| 'Magic Babe' Ning | |
|---|---|
Taken at TV Shoot, May 2011 |
|
| Born | Ning Cai Singapore |
| Residence | Singapore |
| Occupation | Professional Magician, Entrepreneur |
| Website | |
| 'Magic Babe' Ning | |
Ning Cai, better known as ‘Magic Babe’ Ning, is a Singaporean magician and entrepreneur. She has been recognised by Channel News Asia as "South East Asia's First Professional Female Magician".[1]
She is best known for her good looks[2][3] and the glamour she brings to magic in Asia and her entrepreneurial spirit. She was named "the sexiest woman in magic"[4] by MagicSeen (UK's largest magic magazine) which was subsequently used to describe her by many media publications in Singapore.[5][6][7][8][9][10] She has graced the cover of numerous local magazines.
Ning, along with partner J C Sum, have been credited for popularising magic in Singapore by the local media and magic organisations.[11]
Ning signed on as a FLY Entertainment artiste in Mar 2012 and was the one of the honorees of the Singapore Women's Weekly Great Women of our Time 2012 [12]
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Ning’s first contact with magic was when she was 5 years old and watched David Copperfield on TV.[13] Her interest was revived in 2004 when she was involved with charity work for the Children’s Cancer Foundation and performed magic at their events.[14][15][16][17] At the same time, she became one of the founding members (as acknowledged by the creator) and moderators of Singapore Magic Circle (SMC), an on-line magic community and forum.[17][18]
In 2006, she joined a local magic competition and came in 3rd place. This led her to join J C Sum’s magic production house as a performer and marketing communications manager;[15][19] after graduating with a degree in Mass Communications from RMIT.[4][15][20] When Ning first burst onto the entertainment scene, she was acknowledged as "Singapore's Only Professional Female Magician" by all major national newspapers as well as many magazines including: The Straits Times (12 September 2008),[21][22] Lianhe Zaobao (9 September 2008),[23] The NewPaper (30 December 2008),[24] My Paper (8 September 2008),[25] Tiger Tales (September/ October 2008),[26] Vanilla (October 2008),[27] Mediacorp Channel 8 News (24 September 2008),[28] Art Jam (Jan–Mar 2009),[29] Teens (February 2009 & March 2009),[30][31] Lianhe Wanbao (May 2009)[32] & I-S Magazine (June 2009).[33]
Ning dislikes being typecast as a typical female in magic who plays submissive roles to males and only performs magic with silks, flowers, umbrellas or rabbits.[34] She incorporates samurai swords, twirling fire balls, spikes and weapons in her show.[27][35][36] Ning is comfortable with her sexy image on stage and she feels she has the talent to back it up.[4][5][13][14][24][29][35][37][38][39][40] Her influences in magic include David Copperfield, Princess Tenko and J C Sum.[4][9][16][41]
Currently, Ning performs with J C Sum in their illusion show across Asia.[4][42] Channel News Asia highlighted that they represent “The New Faces of an Age-Old Art Form”,[43] and acknowledged them as "Singapore's celebrity magic duo".[44] The Straits Time called them "Asia's Most Famous Illusionists".[45] AsiaOne called them “The Hottest Duo in Town”.[46] AXN also acknowledged that "...J C Sum and 'Magic Babe' Ning have fast smashed some new grounds in Asian magical realms".[47] As a duo, they have helped put Singapore on the world map with their performances and illusions.[13][43][48][49] They continue to present their illusions shows across Asia.
In August 2008, Ning & J C starred in “Ultimate Magic” – Singapore’s First Permanent Illusion Show at The Arena in Clarke Quay, the top entertainment district in Singapore.[13][20][30][50][51][52][53][54] The show has since ended its year long run in August 2009.
