Completely in his element
> Australian illusionist Cosentino believes in constantly evolving and being different in order to stand out, as he will show in his latest TV series premiering on AXN this Thursday
MANY viewers in Asia were first introduced to Australian illusionist and escapologist Cosentino ( below) when he performed at the finale of Asia’s Got Talent season one in 2015.
Cosentino himself was the runner-up on the fifth season of Australia’s Got Talent (2011), where he was beaten by singer Jack Vidgen.
Fortunately, Cosentino has managed to stay in the limelight since then, performing his magic on television shows and taking his act on world tours.
Now, AXN (Astro channel 721) will feature this talented artist in The Elements: Cosentino, premiering this Thursday at 9pm.
The four-part series – themed around the four elements of earth, wind, fire, and water – will see him performing mesmerising street magic and epic stunts in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
The episodes will see Cosentino interacting with regional celebrities, including Asia’s Got Talent season two hosts Alan Wong and Justin Bratton; Singapore’s Aaron Aziz, Tabitha Nauseur and Sezairi; Malaysia’s Diana Danielle, Juliana Evans and Joe Flizzow; the Philippines’ Alex Gonzaga, Bianca King, Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez; and Taiwan’s Alex Niu and Ozi.
The show will also feature large-scale illusions and deathdefying escapes.
Born Paul Cosentino (he uses his surname as his stage name) in 1982 in Victoria, Australia, he was initially believed to have a learning disability as a child, which was apparently confirmed by various medical experts.
In an exclusive interview with theSun, Cosentino said: “My parents took me to all these specialists. They even took me to an optometrist, and put me in a special class.”
All that changed when, at age 12, he picked up The Encyclopedia of Magic at a local library. He was already interested in the idea of magic at the time, and the book only furthered his passion. The book also introduced him to one of magic’s most legendary performers, Harry Houdini. “My first introduction to [professional] magic was my mother reading to me about Harry Houdini,” he recalled. The book featured the iconic poster of Houdini with the words: ‘Nothing on Earth can hold Harry Houdini prisoner’. “That was a powerful message, because Houdini to me was a real-life superhero,” Cosentino said. “He could walk through walls, he could escape from locks, he could hold his breath for a long time, [and] he could appear and disappear.” It was Houdini’s exploits that inspired Cosentino to get into magic, and also in a way, got him to learn to read.
“There was nothing physically or mentally wrong with me at all,” said Cosentino, who attributes his initial diagnosis of a ‘learning disability’ to a lack of interest in studying.
A born showman, Cosentino is also known for incorporating dance moves into his act.
“I bring in a choreographer to help with the dance moves. Basically I started dancing when I was 13 years old, [and] a year later, I took up magic.
“It has always been natural for me – instead of walking across the stage – to skip, jump, or flip.
“I did not sit down one day and said: ‘Maybe I should put dance to magic’. It just happened naturally.”
Cosentino’s slick moves also helped him win the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars (where he partnered with professional dancer Jessica Raffa) in November 2013.
“Magic is my living, but I am good enough to a point to incorporate dance into my acts.”
Cosentino also got to pay his own tribute to his idol Houdini.
In honour of the centenary of Houdini’s iconic jump off the Queen’s Bridge in Melbourne on Feb 17, 1910, Cosentino
performed an underwater escape act inside the Melbourne Aquarium on the same day in 2010.
Considering how dangerous ‘tricks’ like these are, Cosentino feels assured as his father and brothers are part of his crew, and know what to do if it looks like he is in danger.
The illusionist admits that he is pressured to constantly do better.
He also said that while social media has been a great platform to showcase good magicians, it has also highlighted a lot of bad ones.
However, he feels that the competition has pushed him to be unique and different each time.
When he performed at Asia’s Got Talent in 2015, there were no decent magicians who made the cut.
However, when he began shooting The Elements: Cosentino, the second season of the talent show was underway, and featured several magicians from around the region, which was eventually won by Indonesian illusionist Sacred Riana.
Cosentino feels that Sacred Riana won because she was different and unique.
“What she did was unexpected, and it was great to see a lady performing magic.”
He added: “I think that is a wonderful thing about magic, and it shows you how powerful it can be when it is done properly.”