Rene Lavand - Close Up Artist 5 DVDs

Volume 3

Routines performed and explained:

• The Story Of Victorio De Pardú: A gambler versus magician routine where four indifferent cards change into the four aces. The aces are placed in different parts of the deck and are found on top, bottom and face up in the middle. As a finale you cut to one ace as you cut the deck into three packets whose top cards are the remaining aces.
• Swing With A Sonnet: A fifty-three-card deck is shuffled and dealt into four packets. The hand dealt to yourself is shown to contain all the Hearts in numerical order followed by the joker.
• Detecting The Card: A card is selected and lost in the deck by the spectator. The spectator shuffles the cards and they are placed in your jacket pocket. You reach into your pocket and remove the selected card. For an amazing finale you name the order of the entire deck and the card that the spectator will stop you at.
• In Search Of Excellence: A card is selected and shuffled back into the deck by the spectator. The cards are placed back in their case and put in your jacket pocket. The spectator reaches into your pocket and removes the selected card. When the shuffled cards are removed from the case you can name all of them in the order they appear.
• Escape Of The Deck: A selected card is lost in the deck, shuffled and placed into the card case. The case is placed in your jacket pocket. When the spectator reaches into your pocket removing the card case it is found empty except for the selection. The rest of the deck has vanished.
• Pygmalion: A Wild Card routine where eight queens turn into nines as the story of Pygmalion is recounted.
• Duel Of The West: A gunslinger and a card sharp engage in a duel where the four aces are cut to, and one is signed. The aces are placed on the bottom of the deck for a bottom dealing challenge which the gunslinger looses as the signed ace is found in your pocket.
• The Little Martian: A deck of cards turns blank on both sides after being shown as ordinary.
• All Fours: A Spanish deck is shown to contain all the same card when all of a sudden the card is removed from your pocket and the deck is shown to be ordinary.
• Symphony Of The Colors: A deck of cards is shuffled by you and by a spectator but when the cards are dealt face up they alternate in red black order.
• Techniques taught and discussed:
  Turn-Over Change, Second Deal, One-Handed False Shuffle And Cut, Lightning Deal, Pocket Divider/Deck Switch, One-Hand Top Palm, Lavand's Second Deal Lap, Lavand's Top Palm Switch and much more.

Includesnew and previously unpublished routines and the classics that René uses in histelevision appearances and award winning live shows. Also includes insightfulinterviews about René's life and magic. Hosted and simultaneously translated byJoe Hernandez.

Volume 4

Routines performed and explained:

• Cuento De La Rosa: A card is selected, signed and lost in the deck. You hand your assistant a rose as you remove your wallet from your pocket. The signed card is found in the wallet.
• The Three Jokers: A selected card is lost in the deck. Three Jokers are removed from your pocket and shown singly. The spectator selects one of the jokers and it turns out to be the selected card.
• The Story Of Antonio The Gypsy: A gambling routine where four aces are cut to and left on the table as you display three Spanish cards and use them for a Three Card Monte routine with a handicap. You then cut to four cards and show them to be the four aces. When the original four cards are displayed they turnout to be the four kings.
• The Deck Is Feminine: As you deal the cards to the table the spectator decides which cards to stop at. When the cards are turned face up they are seen to be queens. Prior to finding the last queen the spectator shuffles the deck.
• As Years Go By: Two spectators stop you at two different cards. They are shuffled into the deck. One is found by the spectator and the other by you.
• Color Changing Deck: A red-backed deck of cards changes into a blue-backed deck, except for the freely selected card that remains red. As a finale it too changes to blue.
• Infallible Three Card Monte: A multiphase Monte routine using three Spanish cards and a coin where the spectator has to guess under which card the coin resides. As a finale the coin is found under a previously discarded card.
• Dancing Spots: Rene's beautiful Jumping Gems routine where a spot appears on the end of a small stick. A second stick is introduced and spots begin to appear, disappear and jump from one stick to the other.
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• Techniques taught and discussed:
  Quick Wallet Load, Turn-Over Second Deal, Fourth Deal, Turn-Over Change, Thumb Revelation and much more.

Includes new and previously unpublished routines andthe classics that René uses in his television appearances and award winninglive shows. Also includes insightful interviews about René's life and magic.Hosted and simultaneously translated by Joe Hernandez. Original release date:August 2004. Running time: Approximately 75 minutes.

Volume 5

Routines performed and explained:

The Greek: A spectator selects the four jackswhen magically and one at a time each jack turns into a blank on both sidescard. Just as magically the cards change back to jacks.

• Perhaps, Some Day: Four cards are selected and signed by a spectator. The cards are lost in the deck. A wallet is removed from your pocket which contains the same four cards as the spectators' but these are signed by you. When the cards are seen again they now have the spectators' signature on them.
• Homage To Larry Jennings: Four different cards are signed by the spectator and lost in the deck. They vanish from the deck and appear in four different pockets. The effect is repeated and the four signed cards once again appear in four different pockets.
• The Tijuana Story: A card is freely selected and used for a humorous gambling routine where it is lost and shuffled into the deck and finally ends up in your pocket.
• The History Of Cumanes: Based on Dai Vernon's Cutting The Aces and the classic gambler versus magician routine where four aces are lost in different parts of the deck and are found by cutting to each one, with the last ace being found by counting to it. As a second phase you apparently cut to three sevens. The fourth card is a king, when the first three cards are seen they have now changed into the four kings.
• My Penknives: Rene's color-changing knives sequence where a red and a white knife change places and colors.
• Mirage: A multiphase gambling routine revolving around a high-stakes poker game which begins with a triumph sequence and a bottom deal demonstration where you apparently deal yourself the four threes which turn out to be the four aces. Each of the other hands are now played out forming full houses and flushes, you then draw three cards and get a royal flush. For a finale the deck is spread on the table to show that all the cards are now separated into reds and blacks.
• Single-Handed Matrix: A new handling for the classic Matrix routine using four coins that are covered by four cards. Each of the coins vanish and appear under one card until all four gather under one card. Just as magically all four coins go back to one under each card.
• Techniques taught and discussed:
  Turn-Over Second Deal Variation, Third Deal, One-Handed Top Palm, The Lap Switch, Coin Scoop and much more.

Includes new and previously unpublished routines andthe classics that René uses in his television appearances and award winninglive shows. Also includes insightful interviews about René's life and magic.Hosted and simultaneously translated by Joe Hernandez. Original release date:August 2004. Running time: Approximately 80 minutes.