Magician Juliana Chen speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Los Angeles, the United States on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)
Chen's mission in the magic industry goes beyond perfecting her own performances. She also seeks to inspire and train younger generations of magicians and share more of China's unique culture with the rest of the world.
by Julia Pierrepont III, Gao Shan
LOS ANGELES, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Juliana Chen, a Chinese-born, world champion magician, was honored Thursday night at the 55th annual Academy of Magical Arts (AMA) Awards Show in Los Angeles, taking home the trophy of Performing Fellowship Award.
The show was held at the historic The Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles featuring first-class performances with a global perspective by some of the world's best magicians.
"She has become an ambassador of magic between China and the West," said the AMA, one of the world's preeminent magical organizations, in its certificate of merit to Chen.
The AMA was founded to promote the art and the positive image of magic and magicians worldwide. Their awards pay homage to the skill, creativity, and dedication displayed by magicians who continue to push the boundaries of the craft.
Recipients of the AMA Performing Fellowship award are the performers who have made an impact on the art of magic. Cardini, a world-renowned magician, was the first to receive the award in 1968, followed by performers such as Jose Frakson, Richiardi Jr., and Marvyn & Carol Roy.
"It is a great honor to be the first magician of Chinese origin to receive the Performing Fellowship Award from the Academy of Magical Arts. This is not only a personal affirmation for me, but also for Chinese magicians," she told Xinhua Thursday night.
Chen was born in Hunan Province, in central China. In her youth, she was trained as a ballerina and acrobat, but after several injuries, she pivoted to eventually become a world-class magician instead.
She has performed all over the world and won many awards. In 1997, she became the first woman and magician of Chinese heritage to win the World Championship at the World Congress of Magicians, one of the most respected organizations in the magic community of the world.
Chinese Canadian magician Juliana Chen performs card magic in Tigerpalast Variete in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 09, 2014. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
"I have won multiple awards at the top world magic competitions, but this is the first time I have won an academy award," Chen noted.
She incorporates many Chinese elements into her performances, making use of such traditional art forms as "face changing," which originated in China's southwestern Sichuan Province.
Chen's mission in the magic industry goes beyond perfecting her own performances. She also seeks to inspire and train younger generations of magicians and share more of China's unique culture with the rest of the world.
She has helped to establish China's first magic association and is helping to bring world-renowned magicians to China from the West and send outstanding Chinese magicians out to the world.
"Young Chinese magicians have made rapid progress and reached a very high level, on track to make a leap from imitation to originality," she said.
"I look forward to making more contributions to the training of Chinese magic talents and helping them go abroad," she added.■
