On October 23rd, 1998 I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Ammar and his lovely wife Hannah. Michael performed his lecture for the Rochester Magic Clubs. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and we all walked away with a smile on our faces. Michael is a consummate professional and an excellent teacher of magic. I know we all learned something that night!  One of the effects  we liked best was his Cups and Balls routine.   His book on the subject is the "bible" of Cups & Balls!!

Due to copyright restrictions, Michael was not able to contribute a " trick " to the web site. However, he was kind enough to contribute some of his philosophy on the art of performing magic. Below is a short biography of Michael Ammar and his philosophy. Please take a minute to review it and read the poem and Michael's comments. It will be well worth your time.

The " Oscar " equivalent to the magic field is presented by the Academy of Magical Arts. Michael is the first and only magician to have ever received six of their honors - the maximum number of voted awards he is eligible for.

Competing against magicians from 22 countries, Michael became the second American in the 45-year history of the event to win the gold medal for close-up magic at the 15th World Congress of Magic (FISM) in Switzerland.

Michael Ammar has given television performances all over the world, including: England, France, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Australia, and Russia.

Corporations with business savvy, combine Michael's world class magic with marketing new products, trade show appearances, and sales meetings to create powerful, successful, and memorable advertising campaigns.

Ammar is recognized as the world's foremost teacher of magic. Cooperfield called him " THE Magician's Magician " and Toys-R-US selected him out of dozens of magic professionals to teach children magic on "The Magic Video ".

"The Magic of Michael Ammar", released June 1991, became the fastest selling magic book in history.

Michael has given instructional seminars world wide, that range in size from large corporations, to small magic groups, and he has consulted with of David Copperfield, Doug Henning, Siegfried & Roy, and Michael Jackson.

In 1991, Ammar took his expertise public, with the release of the instructional video " Icebreakers ", marketed on a national 30 minute 'infomercial'.

-a gang of men, in my hometown

With a heave and a 'ho' and a "Yes! Yes!" yell -

they swung a beam, and a sidewall fell

I said to the foreman "Are these men skilled?

Like the ones you'd use if you had to build?"

He laughed and said "Oh no! Indeed! The most

common labor is all I need. Because I can

destroy in a day or two, what it takes a builder

"Which of these roles am I willing to play?

Am I one who's tearing down, as I carelessly

make my way around?

Or am I one who builds with care. So my craft

-my community, are just a little better,

because I was there?"

I heard this poem delivered by Cavett Roberts in 1979, the years I became a professional magician. It reminded me that although I was in a small town in a small state, the nature of my performances would have an impact on what my audiences thoughts about magic.

I became aware of how thoughtless and self-serving it was to embarrass and humiliate people for cheap laughs. I began to notice that how I treated my art affected how an audience treated me, and the most fundamental requirement for my art was an audience.

If you use magic like a sharp stick to poke people with, then every time you perform you will personally be responsible for permanently diminishing the number of people who might ever want to see magic again. How wise it is it to perform in such a way that the more successful you are, the worse it is for everyone-yourself included?

Where I grew up one would say "Always leave your soil more fertile than you found it." Why not do the same for magic? Perform in such a way that any audience who sees you leaves with a higher respect for magic than they did before they saw you.