Reality TV: Central Florida hopefuls shine
Arcadian Broad of the Orlando Ballet is no longer on Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” The Central Florida men have been ejected from ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” So what are you to do if you enjoy watching locals on national reality series?
Orlando magician Kostya Kimlat is back on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” next week.
He resurrects a trick he created in 2002 in which he catches a playing card in midair. He had stopped doing it, but he spent four months preparing the bit for The CW show at 8 p.m. Monday. And he released a video chronicling his preparations and a range of Tshirts that he wore in that time.
In a post on his website, Kimlat explains how a “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” appearance in 2015 changed his life.
“Up until then I had assumed I was going to remain, for the rest of my life, an anonymous, local magician,” he writes. But after the Penn & Teller show aired, every job became easier, he writes.
“After my TV appearance, when I arrived at an event to present interactive close-up magic, instead of closed-off, skeptical groups, I was met with cheers and requests, just by walking into the room,” he writes. “Before having to do a single magic trick to prove my ability, I was embraced with enthusiasm by everyone from the moment I arrived.”
Seven minutes of TV and Penn & Teller — “two of the world’s greatest magicians” — had done that for him, he writes.
He adds that he was grateful that he waited 20 years before going on national TV for the first time — and that for those 20 years he was forced to win over audiences by honing his craft and message.
“Now, seeing how easy life interactions can be when people already think you're going to be great, I appreciate the importance of the process I was put through when people thought I was going to suck,” he adds.
Kimlat’s friend Orlando magician Jimmy Ichihana is competing on “America’s Got Talent,” the summer’s most popular show. Central Florida has other contenders in the NBC contest. Hula hooper Jenny Klimantova and fire breather Nathan Spare are from Orlando. The dance act Quin and Misha impressed the “AGT” judges with its moves and its ages. Quin of Orlando told the judges she would soon be 71. Partner Misha from Jacksonville is 35. The judges’ cuts rounds begin Tuesday.
As of this writing, Orlando substitute teacher Faysal Shafaat continues on the 20th season of “Big Brother,” the CBS reality contest that is hugely popular with young adults. He is 26, and he is competing for $500,000.
Orlando Ballet’s Broad competed on “America’s Got Talent” in 2009 and made it to the semifinals when he was just 13. He said he was a fan of “So You Think You Can Dance” from the beginning, and the judges applauded his dancing in the June 25 episode.
“It’s a really awesome platform to bring dance to a mainstream audience,” he said. “They also highlight the importance of choreographers. Sometimes they’re kind of stuck in the back as the unsung heroes. It’s a great relationship, and the show brings that to life.”
The Titusville native is now 22 and has been with the Orlando Ballet since he was 16. He is the ballet’s first artist in residence, and he had to bow out of “SYTYCD” because of a professional commitment to star in “Arcadian Broad’s Wonderland: Mad Tales of the Hatter.” He is choreographing, writing the score and, of course, playing the Mad Hatter.
But he took away an important lesson from reality TV. “People tend to have this preconceived notion that ballet companies are elite,” he said. “People can’t get close to the dancers, because we’re supposed to be so much better. That is simply not the case. We are just like everyone else, and we want to connect with everyone else.”
Magician Kimlat is trying to connect with his “Penn & Teller” appearance Monday. “A magician's job is to hide the secret,” he said. “When you watch magic on TV, you don't know if what the magician is doing is easy or difficult. For this appearance I wanted to highlight the secret, so the audience could appreciate the hard work that goes into a magician's methods.”