COIN MAGICIAN NICOLE CARDOZA

For now, though, being a woman in magic can be a lonely pursuit. Take Nicole Cardoza, who often says she is the only Black female magician I know.

Ms. Cardoza, 34, who specializes in coin magic, or coin production, has been touring the country for more than two years, performing at universities, churches and conferences. Onstage, she is equal parts storyteller, teacher and magician in shows that reference and evoke Ellen Armstrong, who is believed to be the first Black woman to have a touring magic show in the 1900s.

As she pulled one coin and then another out of thin air during a performance at a church in Brooklyn earlier this year, she told the audience, Sometimes we need to believe in things before we can see them.

It's up to us to cultivate this practice to reach out, feel something right between the tips of our fingers — and make it real, she said, suddenly conjuring a third coin.

When Anna DeGuzman introduced herself at an audition for America's Got Talent, in a performance that has been viewed more than 57 million times on TikTok since it aired in June, the actress and judge Sofia Vergara asked, How is it that there's not many women that are magicians?

I'm one of the few and I hope to inspire more girls tonight, Ms. DeGuzman said.

She incorporates cardistry, or the art of card flourishing, into her magic, aiming to revive interest in a skill that Ms. Blackstone described as a ballet of cards.

To read the complete article, see:
Being a Woman in Magic May be the Hardest Trick of All (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/02/style/female-magicians-diversity.html)

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