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MENTION the name Erik Mana and “street
magic” comes to mind. His is an image carefully built and a
reputation solidly founded on nearly two decades of mastering magic.
Mana is no charlatan, and by no means he can be considered an
ordinary magician. Mana’s great talent in the art of illusion has
now garnered him the title of “The Philippines’ Premier
Magician.”
Mana’s liaison with magic appears to have been
predestined by fate. The master magician was born on September 16,
1972—the same birthdate of legendary American master magician
David Copperfield, whose most famous trick was to momentarily cause
the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
In 1974, Mana migrated to Toronto, Canada. A
relatively quiet childhood allowed him to focus on one of his first
loves: music. Mana graduated with a degree in Audio Engineering at
the TREBAS Institute of Recording Arts, Toronto’s premier
recording school.
Still, Mana never gave up on the potent power of
magic that he has been so drawn to. At the early age of eight, he
started to toy with it, and while he was growing up, he delved
deeper and took this art form seriously.
In 1989, he started to pursue his professional
career as a magician with a small magic troupe called Princess Karma
and Company. Mana would tour the cities in Canada with them, earning
his stripes and winning the hearts of his multiracial audiences.
He would continuously design and perform his
magic at nightclubs, comedy bars, college circuits and corporate
events. Mana’s skills incorporated magic, mentalism and stage
hypnosis, which made him one of the exclusive few magicians in
Canada whom has mastered and combined such skills.
In 2001, he moved back to the Philippines and
single-handedly corned the corporate market, consulting and
designing illusions for the many events of some of the country’s
top companies. He prides himself as a member of The Society of
American Magicians, the world’s oldest and most prestigious magic
society, whose members include Harry Houdini, Harry Blackstone Jr.
and David Copperfield.
Not many know that Mana is also a DJ whose
eclectic musical taste ensures that his sets are a complex mix of
musical forms that include house, electronica, neo-soul, hip-hop,
even jazz or classical music.
Tonight, Mana is expected to delight audiences
anew when he puts up more than just a magic show called “Alchemy
in Wonderland” at the Alchemy Bar in Pasig.
For tickets and information, call 633-0516 or
(0917) 511-0401. You may also e-mail party.alchemy@gmail.com.
Alchemy is at the Silvercity Mall, Frontera Verde Drive corner Julia
Vargas Street, Pasig City.
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