I’m excited to tell you about Milan’s new Magic School. Many of you may already know Milan Brunet from his Mimi’s Crepes food truck. I met him years ago when he was creating delicious crepes at the Palafox Market every Saturday morning.
Now, he’s created another desirable business: La Maison of Cards, Magic School, and asked if I would come for a class.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. While he also has a class for children, I was attending the adult class. Would I be shoved into a box and split in half?
But when I arrived at The Rex Theater Tuesday night, Milan’s kind and welcoming presence put me at ease. Soon I was seated at a table with his students. Everyone was there for a different reason like trying something new, meeting people, or getting better at a skill that could make money as a side gig.
Milan and his friend and fellow magician, Nathan Nickerson, lead the final of 8 classes in their adult series. Although I was not present for classes 1-7, I was immediately blown away and wanted more.
We made balls “jump” between cups, picked cards from shuffled decks, and “fused” ropes together. The master magicians would demonstrate a trick, then we practiced with the provided materials (which students got to keep as a part of their class fee) and performed the tricks for one another. It was such a great feeling once we’d mastered the trick ourselves.
Student Brent Lane said, “I’ve always been fascinated by magic tricks and the showmanship that goes with it, so when Milan said he was doing this class, I immediately signed up.”
Because magic is simply an art of illusion and entertainment, there is a strict code of secrecy we were all sworn to, so there will be no secrets revealed here. But I can tell you, it was worth attending the classes to get a behind-the-scenes look at how some very popular illusions are performed.
By taking the classes, you can learn from experienced magicians the basics of tricks and illusions that will also help with confidence, public speaking, and communication. And in cases where learning the trick requires a fellow student partner, you build leadership skills and teamwork.
The most important piece of the puzzle is that I had an absolute blast! Truly, I was not expecting to have as much fun as I did, but it was a great way to spend an evening and make new friends.
For some, magic has a questionable connotation with “the dark arts,” but I can tell you that this is simply a fun class of entertaining illusions that encourage people to have fun. Most of the tricks are no different than figuring out a Rubik’s cube or logic puzzles or games, combined with learning performance techniques.
Milan is originally from France and has been interested in magic his entire life, performing for 25 years. He works privately as a magician performing tricks as an entertainer for events and decided others might want the opportunity, so he created the school.
Nathan, originally from Pensacola, works as the programming director for WEAR-3, but has perfected his skills in the world of illusion for over 20 years.
The next class begins for adults and kids next week, May 15, and still has spots available. Pop over to Milan’s website https://lamaisonofcards.com/ to watch a video about the class and sign up.
I give this magical experience five stars!
