The Magician produces a small bird, places it into a small cage and makes it float all around, then vanishes it! He passes a SOLID metal hoop all over and surrounding it, to prove nothing is "holding" it in the air!
#26 The Bird Cage Illusion
Uses these magic proceedures: Misdirection, Special Props, Hidden Assistants
The Bird Cage has a special tiny "connector ring" at the top which is practically invisible, thru which runs Magician's Thread (thin invisible thread, very strong)... the Thread is connected from a Hidden Assistant off stage to the left and runs across limply thru the Bird Cage "connector ring" and then off to the right off stage where it is controlled by a Second Hidden Assistant...
The Magician picks up the Cage, places the Hoop over his head, and then passes the Hoop over the Cage (the Hoop has a tiny "break" in it so that it can be slipped onto the thread or off ) ... he then gives it a few twists... when he "twists" the Hoop he only twists it half way in either direction so it never breaks the Thread but "seems" to completely encircle the Cage, the movements are very deceiving... off stage The Assistants tighten up the slack in the Thread to levitate the Cage...
The off stage Assistants help the movement of the Bird Cage by "coordinating" movement of their ends of the thread, keeping it slack or tight as needed and by moving it up, down, back and forth as needed... the Bird Cage can easily slide along the Thread using it's own weight and the force of gravity to move it as the Assistants raise and lower the ends...
The Cage is covered with a cloth at the end... the Assistants release the Thread and quickly pull the Thread thru the Hoop and "connector ring" and off of the stage... and now The Magician has a stiff wire connected from his fingertip to the Cage, under the cloth, to control it's movement under the cloth... this stiff wire connector is "picked up" from behind the cloth as he puts the cloth over the Cage... infact the wire is actually sewen into the cloth ...he then attaches it to the Cage quickly under the cloth and holds the other end with his fingers... thereby being able to "move" the hidden cage all around with just his finger tips of his right hand!
At the end he reaches under and mechanically folds the Cage to almost flat (by design it folds flat), drops a hidden Ribbon to the floor for "Effect", and casually wraps the folded Cage (with bird in it) and wire connector into the cloth (into a hidden "pouch" in the cloth) and throws the whole thing aside...
Music, lights, background scenery and the actions of the performer add to the misdirection away from the hidden aspects of this piece of Magic...