Dominique Duvivier Masterclass

July’s Masterclass lecturer is living legend Dominique Duvivier! Born into magic and performing since the age of eight, Dominique has spent his life at the very heart of the close-up world — mentored by Fred Kaps, Albert Goshman, and Brother John Hamman, and celebrated by Paul Gertner as “the most creative and the best close-up magician ever seen.” He’s the owner of the oldest magic shop in the world (established 1808), the founder of Le Double Fond (his legendary 50-seat Paris theatre), and the recipient of the prestigious Mandrake d'Or award. His sought-after book, Magie Duvivier, is a collector's treasure, and his influence on close-up magic spans decades and continents.

Joining Dominique in this Masteclass is his daughter, Alexandra Duvivier. A brilliant magician and performer in her own right, Alexandra translated the entire Masterclass with such grace, wit, and clarity that she is an indispensable part of every session. Together, they make for one of the most joyful and compelling Masterclass experiences we've ever filmed.

Across two sessions, Dominique shares 21 complete routines — from devastating Sandwich effects and coin magic to his legendary lapping work and some of the most creative card magic you'll ever see. He also teaches three of his most important moves in detail.

Masterclass 1: July 5, 2026 (4pm ET | NYC Time)

We start with a fascinating interview between Alexandra and Dominique, where we learn about their work as a father and daughter double act, and Dominique’s fascinating magical history.

The Three Bets: A full performance piece built on Bob Farmer's Tsunami. Despite the participant making a series of completely free choices throughout, Dominique is able to locate their card at the end of each phase.

Sandwich: Quite possibly the cleanest Sandwich routine you'll ever see. Two Queens are placed on the table, a card is selected and lost in the deck, and then — with no suspicious moves — the selection appears between them.

The Guide Cards: A witty, layered take on the Sandwich plot. Dominique explains the concept of a Sandwich trick to the audience — a selection appearing between two Kings — then decides he prefers a more modern version, producing the effect with two indifferent cards instead. But perhaps the audience would prefer the classic version after all? The indifferent cards transform into the red Kings, with the selection still cleanly between them. Also features Dominique's tabled flourish double undercut, a beautiful re-imagining of a classic sleight.

The Fastest Technique in the World: A bottom deal demonstration with a twist. Using a small packet — the Ace through Four of Diamonds — Dominique executes flawless bottom deals. Then, at the climax, the four Diamonds become the four Aces.

1 Dollar Routine: A participant freely names any card. Dominique and the participant then play a series of games with a stack of banknotes — and when the notes are finally turned over, the named card is written on the backs of the bills. A stunning closer, featuring Dominique's exceptional banknote false count, inspired by the work of Derek Dingle and Fred Kaps.

Cards to Pocket: Dominique's legendary variation of the Pocket Interchange plot. This is his very latest work on the subject and is elegant, practical, and built for real-world performance conditions.

Fast Chinese Bit: Dominique has created over fifteen versions of Ken Brooke's classic Chinese Bit routine. This is his favourite — a quick, deceptive handling designed for strolling magic, where every moment is constructed for maximum impact.

Inside Out (of Mind): A clever and visually fascinating packet routine where a group of cards transform in a totally unexpected way. The routine features a beautifully hidden lapping technique.

Mind-Open Prediction: A multi-phased open prediction that will fool absolutely everyone who sees it. Using David Stone's The Tool gimmick, Dominique constructs a seemingly impossible situation where his prediction proves correct at every turn — and everything ends completely clean.

The Extra Card: A Twisting the Aces routine in which the Ace through Four of Hearts turn over one at a time — and then the four cards transform into the Ace through Five of Spades. Also features an explanation of the Duvivier Count, Dominique's elegant handling of the Hamman Count.

Masterclass 2: July 12, 2026 (4pm ET | NYC Time)

Impossible Journey: A multi-phased card transposition that escalates beautifully. A selection is sandwiched between the tabled Kings, and an indifferent card is placed under a glass bowl. In a stunning climax, the sandwiched card appears under the bowl — and a signed selection from the deck appears between the Kings.

Not Expected Flush: A tight, one-minute gem. The four Aces are placed on the table. One is placed back onto the deck — but immediately returns to join the others. Then, in a moment nobody sees coming, all four Aces change to the royal flush.

The Fastest Trick in the World: "I want to show you the fastest card trick in the world. But I didn't say the best!" Dominqiue jokes. In an instant, two red Queens transform into the four Aces. Fast, funny, and completely disarming.

Signature Deck: Dominique shares something deeply personal: a blank deck bearing over 500 signatures from people he has performed for throughout his career. He then turns one of these cards into a named playing card.

Wild Card: Dominique's handling of the Wild Card plot, in which eight Aces of Spades cleanly and visually turn blank one by one. At the end, every card can be freely examined.

Running Gag: Introducing his concept of "demystify to mystify better," Dominique performs a full routine in which he openly exposes the concept of lapping — and then challenges the audience to catch him doing it. Published here for the very first time, this has been one of his prize performance pieces for over fifty years.

The Blank Cards: A beautiful and puzzling effect in which the backs of four blue-backed blank cards repeatedly change to red-backed blank cards and back again. Simple in premise, startling in execution.

The Card That Almost Doesn't Exist: A card vanishes in a way that is genuinely strange — not just technically surprising, but conceptually interesting.

Toulagli: An asymmetrical transposition built around the four Aces. Dominique finds the Aces, then finds the selection. Then, in two separate and surprising moments of magic, the Aces and the selection change places — and then back again.

Joker Collectors: A squeaky-clean Sandwich routine with a visual twist: a blue-backed selection appears between two tabled red-backed Aces. The colour contrast makes the impossibility completely undeniable.

Joker Salt Shaker Without Salt Shaker: A blockbuster closer inspired by Albert Goshman's legendary Salt Shaker routine. A purse appears, vanishes, and transposes — along with the coins inside it — in a routine that showcases just how far Dominique is willing to go to turn a single idea into a masterpiece.

Moves

Dominique also gives a deep dive into three moves that he uses frequently in the Masterclass:
Duvivier Double Cut: A double undercut that secretly maintains a break throughout. Elegant and entirely natural in handling.
The Donald Move: Also known as Holding Clout. A versatile and deceptive sleight that appears throughout the Masterclass.
Lapping: A thorough exploration of one of close-up magic's most powerful techniques, including how to set it up, execute it invisibly, and build it into performance-ready routines.

Q&A: July 26, 2026 (4pm ET | NYC Time)