LCD6DL, Yoann

Reviewed by Tom Denton.


I should probably start off by telling you that this is a collection of flourishy double-lifts. I mention that, because I know there are a lot of people who will be instantly turned off by that idea, feeling as they do that a multiple-lift should always look as natural as humanly possible. If you can bear with me a moment, though, let me explain why I think you might be mistaken.

For one thing, I've seen very few performances of double-lifts which look completely natural. The strange finger-tip action of the instantaneous or strike double, the tendon tension inherent in a thumb or pinky count, and the hesitation seen in many push-offs mean that achieving a double with truly natural handling is not quite as simple as it first appears. Of course, we could counter this with hours of assiduous practice until every slight twitch of the fingers is overcome. Or, we could make the unnatural movement look deliberate. This is where flourish doubles come in. The question of the duality of the apparent single is obfuscated by the elegant and flashy movement.

Anyway, having got that out of the way, let's move on to what you actually get with this product. Yoann teaches six double-lifts using the teaching style that has become the standard for flourishy move instruction. In other words, he teaches silently, using multiple camera angles and on-screen captions to highlight the necessary steps for execution. I found this exceptionally clear and easy-to-follow, although I have to admit, having watched the whole download in one sitting, the grinding repetition of the soundtrack forced me to deploy the mute control. Fortunately, though, given the silent nature of the instruction, that didn't detract from the learning experience. If you go down the route of just watching one move at a time, this shouldn't be a problem anyway.

There were some nice, unexpected extra bits and pieces included in the teaching, too. For one thing, Yoann goes over some double-lift fundamentals like the Stuart Gordon (yes, I know, I'm ignoring the crediting dispute for now) turnover, the pinky count and the pinky pulldown. If this is your first excursion into more advanced lifts then this section will be indispensable. Additionally, we get a snap change variation called “Damisnap”, and an ambitious card idea called “Ambistart”.

The moves taught are certainly interesting and will spice up your card work if they suit your style. However, I think that what's really great about this download is that, for less that seven dollars, you get all the tools you need to start creating your own flourish doubles. If you just learned the material on this, sure, you could make yourself look like a high-end card twirler, but with the fundamental techniques and the variety of moves taught, this should really get your creativity going.

Great stuff!

Available at http://www.magicalsleight.com/index.php?page=downloads&trick=LCD6DL