Winter Garden\u2019s Daniel Giandoni has a knack for pulling audiences into his world.<\/p>\n
The magician\/comedian\/mentalist started off young, performing for four years in restaurants in Venezuela. Audience members always were impressed with his comedic timing in his magic tricks and wanted to book him for private events. Soon, he was performing at birthday parties, graduations and other family celebrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His popularity grew outside of his hometown \u2014 as did his performing opportunities. In 2009, he won the Federaci\u00f3n Latinoamericana de Sociedades M\u00e1gicas \u2014 essentially the Latin American world cup of magic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSuddenly, I was getting calls from other countries to be the guest artist at major magic conventions and corporate events,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s when I realized my passion had gone global.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was booked and busy \u2014 networking and growing his audience week by week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, he\u2019s a world-class performer whose talents have taken him further than he ever thought possible.<\/p>\n
From crushing to career \u00a0<\/p>\n
When Giandoni was in high school, he had a crush on a girl in his class, but unfortunately for him, he was too shy to ever approach her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He thought if he could learn a magic trick and guess her phone number, he would impress her enough to go out with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t work. He couldn\u2019t guess it correctly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What he didn\u2019t know was simply trying to impress a girl through a magic trick would introduce him to a world he\u2019d never want to leave. \u00a0<\/p>\n
When Giandoni was researching magic to impress his crush, he found himself more and more immersed in the topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He fell in love with illusionism and human psychology \u2014 learning to convince audiences of a reality that\u2019s different than their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s the reality that you\u2019re showing to the audience, and there\u2019s the reality that\u2019s happening in the background,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At first, it became simply a hobby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI started buying (magic) books, going to the magic store (and) speaking with magicians,\u201d he said. \u201cOne year, I was doing some of the five tricks that I knew at a party, and a guy asked me, \u2018Hey, would you do this as a job?\u2019 I said, \u2018Of course.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giandoni then was hired to perform magic at the man\u2019s restaurant every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for nearly four years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, it wasn\u2019t his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was going to college to study economics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t choose economics because it was my passion; I chose economics because I\u2019m good with numbers,\u201d Giandoni said. \u201cBut I tried to study a lot so I could finish early and do my own thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His own thing was magic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t let it go. It became his passion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although he never saw himself working a 9-to-5 job, he utilized the skills he learned in college to better his magician business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moreover, he said the connections he made while in college were essential for his business. Those who met him knew of his skills and passion, and some even booked him for private celebrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He took standard magician courses, improv classes and ensured he was able to incorporate magic, stand-up comedy, improv, mentalism and stage presence in all of his shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond classes, he connected with two major-league Venezuelan magicians who taught him the important aspects of magic, illusion and mentalism, opening the doors for what was to become his lifelong career.<\/p>\n
Soon, guests from the restaurant he worked at started booking his services for private parties, family gatherings, company events and corporate meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was his dream come true.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giandoni constantly challenged himself through magic competitions, competing with some of the best magicians in South America and the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard, because you have some of the best magicians in the world judging you, and you have to fool them,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a big challenge but one he was willing to take. He knew he\u2019d learn valuable lessons from these magic conventions \u2014 far beyond just tricks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The biggest lesson he learned is about managing crowds\u2019 emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite part about that is that you can actually change the mood of a person, in a good way,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can take a person out of whatever reality they\u2019re in and give them a little bit of a break. I love that I can actually create a better day for a person, and it\u2019s a high responsibility.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giandoni and his teacher created a magic show together, which led him to meeting his future wife.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was a fan of his teacher and found the show to be comedic, fun and entertaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Post-show, she and Giandoni met.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They exchanged contact information and kept in touch and eventually, started dating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If it weren\u2019t for magic, he wouldn\u2019t have met the love of his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Continuous growth\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything was working out the way they should for Giandoni. He was following his dreams with the girl of his dreams by his side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The young couple moved to Colombia, and there, Giandoni met the Latin American CEO of Netflix while performing at a corporate event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man was impressed with his skills and asked him to be a consultant for a TV show, \u201cThe Unremarkable Juanquini.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giandoni gladly accepted. He met with the show\u2019s director, read and adjusted the scripted magic portions, and got to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Show executives were so pleased with his work that they invited Giandoni back for more episodes, where he played himself, as a magician.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Soon, the Giandonis made the decision to move to Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a country like the United States officially recognize your artistic career and welcome you to move your business here to perform full-time for American audiences is the highest professional honor I could dream of,\u201d he said. \u201cIt completely changed my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giandoni strives to introduce his comedic magic and mentalism to those who have yet to experience it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He enjoys the fact he\u2019s able to have a broader audience, performing both in Spanish and English.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giandoni offers a variety of services, varying by occasions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For example, he can do walk-around magic at events, going from table to table, group to group performing magic and mentalism. He also can do big-stage performances, engaging with a large audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In everything he does, comedy is involved. It\u2019s how he was raised, and how he felt comfortable expressing himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cComedy is an essential part of my life, so I try to put that part of my life (onto) the stage,\u201d Giandoni said. \u201cIt\u2019s always a magic or mentalist show, but the ground of everything will always be comedy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That comedic base has proved successful. Giandoni has performed for CEOs of well-known companies such as Netflix, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Samsung and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, he is creating his own magic and mentalist tricks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a specific act in my show dedicated to my late uncle, who helped me sign up for my very first magic course as a kid,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter he passed away, I created a deeply personal tribute to him. During this act, the entire room goes dead silent. There is no trickery to hide behind; it\u2019s just pure emotion. Seeing people in the audience moved to tears \u2014 that\u2019s the moment I know, \u2018Yeah, they are completely with me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
One of his favorite tricks includes a thumb cuff and a deck of cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giandoni begins the trick by putting on a thumb cuff, when he tries to have a card travel from inside the box of cards to his pocket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a solid 15-minute routine with a lot of comedy involved,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The core of the trick, however, isn\u2019t getting the card to travel from the box of cards to his pocket. Instead, he makes the thumb cuff disappear and makes it reappear somewhere he says is \u201cimpossible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He finds joy in seeing the audience\u2019s reaction to the magic trick and putting a smile on their faces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giandoni considers himself an artist. From writing his own jokes and creating entire shows on his own, he shows there\u2019s much more to magic than just cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There has to be time, dedication, passion and energy in order for it to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He embodies all of that and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he\u2019s performing, he\u2019s constantly working his brain. He\u2019s thinking of what could go right and wrong \u2014 and what he needs to do to keep the audience happy and engaged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Through years of experience, he\u2019s become more confident in his skills, and now, when a magic trick doesn\u2019t work out, he said the audience would never know, because not only does he have a plan \u201cA,\u201d but also a \u201cB,\u201d \u201cC\u201d and \u201cD.\u201d<\/p>\n
At first, it was nerve-wracking when a trick wouldn\u2019t work, but he\u2019s learned to keep his composure. The key is to keep calm and keep going.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During one of his performances, he chose to perform a magic trick with a spectator\u2019s ring. The goal was to have it vanish and reappear inside a sealed bag the spectator was holding the entire time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the ring vanished, but when we opened the bag, there was absolutely nothing inside,\u201d he said. \u201cFortunately, the audience thought it was a joke, which gave me a precious five-second window to think on my feet, locate the ring and pivot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, he purposefully makes the spectator find an empty bag as a joke and makes the ring appear in an even more unconventional spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI turned a near-disaster into the highlight of the routine,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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