Revolutionizing the Concept of Magic

Sept. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- Church Street in Montclair, New Jersey.  People are dining, window shopping, and eating ice cream.  Nearby, a group of people are screaming in shock and laughing, astonished as they witness someone’s dollar bill visually change into a five, then a ten, and then a twenty! This is being done right in front of their eyes as a young man cleanly waves his hand over the bill.

By now, Illusionist Jourdan Rombough has everyone hooked. Who could ignore such an interesting method of multiplying your money? A person from the crowd demands that he turns the twenty into a fifty. Rombough waves his hand one more time to reveal a 0.50 cent half-dolor piece in place on the twenty dollar bill. “See, that’s what happens when you get greedy,” Jourdan replies with a smile; then takes out a deck of cards and continues to amaze.

Pulling him aside after watching his magic with a group of ten to twelve other spectators who were also drawn to his mystifying movements, we were able to briefly chat. After he correctly guessed the exact amount of change I had in my pocket, I asked the most relevant question that came to my mind: How did you do all of those things?

“I feel I did them very well,” he politely replied with a smile.

While not a paid magician, Rombough’s goal during his street performances are simple: share his zeal for magic with whomever he can.  “My passion in magic stems from many beautiful characteristics of the art. But my favorite aspect is how it can touch the inner-child of any adult, and has the ability of making people smile.”

Rombough doesn’t carry the stereotypical rabbit or wear a tuxedo with a top-hat.  He doesn’t talk about dead people or stare off into space so you think he may in fact be a dead person.  He’s a new breed of magician: down-to-earth and conversational.  Rombough appreciates the subtleties in the art form, and how magic makes us question the expected nature of our reality, by defying the laws of logic we were taught by the earth.

Armed with a passion for magic, Jourdan Rombough is one of the few magicians out there who educates as he performs—onlookers learn techniques and terminology intertwined in a subtle back-story before the trick is through.  In addition, Rombough also appears to make “mistakes” before he unveils the show-stopping card, which adds that special layer of awe before he takes his leave.  

After an inspiring chat, but before handing me his card and walking away, he tells me “Magic is one of the few honest professions out there.  A magician promises to deceive you, and he does.”

When not actively performing street magic, Rombough continues to entertain and educate on his website, http://www.jourdanrombough.com.  In addition to articles on misdirection and the psychological interplay involved during a performance, he illustrates his tricks and techniques openly with jaw-dropping video clips.

Whether it’s coin manipulation, amazing card tricks, or the incorporation of smart-phones into his illusions, Jourdan Rombough is on the cutting edge of street magic.  He has turned his passion for the craft into an educational and entertaining experience for all, and is certainly worth a look.