DYNAMO
On Saturday
25th June 2011, crowds gathered on the banks of the River Thames as an
extraordinary feat unfolded. A man in a
red jacket was seemingly ‘walking on water’, striding out across the great river under the iconic backdrop of the Houses
of Parliament. As pictures emerged, the news travelled fast with initial
coverage across the British mainstream media and later, pickup as far afield as
China, Australia and South Africa.
This had been one of the biggest and most
audacious illusions in history, on a par with David Copperfield’s vanishing of
the Statue of Liberty and Houdini’s great escapes… but this wasn’t the work of
one of Vegas’s elite It had been performed by a young magician from a tough
part of Bradford who went by the name of Dynamo.
Tipped as the most exciting British magician to
emerge in decades, Dynamo had stunned audiences and celebrities around the
world with his genre-bending cocktail of large-scale illusions, incredible
sleight of hand and innovative street magic.
The 28 year-old’s list of celebrity fans now
reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the Hollywood elite. Will Smith, Diddy, Jay Z,
Coldplay, Russell Brand, Gwyneth Paltrow, The Black Eyed Peas and Paris Hilton
are just a few of the names who’ve raved about his unique talent.
Dynamo stunned Tinie Tempah by pulling a chain
through his own neck and amazed US celebrity power couple Ashton Kutcher and
Demi Moore by eating a piece of string and pulling it down the length of his
torso. Billionaire Richard Branson physically bowed down to him after watching
one of his performances and Lindsay Lohan was left speechless after he
levitated her from a chair.
Growing up on the rundown Delph Hill housing
estate in Bradford with a father who spent large periods of time away in
prison, Dynamo (real name Steven Frayne) suffered with a debilitating form of
Crohn’s disease as a youngster. Having been introduced to magic by his
Granddad, the young Steven Frayne developed his skills as a means to fend off
the bullies who teased him about his disease, quickly gaining a reputation as a
unique talent within his local community with his incredible sleight of
hand.
Many years later Steven
appeared at the New York Hilton during Houdini’s centenary celebrations where
he performed in front of his peers, including acclaimed magicians Aaron Fisher
and David Blaine. After a stunning display someone in the audience shouted
“this kid’s a f***ing DYNAMO!” . The name stuck and a new era in magic was
born.
From an early age, Dynamo was inspired by the impact of hip-hop culture. He was
strongly influenced by local breakdancers who fused together a variety of
styles and MC’s who promoted themselves through the use of the mix-tape circuit
in order to create something new. Steven planned to modernise the magic scene
by combining his skills with elements from the urban dance scene.
In 2004, after moving to London, Dynamo set out to fulfill stage one of his
plan; the creation of the first ever magic ‘mix-tape’. Along with a small team
he filmed his performances on the streets of London and backstage at events,
where he managed to blag his way in front of the stars by impressing doormen
and tour managers along the way.
2007 started with a bang. Actor Will Smith presented Dynamo with an award on
behalf of the Prince’s Trust for his success after receiving a start-up loan
from the charity. During his acceptance speech, Dynamo started to choke on a
polo mint and without warning pulled a chain through his neck with the Polo
attached. The audience were amazed, including Will Smith, who gave Dynamo a glowing endorsement, proclaiming “that man just pulled a lifesaver out of his neck! You scared my son with
your magic tricks but that was absolutely stunning!”
His debut TV series ‘Dynamo:
Magician Impossible’ was broadcast on Sky Channel Watch on the 7th July 2011
and quickly broke all viewing records with over 1m viewers tuning in to the
first episode in a slot which normally only commands an audience of 100K, total
viewings now exceed 18 million. Series 2 starts 5th July 2012.
This had been one of the biggest and most audacious illusions in history, on a par with David Copperfield’s vanishing of the Statue of Liberty and Houdini’s great escapes… but this wasn’t the work of one of Vegas’s elite It had been performed by a young magician from a tough part of Bradford who went by the name of Dynamo.
Tipped as the most exciting British magician to emerge in decades, Dynamo had stunned audiences and celebrities around the world with his genre-bending cocktail of large-scale illusions, incredible sleight of hand and innovative street magic.
The 28 year-old’s list of celebrity fans now reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the Hollywood elite. Will Smith, Diddy, Jay Z, Coldplay, Russell Brand, Gwyneth Paltrow, The Black Eyed Peas and Paris Hilton are just a few of the names who’ve raved about his unique talent.
Dynamo stunned Tinie Tempah by pulling a chain through his own neck and amazed US celebrity power couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore by eating a piece of string and pulling it down the length of his torso. Billionaire Richard Branson physically bowed down to him after watching one of his performances and Lindsay Lohan was left speechless after he levitated her from a chair.
Growing up on the rundown Delph Hill housing estate in Bradford with a father who spent large periods of time away in prison, Dynamo (real name Steven Frayne) suffered with a debilitating form of Crohn’s disease as a youngster. Having been introduced to magic by his Granddad, the young Steven Frayne developed his skills as a means to fend off the bullies who teased him about his disease, quickly gaining a reputation as a unique talent within his local community with his incredible sleight of hand.
From an early age, Dynamo was inspired by the impact of hip-hop culture. He was strongly influenced by local breakdancers who fused together a variety of styles and MC’s who promoted themselves through the use of the mix-tape circuit in order to create something new. Steven planned to modernise the magic scene by combining his skills with elements from the urban dance scene.
In 2004, after moving to London, Dynamo set out to fulfill stage one of his plan; the creation of the first ever magic ‘mix-tape’. Along with a small team he filmed his performances on the streets of London and backstage at events, where he managed to blag his way in front of the stars by impressing doormen and tour managers along the way.
2007 started with a bang. Actor Will Smith presented Dynamo with an award on behalf of the Prince’s Trust for his success after receiving a start-up loan from the charity. During his acceptance speech, Dynamo started to choke on a polo mint and without warning pulled a chain through his neck with the Polo attached. The audience were amazed, including Will Smith, who gave Dynamo a glowing endorsement, proclaiming “that man just pulled a lifesaver out of his neck! You scared my son with your magic tricks but that was absolutely stunning!”
His debut TV series ‘Dynamo: Magician Impossible’ was broadcast on Sky Channel Watch on the 7th July 2011 and quickly broke all viewing records with over 1m viewers tuning in to the first episode in a slot which normally only commands an audience of 100K, total viewings now exceed 18 million. Series 2 starts 5th July 2012.
1 comment:
OMG!! He's awesome! so talented! I love it! He makes you dream and feel the world is so magic, anything is possible. It's funny to see the people's reaction as well.
And you can learn a lot of vocab too! ;-)
Thank you so much Cristina for sharing it with us!
I had a nice time!
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