"The Taiji Coin Vanish & Other Mysteries" DVD by Allen Zingg
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In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"The Taiji Coin Vanish & Other Mysteries". the latest DVD by Allen Zingg and the continuation of his work in his "Acting Naturally" series, is a fascinating collection of routines and sleights but the gold here is not in what the hands do but in what the brain did: Zingg's thinking that, thoroughly and thoughtfully applied, makes these routines simple, effective, and powerful.

Make no mistake: the routines are excellent. The titled vanish is beautiful, as are the other pieces here. But, in the continued tradition of his "Acting Naturally" series, what you learn from how Zingg put these things together is worth infinitely more than any bit of business taught here and, when applied to your own work, becomes priceless.

Zingg's work here is, as you can expect, beguilingly natural, deceptively effortless, and cunningly normal. None of the routines have any moments where a spectator sees anything other than things simply being handled. There's no sudden movements, no twitch here or there, nothing at all to raise any suspicion... and yet magic happens and happens perfectly. And because Zingg goes into so much detail and why he does what he does and when he does it, the supplied routines really are nothing more than perfect examples of why that thinking works so well.

And with that, let's take a look at those "examples".

"The Taiji Coin Vanish", the titled effect, kicks off the disc. This is an easy, superb vanish of a coin (best done with a larger coin, like a half-dollar or a silver dollar). As the ad states, this can be done away from tables, while standing even, and uses no gimmicks or devices or any special clothing requirements. Some simple sleights, the careful application of Zingg's ideas, and all of a sudden you have in your position a beautiful complete vanish of a coin. I have to say that, with all the strange assortment of usually derivative, knuckle-busting coin sleights coming out recently, it was refreshing to watch an old hand with the whole magic thing come out with something that is as striking as it is simple. In as few words as possible, I loved this and I loved the thinking behind it.

If Zingg started winning me over with "The Taiji Coin Vanish", he completed the job with the next three coin routines. Why? Because I love the fact Zingg sank me with one of my favorite gimmicks for formal performing situations, something I've used for more years than I care to remember when I first saw it in a book by Dunninger (and something that is incredibly cheap and easy to make -- don't worry about putting this one together or making a trip to the local magic shop for pieces). I would have never thought that could happen, but along comes Zingg and, well, you get the idea.

"The Taiji Coin Vanish Plus" is another complete coin vanish, but with some incredibly open handlings and displays that add to the naturalness of the original to make this a powerful vanish that is, in a word, mind-blowing.

The same gimmick, accompanied by the same openness and naturalness, is used in a monster of a coin routine, "The Appearing Travelers". In this routine, four coins are produced one at a time (with some of the best acquitments you'll ever see because, well, you know, the whole open-and-easy thing again). Then the coins travel, one at a time, from one hand to the other. Okay, so I've pretty much described -- what? -- two thousand such routines? But Zingg's routine is superior to others in ways performers can truly appreciate: the sleight work is very simple, there are no extra coins, no shells, flippers, or the like, and all of it as natural and easy as you could ask for.

"4-Go", though, was my favorite of the routines on the disc. Once again, that old gimmick is brought into play and, once again, the results are as fascinating as they are magical. No matter how I try to describe this one, it's not going to do it justice, so I'll just cut to the chase: this is the serial vanish of four silver dollars. What struck a chord with me, though, was that each vanish is different enough to both keep the spectators interested and, one a certain level, each vanish seems to be just a bit more magical than the last. This is good stuff.

The last piece on the disc, "C-Form Palm", is an oddity in one way -- it's a card sleight on a disc of coin routines -- but in another way it's a perfect fit. Once again, Zingg takes his ideas of achieving open and natural handling and applies them to a bottom palm. With some of the same moves used in "The Taiji Coin Vanish" (now, think about that paradox for a second), this is an easy, simple, and devilish clever way of getting a card into palm from the bottom of the deck while doing nothing more than overhand-shuffling the deck. This one struck me and, when Zingg explained it, I'll cop to a giggle or two as to how simple this is and how fiendishly it sunk me. This is good stuff.

But then everything on this disc is. I'm a big fan of Zingg's thinking and it's affected my own handlings -- yes, even of "common" sleights -- to a great and grand extent in a very positive way. In "The Taiji Coin Vanish & Other Mysteries", Zingg keeps the ideas and thoughts coming and they are worth so much more than the price of this disc. His simple take on what we geek types think of as "conservation of movement" (why we take something as simple as Vernon's warning of "not too many moves" and give them such grandiose names is beyond me) is one of those things we say but never really think about. Zingg thought about such things, applied them, and then gives them to us in a most generous manner. In other words, he did the thinking for us and he did it superbly.

Okay, so I'm high enough on "The Taiji Coin Vanish & Other Mysteries" to recommend it to all and sundry. For the sake of completeness, I offer these points of interest.

First, I've said over and over the work here is simple. It is. The mechanics are quite easy. If you're capable of the usual range of sleight work -- a finger palm here, a classic palm there -- then you're pretty much ready to go with the sleights on this disc. The sole card piece will take a little more work, but very little; there's a piece that is a bit different from what all but the most serious card worker has run into, but it's still simple enough to grasp with a little practice.

Second, while I love the gimmick Zingg bases most of the routines on, it has some drawbacks, specifically when it comes to angles. They can be, putting it mildly, troubling. Myself, I save the use of this cheap and easy little marvel to those times when I have more control over my environment, though Zingg's use of it allows a bit more flexibility in that department. All in all, it limits its use but when you can use it, it's a powerful thing.

Third is the only caveat I can issue with regards to "The Taiji Coin Vanish & Other Mysteries": if you've been around the block a time or two, don't even think about skipping over this one. No matter how jaded we are, there is so much to learn from Zingg's material and his teaching of it that we do ourselves not just a disservice but outright harm by not going through this disc from start to finish a time or three.

And there you have the sum total of "The Taiji Coin Vanish & Other Mysteries". This is something that needs to be seen and studied, no matter our skill level, no matter our experiences, to see just how much we can improve on what we do.

With Zingg's work here, you're likely to find there's a lot of room for easy improvement that'll make so much we do so much more powerful.

"The Taiji Coin Vanish & Other Mysteries" DVD by Allen Zingg
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
A refreshing coin vanish, some great routines using an overlooked gimmick, and one of the slickest bottom palms around, all using Zingg's carefully considered handlings and techniques that make everything look so natural. You simply can't ask for more.

Practicality: 10
While the coin routines are probably best saved for more controlled and controllable venues, the sleights and moves themselves are as practical as it gets.

Quality of Production: 10
It's a very simple shoot, but with great sound and camera work, making this more of a high-quality "teach in" than anything else.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Zingg does his usual, masterful job of teaching his moves and his thinking, covering both perfectly from start to finish.

Presentation: 10
Beyond the cleanliness Zingg brings to the table, the ease of movement here, the simplicity that makes everything -- and I do mean everything, even the sneaky parts -- seem so effortless and natural is what the routines on this disc are all about. It's an education to say the least.


Shane