Performers use animals, sleight of hand, to dazzle audiences, fans

Often times, magic is a game of eye versus mind. Seeing is not always believing, however, as is the case with these six mystifying performers.

1. The Masked Magician
There’s nothing romantic about Val Valentino. Completely derivative of those who came before him, this second-hand illusionist simply cannot keep a secret. Having made a career of spilling the magic beans, so to speak, Valentino views his work as a means of interesting children in his craft. More recently, he inked a deal with MyNetworkTV to reveal even more tricks of the trade, which is sure to go over well with his cohorts.

2. Siegfried & Roy
German-born Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn seem to have an easier time communicating with animals than they do their own audiences. With accents as cute as the white tigers used in the live shows, the Vegas duo is perhaps best known for their questionable choice of dress and the 2003 incident which left Horn unable to continue the act.

3. David Copperfield
Don’t invite David Copperfield to your party – he’ll make your inhibitions disappear. Magic’s resident expert storyteller has hit the skids in recent years, which goes to show that even though you can make Lady Liberty vanish into thin air, you are still not free to do as you please. In 2006, he evaded a mugging by using sleight of hand, and last year he pulled out of 48 shows due to the rape charges he faced. Abra-cadabra, you’re being sued.

4. Penn & Teller
Almost the polar opposites of Siegfried and Roy, the two “anti-magicians” got their start in the 1970s with a number of hokey stage shows that defined their partnership. Today they can be spotted on HBO’s critically-acclaimed, critical thought-provoking documentary, “Bulls***!” Crassly titled, the program debunks common myths and misconceptions, all the while keeping with the theme of being lewd, loud and hilarious for the camera.

5. David Blaine
Brooklyn’s elite magic man, Blaine has been buried alive, frozen alive and drowned alive, living to tell about each made-for-TV stunt directly afterward. Despite disappointing in his latest conquest, “Dive of Death,” he continues to captivate the same audiences who tune in only for the off-chance of seeing him parish in a nationally televised blaze of glory.

6. Criss Angel
If David Blaine is this generation’s Houdini, then Criss Angel is surely akin to Copperfield. Much of the Mindfreak’s wizardry is similar, if not a carbon copy of Copperfield’s masterwork, only on a smaller scale. By making a Lamborghini disappear, as well as a levitation spot that was clearly camera-aided, Angel has proved to both his predecessor and fans that his illusions are far from heaven-sent.

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