Dean and Kazia named UK’s Stage Magicians of the Year

Former Coleg Llandrillo students Dean Raymond and Kazia Cannon have been named ‘Stage Magicians of the Year’ by the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM).

Performing as Raymond and Cannon, they beat competition from all over the UK to win the prestigious award at the IBM’s British Ring Magic convention. Dean also won the Rovi Trophy for close-up card magic at the event.

Dean, from Llandudno, and Kazia, from Dolgarrog, both studied Performing Arts at the college’s Rhos-on-Sea campus from 2014 to 2016.

They reunited after university and developed their comedy magic act, recently returning to the UK after a season performing in Spain’s world-famous House of Illusion.

Earlier this month they also made their debut in London’s West End, with more opportunities opening up for the duo following their award.

“It's a very prestigious award,” said Kazia when she came back to college to host a circus skills masterclass for current students.

“We've had to work really hard for it. We competed alongside lots of other magicians and were marked on things like presentation, skill and performativity. So, to have come first has been quite a big achievement.

“It's opened massive doors for us, including the West End, so winning that award has been quite integral for our career and is about to propel us a lot more. It's been really important.”

Kazia has performed in Blackpool Tower Circus and in numerous theatre productions, while Dean has worked as an actor on TV, film and in adverts, as well as in pantomime.

They began performing as magicians in Llandudno’s Magic Bar Live, going on to play venues across the country.

But the chemistry between them was first sparked when they studied Level 3 Performing Arts together at Coleg Llandrillo.

“There are lots of comedy elements between me and Dean,” Kazia said. “We basically just have a lot of fun, and that's kind of what we were doing when we were here (in college).

“We’d just have a lot of fun together - we’d improvise, we’d do lots of different things. And over 10 or 12 years that's accumulated to us going to the West End. So something that started off here has built up and got bigger and bigger.”

Kazia believes the broad skill set she developed at college provided the perfect foundation for her career in the performing arts.

“It gave me so many more elements than just the usual singing, dancing, and acting,” she added.

“College really pushed me to make sure I had extra skill sets. They have a big emphasis here on learning the technical side - lighting, sound, stage management. That's what attracted me to come here, because I didn't want to just be a one-trick pony.

“The facilities are really good - they have a really wonderful big studio space which doubles into a theatre, so it means you can make lots of theatre, try it out for audiences and see what works.

“We're also really lucky that they have a big workshop space, so they're able to build props, create everything and put a set together. So you can see how these things come together to see if that's a route you want to go down.

“And of course the lecturers are very encouraging. Even 10, 12 years later, they’re still very encouraging, and still want to support us if we need anything.”

Kazia said the most important quality she developed at college was confidence, adding: “If you speak to any of the lecturers who were here when I started, I barely spoke. I was very shy.

“But by the end of my two years here I was very, very confident. I gained so many different skill sets from my time here, but the biggest thing I learned was confidence."

Kazia’s advice for current and future students is to “take college for everything you can”, adding: “Take every opportunity that comes, because you don't know which opportunity actually goes further and gives you bigger opportunities.”

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s Performing Arts courses develop a variety of skills, including acting, directing, scripting, performing physical theatre, and preparing for auditions. Learn more here.