By CHERIE DONNELLAN
DAN Bingham is up to his old tricks – magic tricks, that is.
He’s Geelong’s only full-time working magician, appearing under the moniker Dazzling Dan.
Bingham said he had always been drawn to magic.
“Back in high school I started having an interest in magic. When I was young I was a bit of a class clown and I was into practical jokes.”
Bingham’s mum sealed his fate when she told him about a magician she knew who was looking for someone to “inherit” his box of tricks.
Bingham began working as a part-time magician during high school.
He started with “small card tricks”, slowly building up his magical repertoire as a sideline project while completing tertiary studies in film and television production.
But as more and more people requested him to entertain at children’s birthday parties, restaurants and festivals and even businesses conferences, his formal career option took a back seat.
Bingham observed that magicians often found adults “easier to fool” than children who tended to pick up on the “immediate answer”.
“Adults overthink things,” he said.
But even when entertaining children Bingham said he liked to slip in sly jokes that would “go over” children’s heads to entertain the adults in his audience.
“I’m there to entertain and I want the adults to enjoy it, too.”
Bingham said he put a lot of work into performances.
“I’ve done acting classes and I’m constantly refining and improving [my magic].”
But he maintained one constant performance element – the traditional costume.
“I wear a top hat, a suit and carry a wand for the children.
“People like the stereotype.”
Bingham will perform as Dazzling Dan at Grovedale College theatre on 6 October as part of Geelong Seniors Festival.
