
Originally, ‘inexplicable means’ were thought of and portrayed as the work of ghosts or spirits. Nowadays, though, telekinesis is considered as more of a human phenomenon – the power to move objects with your mind.
Telekinesis is not mentalism, and it isn’t magic. It is a type of effect that bridges the two genres perfectly, because it retains the visual style of traditional close up magic, with the themes and believability of mentalism. If, like many performers, you like to mix both magic and mentalism, then adding a telekinesis trick to your act will help you transition from one style to the other perfectly. That’s not to say that is the only use for tricks of that nature- many of the best telekinesis tricks are so powerful you may want to consider using them as your ‘closer’ or even saving them for a stand-alone performance.



This really depends on your performance style. In the main, telekinesis tricks work well when presented seriously. Remember, you are selling the idea that what is happening is a result of mental power, or concentration. Presentations with minimal speaking can allow for focus on the visual, and allow you to play on the fact that you are using a lot of physical effort during the trick (TIP- remember how David Blaine presented his levitation on his early TV specials? People were convinced it was real because he was so ‘physically drained’ after his performance). This style of presentation also has the advantage of giving you a legitimate reason for not repeating the trick, which a lot of magic tricks don’t afford you.
Being serious is by no means the only way to present telekinesis. There is a lot of potential for humour if you decide, for example, to perform these impossible feats in a more ‘tongue-in-cheek’ fashion, where everything happens at your whim with absolute ease. Or, you may be able to create a comedy situation where things are moving of their own accord and you have no control- it must be your spectator moving the objects but you don’t know why, or how to stop them!