In 2010, Ning & J C performed at The Boiler Room in St James Power Station for a one week run. Named Sexy Magic/ Urban Illusions, the show ran from 26 January 2010 – 30 January 2010.[55][56]
On 27 March 2010, Ning & J C also performed along other celebrities in the Earth Hour 2010 concert held at the Esplanade Park, Singapore's premier arts venue.[57][58][59]
Ning & J C are also currently the highest paid magicians in Singapore.[3][5][60]
Ning was invited to headline the gala show with her one-gal show at the South England Magic Convention (http://www.semagicconvention.com) on 31 January 2009. This is the first time in history that a Singapore magician headlined an international magic convention.[17][27][36][48][51][61][62]
In August 2007, Ning played an integral role in J C Sum’s “The Impossible Teleportation” mega illusion where she headed the team on the roof that saw J C magically reappear 5 seconds after vanishing from street level.[4][19]
Ning attempted South East Asia's first ever mega escape from "The Impalement Cage" on 5 July 2008. In front of a live audience of more than 4000 people, Ning picked her way through handcuffs, locks, shackles and chains to free herself from a steel cage with a bed of 13 stainless steel spikes, timed to crash down on her in 90 seconds. To add to the difficulty and danger of the mega escape, Ning was also completely blindfolded.[6][35][38][63][64][65][66][67][68] “The Impalement Cage” mega escape marked the official launch of “Ultimate Magic”, Singapore’s First Permanent Illusion Show that stars Ning & J C Sum.
On 24 September 2008, Ning & J C successfully staged "South East Asia's Biggest Magic Event at the Singapore River"[69] by teleporting 3 people across the iconic Singapore River in 2.5 seconds.[9][22][23][28][70][71][72][73][74] The mega illusion was part of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix Season.[9][39][69][75][76][77][78][79][80] Named "The Impossible Journey", the illusion was witnessed by more than 5000 spectators.[23][28][72]
On 27 June 2009, Ning & J C set a new world record with their performance of 15 grand illusions in 5 minutes.[1][47][81][82][83][84][85][86] Entitled "The Impossible Record", the magic act was the closing finale for Singapore River Festival 2009.[47][87][88] The event was officiated by Singapore Book of Records and International Brotherhood of Magicians.[89][90][91] The event was witnessed by over 3000 people and is the first ever magic record to be adjudicated by Singapore Book of Records.[1]
As a teaser to "The Impossible Record", Ning also attempted a mega escape stunt named "Inversion" on 21 June 2009.[1][33] Ning successfully attempted an escape from a straightjacket while suspended 3 storeys above, upside down and blindfolded. The uniqueness of the escape lies in the fact that there were no safety lines for the stunt.[33][87]
On 22 August 2009, 16,000 people witnessed Ning & J C teleport a Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI from the Volkswagen showroom to the stage in 8.5 seconds.[92][93]
On 12 December 2010, Ning & J C vanished five audience while they were elevated 24 ft high up in the air in front of over a 1,000 strong audience at the Asian Civilisations Museum.[94][95][96] The illusion stunt was called “The Aerial Exit”, and it was the grand finale of the National Heritage Board’s 2010 “Explore Singapore” campaign.[95][96][97]
On 7 January 2012, Ning & J C officially set the world record by being the very first illusionists in the world to capture the thoughts of 100 random people in under 60 minutes.[98][99][100][101] The record was set with 9 seconds to spare.[99][100] Called "The Mind Heist", the world record breaking feat was also Ning & J C's first ever mega illusion that was streamed live on the internet.[102]
In Jun 2012, Ning became the first woman to successfully attempt a perform an inverted double Straight Jacket Escape from a burning rope 35 ft above ground. Called the "Extreme Inversion", the stunt was part of a media launch for Superstars of Magic 2, a production show featuring international performers including Ning & J C.[103][104][105][106]
