TODAYonline

This magic lady is no illusion

Jinny Koh
jinny@mediacorp.com.sg

She was five years old when she saw David Copperfield on television, and was blown away by his ability to "fly". From then on, she wanted to be a magician. Ning Cai (picture), also known as Magic Babe Ning on stage, is probably Singapore's only professional female magician and illusionist.

The little girl whose early magic tricks involved making coins "disappear" can now make a sports car disappear in a flash.

She performs for corporate events both locally and overseas, for clients such as Microsoft, Ferrari and UBS, with a minimum rate of $1,200 per show.

Besides being a magician for Concept Magic, she also owns Magic Boutique, an online magic shop and is also the co-founder of Mighty Magic Factory — an edutainment company that uses magic to instill in children positive messages such as self-confidence and the ill effects of smoking.

Her latest show is The Magic Within by the Mighty Magic Factory, tomorrow about a boy struggling to juggle his passion for magic with his schoolwork, but who meets three superheroes who change his life.

How did your parents react when you wanted to be a magician?

My parents have very conventional Asian values and felt that magic is for people who cannot "study", which, unfortunately, is a common misconception.

When I was in primary school, they threatened to cut my allowance if I continued my interest in it, which was why I stopped playing with magic when I was nine years old.

So what made you decide to pursue your childhood dream again?

My friend approached me to take part in a magic show for the Children Cancer Foundation four years ago. Then I did a few more gigs at the foundation as well as others on an ad-hoc basis.

After I took part in a magic competition at Heartland Mall in 2006, the well-known magician and illusionist J C Sum offered to coach me. He offered me a job in his company (Concept Magic) a year later when I graduated from university.

What is the biggest illusion you have performed?

It is a teleportation illusion by J C Sum last year in which I also played an integral role. It was at the UOB Centre where he was surrounded by over 9,000 people and he "vanished" from the ground floor and then reappeared on the roof of the building, 50 storeys high, in five seconds. This had never been done in South-east Asia before.

As for my own show, it is to be able to "vanish" a sports car.

Is there a code of conduct magicians have to live by?

As everyone knows, never ever reveal the secret. That is the main one, but there are others that they should also live by, such as not pirating magic products.

And when you use another magician's trick, always give credit to him because he is the originator of it. And people should not use magic to con others out of money.

What is the best thing about being a magician?

It is to be able to make people happy. To be able to see them smile, letting loose and having fun.

What is the one thing most people do not know about you?

I adopted a Mongolian boy from World Vision. He is seven years old and his parents only earn US$2 ($2.77) a day. By being a sponsor, I hope I can help him to go to school, and also to help his community.

Why do you think it is important to give back to society?

I feel that it is something everyone should do. If you have something to give, don't hold back.

Mighty Magic Factory holds charity shows for organisations such as the Red Cross. As a way to help the magic community grow in Singapore, I am also a sponsor for competitions held by Magic Circle, an online magic community.

The Magic Within will be staged tomorrow at 4pm and 7pm at Ulu Pandan Community Centre Auditorium. Tickets are avilable online at www.mightymagicfactory.com and are priced at $18. Only tickets for the 4pm show are still available. About 140 have been set aside for the Children's Cancer Foundation.