The Safronov Brothers began their career as illusionists in 2002. Now, they are famous for their incredible illusions that make people wonder how it is possible for a person to do what seems to be impossible.
The Safronovs have managed to make a church disappear and have driven through a person on a motorbike, they have levitated and appeared on the opposite corner of stage when people least expect it. Sergei, Ilya and Andrei — the three Safronov brothers — shared some secrets about their work with The Moscow Times in advance of a recent performance.
The brothers started creating tricks a long time ago, getting their inspiration from American illusionist David Copperfield and the legendary Harry Houdini. Their very first trick was a true challenge even for more experienced illusionists, called "Passage Through a Person," yet they were able to reach the same effect as Copperfield in one of his shows.
The brothers cannot imagine their lives without illusions, even though they have other talents as well — Sergei's interest in cinematography and Ilya's drawing skills are helpful in creating new illusions.
Before performing a trick, it has to come to life, and the process for creating a new trick is unpredictable — it can take a month or several years. It takes a lot of hard work to come up with an idea and bring it to stage. "It all begins from the idea of the trick. I think about it all the time. Almost every minute of my life my brain works on a trick. Even in dreams I draw specific details of some illusion machine," Ilya said.
Illusionist is a dangerous and rather traumatic profession, and all of the brothers have been injured at some point. Burns and broken bones are a part of their job, but the desire to amaze is stronger than physical pain.
"During filming for the television show "Ukrainian Miracles," I had to be removed from the set and hospitalized," Ilya remembered. "I swallowed a fishhook, and it got stuck in my nasopharynx. After a small surgery, they were able to remove it."
During the trick "Escape From a Straitjacket," which had previously been done only by Harry Houdini, Sergei also had to be taken to the hospital. But that did not stop him from repeating the trick a month later, that time successfully.
People often try to make brothers reveal their secrets, but they always answer the same: "It is magic." However, they have taught people how to do some classic tricks, explaining the secrets on television. This has caused a great stir among audiences, yet they have remained silent about their most complicated illusions.
The audience is very responsive when it comes to illusions, and theaters are always full of people eager to see new tricks. "In different parts of the world people are willing to wait for miracles and wonder," Andrei said. "The viewer wants to escape from everyday worries and plunge into the world of magic and sorcery. And every time we have great pleasure to welcome you in this world!"
The Safronov Brothers will be performing in Moscow with their New Year program "The Safronov Brothers' New Year's Teleport" from Dec. 26 until Jan. 8 at Expocenter, 14 Krasnopresnenskaya Naberezhnaya, Metro Vystavochnaya. For more information, see the group's website: safronovy.ru.
Contact the author at artsreporter@imedia.ru
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