On 27 January 2010, Ning & J C successfully predicted in advance the winning 4D lottery numbers that they made one week before.[107][108][109] Named "The Impossible 4D Prediction", the stunt is a new psychological illusion stunt, different from past Mega Illusions.[55][56][110]
The prediction was sealed in a giant red packet which was locked in a clear container and suspended high above ground in front of mega nightclub St James Power Station's main entrance on 22 January 2010. The chest was under tight security for 5 days before Ning & J C revealed the 4D prediction "live" on 27 January.[55][56][111]
Before their prediction was shown to be correct, it was revealed that they had also sealed a cheque of $10,000 made out to the Children's Cancer Foundation as a personal donation to the charity.[107][108][109] It was later revealed that the donation did not come from the winnings of the lottery as they intentionally bought a "null" number of "0000" to reaffirm their stand of not condone gambling and not using their skills for unethical gain.[55][56][107][108][109][110][111]
The stunt created much media and online buzz resulting in the term “magic babe ning” being the No. 1 searched item on Yahoo Singapore on 21 January 2010. Their successful prediction was also one of the top stories on Google News Singapore as well as the top entertainment story on 29 January 2010, 11am.[112][113][114] Popular comedy TV show, "The Noose" did a satirical news story on the prediction (Season 3/ episode 3) in which J C & Ning made a special cameo appearance.[115]
"3 Sides of Magic" is a World Lecture Tour presented by Ning and J C Sum. It debuted in Penang in February 2012 with an attendance of about 35 magicians, including hobbyists, professional and semi-professional performers.[116]
The Duo presented a collection of practical and original routines that ranged from close-up acts, illusion productions and a variety of mental-ism routines.
It also made news in Singapore when Razor TV featured a 3-part series on the lecture on 7 April 2012.[117]
The hugely successful 5 Weeks Europe Lecture Tour brought Ning and JC Sum to 25 cities in 5 countries on a 9500 km road trip. They shared their magic with almost 1000 European magicians and showcased their original brand of magic in 21 lectures cum mini shows.
Ning has achieved several records and awarded numerous awards including:
Ning is a prominent media personality[24] and has appeared in numerous media publications in print and on-line; including The Straits Times,[18][21][22] TODAY,[19] Lianhe Zaobao,[15] Shin Min Daily News,[122] My Paper,[25] The New Paper,[5][24][48] AsiaOne,[8][123][124] Seventeen,[16] Simply Her,[41] HerWorld,[35] NewMan,[6] 8 Days,[38] I-weekly,[67][125] MagicSeen,[4][36] TimeOut,[126] FiRST,[7] Stuff,[64] NuYou,[127] Hot Stuff,[9] Teens,[14] Kozine,[20] and KuPon.[54] She was featured in the December 2007 of FHM Singapore in a 6-page pictorial and interview. In 2008, she was also featured in MagicSeen (Europe’s largest magic magazine) in a two-part feature.
Several magazines have featured Ning on their covers, including FHM Singapore (Oct 2009),[10] HOTstuff (Sep 2008),[9] Stuff Singapore (Jul 2008),[128] and Vanilla (Oct 2008).[27] Ning was also featured on the cover of the magazine, Guardian Feelings in Jan 2012.[129] Ning was also voted "16th sexiest woman in the world in 2008" by FHM Singapore in October 2008[130] and was one of the "10 Hot Single Women" featured in FHM Singapore Feb 2009.[131] Ning & J C have appeared together on the cover of Current Events[13] and ArtJam magazine.[29]
In Aug 2012, Ning graced the issue of Cosmopolitan Singapore magazine as one of its Fun, Fearless Females.[132][133]
She will be the FHM's Cover Girl of the 2013 Valentine's Issue.[134]
In fact, Ning’s celebrity has even garnered her sensational news coverage in local Chinese language gossip tabloids based on quotes taken completely out-of-context.[122][135]
Ning’s blog is also very popular and often highlights upcoming projects in her professional and personal life.
Ning has also been featured on local, overseas and cable television. In March 2008, she was a featured celebrity as Singapore’s only professional female magician on ‘Record Breakers’, Kids Central MediaCorp Studios.
