand movement going on than usual. This leads to some choppy, unnatural actions that most renditions avoid. Lauber would do himself a service to look up other takes on this one to see how those pros ironed things out and, perhaps, learn a thing or two from them.

In the end, that's what hurts "Traverse". Lauber is young, certainly, and in that inexperience has missed out on some of the works of others, works that might have improved his routine a great deal.

Lauber shows a lot of promise, frankly. He also shows he understands his own material and does a credible job of getting his understanding across. I'd be curious to see where he goes from here with a few more miles under his belt.

But we're talking about Lauber's work here, and it's okay. Nothing to really rave about if you've been a turn or two ont he dance floor with other versions of this; nothing to decry as totally worthless. My advice is simple: if you're a Matrix "collector", or you're looking for an easy way of pulling one off, "Traverse" is worth a look. Otherwise, I'd suggest looking for other versions of the classic that lack the issues of "Traverse".

"Traverse" DVD by Calvin Lauber
In a Blink: 5 Out of 10

Material: 5
It's a "Shadow Coins" type of Matrix, with the usual handling in evident, but with a neat idea or two using an old move. All in all, a fairly interesting take on the classic but not without some problems.

Practicality: 8
If you know any Matrix routine, you know what you're in for: a covered surface and room to run with it. "Traverse" is no different.

Quality of Production: 1
At first, this appears to be a "shot for YouTube" production. With sound and video problems galore, that will also be the lasting impression from it.

Quality of Instruction: 7
Lauber does a credible job teaching his routine, with lots of thought and detail evident. At times he seems a bit lost on where he's going with a train of thought, but that appears to be more a case of the nerves more than anything else and doesn't detract much from his instruction.

Presentation: 5
"Traverse" suffers from not being as clean as it could be, with some handling that is questionable, but the visuals are there and compensate for some of those drawbacks.


Shane

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