Hypnotist puts on a show, and smiles on faces
It’s all fun and games until you’re standing on a stage in front of hundreds, with little control over what you say and how you act.
That has been the case for hundreds of Hatters during this year’s and the past seven Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampedes, which have featured daily shows from hypnotist Terrance Ballinger.
In his shows, Ballinger calls a dozen people up to the stage and slowly works with as many as possible to get them into a hypnotic state.
“Being in a state of hypnosis isn’t anything new or special to people — it’s something we experience every day,” he said. “A good example is daydreaming in class, another one is texting on our phones. Those are examples of the state I get people in. Once they are deep enough into that state, that’s when the show starts.”
The journey to becoming a hypnotist began roughly 24 years ago for Ballinger, who says a trip to see another hypnosis show led him to chasing this career path.
“I went to a show and could not believe what I was seeing,” he said. “The hypnotist was performing the same show the next day, so I went and volunteered during the show. I just had to know if it was real or not.”
After attending the show, Ballinger says he befriended the hypnotist, and shortly after went on a three-month tour with him, learning all the tricks of the trade.
“Over that tour we did, he really took me under his wing,” Ballinger said. “The night I got to take part in the show, I became one of the stars of the show and I realized how real it really is. Now I’ve been doing it for so long, I’ve made so many others do crazy things on stage like dancing and rapping — it really is one of those things you have to experience for yourself.”
With every show will come naysayers, but Ballinger says he tries to make them and their opinions into a positive for the show.
“We could sit down as humans and debate on anything for hours and get nowhere,” he said. “If people don’t believe this is real, I’m OK with that. When I talk to them after the show I ask if they had a good time, and if they got a laugh out of the show — that’s why I’m here. I’m here to put on a show and put a smile on peoples’ faces, not to prove if hypnosis is real or not.”
To see Ballinger perform, head to the Medicine Hat Lodge Free Stage at 4:30 and 9:15 p.m.