In February 2009, Ning, together with J C appeared on Channel 8's "Five Stars Carnival" for a series of segments which showcased their grand illusions.[49]
In May 2009, Ning and J C made an appearance on cable television. Ning and J C were the first magicians ever to appear on Asia Uncut, an English talk show that airs on the Star World cable network. They presented Ning's signature "Straight Jacket Striptease" and "Light & Space" illusion.[136]
Subsequently in July 2009, Ning and J C also appeared on AXN EBuzz for their "The Impossible Record" event.[47] They were also featured in Sony Style TV Magazine as well as the season finale for The Amazing Race Asia 4 in late 2010.
In Aug 2010, Ning & J C represented Singapore on "Duel Mahakarya Magician" on RCTI, Indonesia TV. They performed alongside Indonesia's top magicians and other international magicians including Peter Marvey, Marc Spelmann and Omar Pasha. The live TV show was watched by 20 million viewers.[137][138]
In 2011, Ning & J C were chosen to star and host one of the two Singapore's first 3D television show.[139] The show was to showcase Singapore's Arts & Culture and Ning & J C's brand of magic. The 3D TV Special, jointly produced by Sitting in Pictures, Ochre Pictures, 360 Production and Upside Down Concepts, was commissioned by Singapore's Media Development Authority.
Ning & J C are also the first ever Singapore artistes to be booked to perform on the famed long-running TV show, Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde in Paris, France. The show was broadcast internationally. The episode aired on 31 December 2011 and was the highest rated TV show of its time slot on French TV.[140]
Cointreau Gets Cointreauversial in Singapore on Oct 2012 with Ning. Rémy Cointreau hand-picked her to be a celebrity host for their “Cointreau-versial” party at Gem Bar. She was chosen for being a controversial and sophisticated woman with a passion for life.[141]
'Magic Babe' Ning, was seen at the Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Females Oct 2012 Event, as a finalist and did a very sensual escape act from a double-strait jacket, which added to the excitement of the party.[142]
Besides performing, Ning runs several businesses.[18][19][27] She was the owner of ‘The Little Magic Shop’, an online magic shop. In 2007, she rebranded the businesses and changed it to Magic Boutique that she calls “The Little Magic Shop all grown up!”.[4][15] Magic Boutique is the official reviewer for Asia for Murphy’s Magic Supplies, U.S.A.
Ning, together with J C, also released DVDs for the magic/ illusion industry in 2011. The DVDs were "Urban Underground" and "Behind the Illusions". "Behind the Illusions" was a best-seller in Murphy's Magic Supplies Best Seller List.[143]
In Dec 2011, Ning & J C also released a limited edition poker deck, "Pentad Deck". The deck commemorates Ning & J C's half a decade milestone as "Asia's Most Lethal Combination in Magic." The card deck was designed & hand-drawn by an artist based in Japan.[144]
Ning is also the co-founder (along with J C Sum) and creative director for Mighty Magic Factory, a kids’ educational & entertainment company. The shows she produces for the kids are generally educational that highlight important messages like fire safety, self-confidence and ill effects of smoking.[19][27][61][123]
She co-authored the book, "Adventures of 2 Girls",[145][146] based on her 9-month world travel with her best friend, published by Marshall Cavendish in September 2012.[147] which debut on Straits Times Bestsellers List at #8 in October 2012. "Adventures of 2 Girls" has remained a bestseller since its debut.
Ning will be part of the "Singapore Writer's Festival 2013, Words Go Round"
Her interests outside of magic include art, origami, motor-cross racing and violin.[4][27][42]
Ning believes in charity work and has worked on projects for the Children’s Cancer Foundation.[14][16][19][123] She has adopted a Mongolian Boy through World Vision.[19][27][61]
As the ambassador for Power Over Cervical Cancer (POCC) Campaign in Singapore,[148] Ning also helps to spread the word on Cervical Cancer and lends her support to the POCC Campaign.
Ning is also a featured personality for the Singapore Coke Zero advertorial which appeared in the 1024 issue of 8 DAYS that was released on 3 June 2010.[149] She was also the ambassador for LG Mobile Asia in 2010.[150]
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