The old conjurers' art of close-up magic -- sleight of hand, card tricks, coin magic -- dazzled Shanghai audiences at the recent magic festival. But can the less glamorous sister of Copperfield-style stage magic find a niche here?

Lennart Green performs card tricks under the watchful eyes of an audience at the close-up magic show. [eastday.com]

Two enormous projecting screens hang suspended in mid-air at the standing-room-only Shanghai Circus World, magnifying even the slightest finger movement of the ``king of cards,'' Lennart Green. But the master magician lets no secrets slip from the between his dexterous fingers; the only sounds are oohs and aahs.

The 5th Shanghai International Magic Festival brought Green, and three other leading figures, including Americans Patrick Martin and John Armstrong and Boris Wild from France, in the field of ``close-up magic'' to Shanghai, redefining magic for an audience raised on David Copperfield. ``I used to think that magic was all about mega-illusions like onstage disappearance or sawing someone in half, but these performances have absolutely transformed the way I look at magic,'' says an audience Qiao Yin, never taking her eyes off the stage, where the blindfolded Green was selecting cards.

The exclusive close-up magic show, the first of its kind in the festival's 10-year history, was held on November 16. The organizers, who were initially concerned about the market potential of this new genre, now admit they underestimated the city's hunger for this newly-emerging trend. ``The success of close-up magic came as a complete surprise,'' says Yu Yigang, secretary-general of the festival's organizing committee.

``So far as I remember, this also marks the first close-up magic show in China.'' Surely it won't be the last.

Five days before the show, all the 1,500 tickets -- for the two performances -- were sold out.

The more traditional stage magic show at the Shanghai Grand Stage, in the meantime, drew only 90-percent attendance.

The unforeseen popularity plays nicely into the organizers' determination to introduce more cutting-edge performances to local market, where their biggest hurdle is raising audience interest in unfamiliar areas. Thanks to Green and his fellow performers, that interest was raised to a fever pitch.

Veteran close-up magician Green warmed up local audiences with dazzling display of card tricks at a pre-performance press conference.

He was followed by Las Vegas-based Patrick Martin, whose comedic and interactive show at the Everyday Performance, a free-of-charge section in the recently concluded Shanghai International Arts Festival, held more than 1,500 spectators in thrall. Though with different background, all the four magicians have one concept in common -- show you something magic first. ``We know we had a big job before us, since Shanghai audiences have no previous exposure to close-up magic, but I am relieved to see them laughing and applauding,'' Green says. Green's week-long stay in Shanghai added a bunch of ``firsts'' to his personal record: Shanghai was the first stop of his first tournament in China, and this is also Green's first visit to the city. But above all, this was the first time for Green to perform with so many top figures at a magic festival. ``I didn't expect that Shanghai would be able to draw such a sumptuous cast,'' says the 58-year-old Swedish, obviously thrilled, when he first learned who he was performing with.

All the four magicians taking part in the close-up show are former or current Federation International Society de Magic competition world champions. The contest, run every three years, is known as the Olympic Games of magic.

A first-class line-up apart, the addition of young and promising talents also adds a great deal to the fest. For the first time in China, the festival has established the category of close-up magic in its affiliated international magic competition. The top three -- champion Chow Man Tsung from Hong Kong, runner-up Xu Fengmei from Beijing and third-place winner Yan Jianrong from Lanzhou, Gansu Province -- had the opportunity to spend time with the four master magicians after the show.

``Are you sure?'' asked surprised Chow, 21, at the awards ceremony, where he was presented with the first prize.

``I never imagined that I could meet so many big names, let alone have the chance to learn from them.''

``Being able to learn from the masters goes a long way towards enhancing their connoisseurship of young magicians,'' says Bian Faji, president of China Magic Art Committee, who also served as vice president of the magic festival jury.

Bian also admits that compared with veteran magicians overseas, Chinese close-up conjurers still have a long way to go.

``Close-up magic requires more of a magician's creativity and basic skills, I would say that the contestants are still lacking in innovation,'' Bian reveals. What concerns Bian even more, however, is the fact that fewer and fewer young magicians are willing to tap into this not-so-glamorous field, since despite their sellout performances in Shanghai, close-up magic is still not a market favorite. Compared with a local stage magician who can perform around 220 shows yearly, a close-up counterpart can only get one tenth of the opportunities. But the festival has brought hope to close-up magic to Shanghai, and in the words of Lennart Green, ``everything can be magic if you believe it.''

What is Close-up Magic? Close-up magic are conjuring tricks performed right in front of the audience. The repertoire may include routine tricks like card tricks, coin and money tricks and cups and balls, among others.

Compared with stage illusions, close-up magic may demand more of a performer's basic skills, like the speed of finger movements, as there is less space and fewer props that may be used to hide ``secrets.''

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