Incroyable Talent Semifinals- The Angels Vs Theo Dari

With Dressing Flash and Alpha having performed (and been eliminated) in the last two live shows, two magic acts were left to compete this week- The Angels and Theo Dari.

How Did The Angels Do?

The Angels were the act I was most looking forward to in the live shows, but they disappointed. The problem was not their tricks, but their timing- they spent too long on their dance routines. Their first trick, making a member appear from inside a pyramid frame, took over a minute when it should have taken ten seconds. Their other illusion, which involved making a motorbike appear from a translucent shadow box was also ruined by a slow build up. If The Angels had cut out about a minute of unnecessary dancing and filled the time with solid illusions, they might have been more popular with the judges and audience, as their tricks, whilst pretty generic, were large-scale and well-presented.

How Did Theo Dari Do?

Theo Dari did what most viewers hoped he would- he upped his game while keeping what the viewers loved about his act- he used more lasers in more creative ways. The best and most original trick he did was at the end, where he created a rainbow of light above the stage and appeared to vanish into it, only to reappear on the platform he was using for his performance moments later. He fared far better then The Angels, and looks like a decent contender for victory.

What did the Judges Say?

The Angels received 2 X's from Gilbert and Sophie - All the judges agreed that they had wasted too much time dancing instead of wowing people with their magic.  Theo Dari, however, received nothing but praise-Even an initially ambivalent Dave claimed he enjoyed watching his act.

Who Got Through?

The Angels were unsurprisingly eliminated, but Theo Dari beat favourites Abkari and Brahem to get through to the final, which will be held later this week.

Incroyable Talent semifinals - Alpha

After Dressing Flash's disappointing performance last week, Alpha was the next magician to perform live, in the Second Semifinal.

HOW DID ALPHA DO?

For his semifinal routine, Alpha did a pirate-themed routine. Beginning with a trick where he made a skull and crossbones appear on a flaming black cloth, he then proceeded to produce a number of birds, caged and uncaged, from under a number of cloths and silks. The birds were pretty and the productions were solid, but Alpha didn't up his game enough. His audition started slowly but ended well. His live performance started well, but ran out of steam as it progressed. The endless bird productions got a bit repetitive, and, in what has been a common problem for many magicians in Incroyable Talent, a number of interesting props stood in the background, adding to the mise-en-scene, but went unused, even though they could have been the basis for some great tricks. The assistant was also kept in the background, merely handing out silks and handkerchiefs. In short, Alpha lacked the scale and spectacle he needed to impress. Whilst I appreciate he's a close-up magician, the best close-up magicians (e.g former Incroyable Talent finalist Florian) are more creative, more imaginative and more professional. Alpha's presentation was good, but there was little imagination or excitement, and many of his productions can be figured out if you think about them for long enough.


WHAT DID THE JUDGES SAY?

The Judges all claimed that Alpha fooled them, but had little else to say.

HOW DID ALPHA DO?

Despite the judge's praise,the viewers were unimpressed by Alpha, and he was eliminated.

Incroyable Talent Semi Finals- Dressing Flash

Dressing Flash were the first magic act to compete in the live shows in this year's series of Incroyable Talent.


HOW DID THEY DO?

Dressing Flash's live show routine was an improvement on their audition, because it had more personality, and incorporated skills outside of Quick Change. However, it was still a weak performance. The duo did a routine to a medly of James Bond themesongs including "Goldeneye" "Diamonds Are Forever" and "You Know My Name". There was plenty of clothes changing, but the majority of the routine was centered around a simple transpostion trick where the female member got into a box covered by a screen, appeared to remove her clothing, and vanished. The male member then appeared to walk through the box, before it was revealed that the two members had switched places- The woman was in the man's clothes, and the man was in the box.It ws a solid trick, but not particularly great. Some of the clothes changes were creative, but the routine failed to convince as a homage to James Bond- why didn't the male member wear the Tuxedo, White Shirt and Bow Tie combination associated with Bond? All in all, their performance was decent, but not great. Dressing Flash showed range and creativity, but not enough to stand out or impress the audience

WHAT DID THE JUDGES SAY?

Dressing Flash  recieved to X's from judges Sophie Edelstein (Herself a magician) and Gilbert Rozon. Sophie felt that the costume changes were unconvincing and that she had seen it all before, whilst Gilbert felt they weren't ready yet. Fellow judge Dave, though, praised their performance.

DID THEY GO THROUGH?

Unsurprisingly, given the judges negative comments, Dressing Flash failed to make the next round.