Juliana Chen – World Champion Magician

Magicians are famous for tossing around titles like, “World’s Greatest” and “World Champion” but in the case of Juliana Chen, she has every right to the title. Here is her resume: Chen was born and raised in the Hunan Province of the People's Republic of China. Her parents were proud when the little tiny young girl was selected for specialized training at the Hunan Academy for the Performing Arts.

 

At first Juliana was trained in ballet, then later she moved on to acrobatics and juggling. As a teenager, she toured internationally with the famous Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe. After a couple of accidents which injured the same leg, Juliana was advised by doctors to give up foot juggling. While she was recovering, she saw the famous Japanese magician Shimada on television. She was fascinated by the way he had integrated magic into his Asian culture. He was both unique and outstanding in his performance.

 

The Guangzhou troupe's manager encouraged Juliana to develop as a magician. She also took a closer interest in the skills of the troupe's magician. Secretly, she began practicing her skill with cards and ping-pong balls--the easiest props for her to find at the time.

 

The ambidextrous Juliana had the ability, ambition and determination to succeed. Some four years later in 1986, she was recognized as the best magician in China when she won the All-China Best Magician competition.

Her desire to take her magic to the international level led Juliana to apply for permission to study English in Canada. She arrived in Vancouver in 1988 but there was not much work for magicians so she worked in a furniture store to support her studies. Later, she started he own graphics business.

In 1990, Juliana met a friend who introduced her to the Vancouver Magic Circle the largest magical society in Canada. Two years later, after winning the "Stage Magician of the Year" award at the annual convention of The International Brotherhood of Magicians in Salt Lake City, Juliana sold her graphics business to focus on her career as a magician.

 

Over the next four years, Juliana won numerous magic competitions in Europe. Then, in 1997, she won the World Championship at the World Congress of Magicians (FISM) in Dresden, Germany. Known as the "Olympics" of Magic, this event has been held every three years since 1948. Winning Gold at the World Championship of Magic is the highest distinction for any magician.

 

Juliana became the first woman, and first magician of Chinese heritage, to win gold with a solo act in the 50-year history of the World Congress of Magic. She was now The First Lady of Magic. On her return to North America, Juliana was featured on the cover of Magic magazines around the world and invited to appear on The World's Greatest Magic IV, an NBC-TV special. A year later, Canada's leading TV current affairs program, The Fifth Estate, broadcast a profile of Juliana calling her "The hottest new magician around." That same year, Juliana appeared on the ABC-TV special Champions of Magic hosted by Princess Stephanie of Monaco.

In the fall of 2002, Juliana moved to Las Vegas to take her career to the next level. That October, she was awarded the Chavez Memorial Cup. She was recognized for her professional excellence by the Chavez Committee of the Society of American Magicians' Hall of Fame and Museum in Hollywood.

In the spring of 2003, Juliana was nominated for Stage Magician of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood. That summer Juliana was the subject of a four-page cover story in Saturday Night, Canada's oldest-established magazine. She became the first Canadian magician to be featured on the cover of a national magazine since the late Doug Henning in the mid-seventies.

 

Since winning the world championship, Juliana's career has blossomed around the world and particularly in Europe, Asia and the USA. She has played traditional Variety theatres like the London Palladium and the Princess Grace Theatre in Monte Carlo, Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Tiger Palast in Frankfurt, NHK Theatre in Tokyo, and the Berlin Wintergarten.

In the course of her international travels, Juliana meets leading magicians from almost every country she visits. She is also in demand as a lecturer for many international magic conventions. Her special brand of manipulation cards are sold by leading magic dealers around the world and aspiring young magicians can buy a Juliana Chen Magic Set which includes an instructional DVD produced by Juliana.

Here are two examples of her playing cards. One in conventional poker size features a striking black and white close-up of her face with her name in red and the World Champion Magician appellation. Decks of these cards are sold and advertised as Chen’s “Shooting Cards” and are extremely thin and made of very flexible plastic. The second features four different colors on the corners of the card with her photo in the middle. Presumably it can be used to perform color-changing fans. Both cards show a two of clubs on their faces.

 

Perhaps it's not surprising that Juliana has also become a respected producer of magic shows. In 1999, she became the artistic director of the Shanghai International Magic Festival which is held every two years. This is the largest magic festival in China and sponsored by the Shanghai Circus, Shanghai TV, and the Shanghai Media Group. Juliana was also the artistic director for the Athens Festival of Illusion at the Gialino Music Theatre, 2005-2007.

 

One of Juliana's most important backstage successes has been opening the doors in China and the West for the exchange of magicians. In 1993, a year after winning "Stage Magician of the Year" in Salt Lake City, she persuaded executives of the Chinese Acrobatic and Magic Association to attend the Quebec City convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and to establish their first Ring in China (There are 300 Rings worldwide). Juliana's initiative eventually led to a substantial growth in China's involvement in international magic events culminating with Beijing hosting the World Championships of Magic in 2009.

 

During this month of featuring women in magic, it is Propelled Pasteboard’s pleasure to feature this talented magicienne.

Tom Ewing