Thats the real magic
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i’d like to begin by showing you
the first piece of magic i ever learned
i’m not going to do this for nostalgic
reasons
but perhaps some people think that
magic’s all about the quickness of the
hand
which deceives the eye so we’re trying
to do this one a little bit more slowly
nothing here
nothing here by the way if you’re hoping
for a pigeon just lower your expectation
you can still see it but it’s getting
smaller tension’s almost palpable isn’t
it
you tuck it right the way in
and since you’re so close you can see
there’s nothing between the fingers if
you give a little squeeze just for a
second
it does just seem to disintegrate into
nothing which speeches with gratitude
aren’t you i can’t believe it
just gather up the pieces let’s have
another show in april
busy busy busy
three months in a mine school just to
learn that seems to work
it should have been a one-month course
but i got trapped in a glass box for two
months very impressive
a little shaking a snap of the fingers
breaking illusion taking us back in time
just a few seconds ago
and it all seems to come back in in one
long piece i’m so glad you enjoyed it
thank you so much now i know what some
of you
are saying to yourselves isn’t it
pathetic at his age
but there’s others here who are probably
saying
what’s magic got to do with health care
well
i work with a team of young magicians
and performance artists and we work for
an organization
called breathe arts health research
which is a not-for-profit
social enterprise which gives
unusual answers to health care problems
crucially
we always work with clinicians and
researchers to make sure
it’s not only clinically effective it’s
also cost effective
today i’d like to shine a light just on
one small aspect of our work
which is the breathe magic intensive
therapy
where we work with young people with
hemiplegia or brain injury
which as many of you may know means that
one half of the body particularly the
arm or the hand
can be either paralyzed or significantly
weaker
this means that every day is a challenge
well actually every day is hundreds of
small challenges
from getting dressed in the morning
holding a knife and fall
is tough typical occupational therapy
means that the young people have to do
exercises hand exercises many times a
day
every day for weeks on end and sometimes
these young
people they’re not motivated to do those
they don’t find the exercises meaningful
they don’t have any fun so the magicians
have got together with the occupational
therapist and we’ve carefully selected
the magic tricks that have embedded
within them
all the two-handed movements the fine
motor skills they need to do the magic
but which are also directly transferable
to the daily
day functional skills that they need
amazingly
this means that we get these young
people coming to us for ten days
for six hours a day because they want to
learn how to become young magicians
and now they don’t mind that they’re
also doing 60 hours
of intensive therapy and it works
in fact it’s so clinically effective
that several ccgs in the nhs
commission young people to come along
and join us at the camp
and last year we were thrilled to be
awarded the nhs england award
for innovation and rehabilitation
you probably don’t want to hear about it
you probably want to see it so
we’ve asked a young magician to come
along here today he did the magic camp
several years ago
and he’s going to perform a piece of
magic for you now now you’re not just
going to be watching a small magical
illusion
what we’re really doing is celebrating
the two-handed actions the
the fine motor skills that he needs not
only
to do the magic but also he can use
every day
in those daily living skills to give him
a more independent life would you please
put your hands together
and welcome josh
[Applause]
thank you good evening ladies and
gentlemen
today i’m performing for you the cuts
and balls this is my favorite trick
i hope that you enjoy
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so
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i love it
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take it
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wow
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i hate it when the young people are
better at it than i am
so just very briefly can you tell us
about your experience of breathe magic
camp
sure well very much before breathe i’d
gone for a phase of being
bullied i i believe this was because i
was different to other individuals
um i couldn’t get dressed at home i
i had to rely on my parents to help me
get changed in the mornings
and i was very reliant on them
and at school with pe it become
embarrassing because i’d have to call
the teachers in
to help me it was just embarrassing and
sincere camp
and since the camp well i’m more
independent
i get myself changed now on my own so
i’ve also met other individuals like me
that have hemiplegia so i don’t
feel alone in the world i
also now next next month of going to
university
this is a big deal that shows a
milestone of how far my confidence has
actually come
so we’re super proud that josh has not
only done the magic program he’s been on
a mentoring program
so that means he now comes back year on
year helping guiding supporting
other young people with hemiplegia as
they go through the magic program
and we thought it was perhaps only
fitting and suitable that we end by
seeing some other young people that josh
helped just a few months ago
before the camp and after camp
struggling with their daily living
activities
and seeing how much their perseverance
has pushed through changed their lives
and that’s the real magic
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it’s hot
sometimes it’s kind of hard
i just wish for a better hand
i haven’t met ever anyone with
homoplasia
it feels like
you’re the only one
i cannot do my buttons
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oh
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it makes me feel happy because i can do
all those things that
i wasn’t able to do before
it makes me feel really really really
really really really really really happy
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so
thank you very much
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go