We recently connected with Dakota Priest and have shared our conversation below.

Dakota, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Learning magic is about 10% technique, 10% ability, and 80% crowd control. While I can do amazing things in front of an audience, no matter how large, my focus is always on making them smile and basically telling them when to do so. While some starting magicians get caught up in doing the trick right, the experienced ones understand that the audience is there to EXPERIENCE a show, not to watch one. I’ve never really had many obstacles to getting better besides lack of time to practice. I’ve had some equipment that I couldn’t quite afford, but there’s always plenty to do with a simple deck of cards.

Dakota, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As a black, trans illusionist, I work most through breaking barriers in the performance world. There are only a very countable handful of us, and I plan to make that number larger. Anyone that studies under me first learns that the goal of a magic performance is not to “do a trick right”, but to bring joy to the audience. I started off as a very poor girl from West Baltimore, living in the most urban part of the city. If I can begin from nothing with a deck of cards, then literally anyone can come up in my craft, given that they work for what they can do. Magic, while seeming otherworldly, is attainable by all.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Honestly, it was mostly luck. While consistent and accurate posting definitely helps, it’s basically the luck of the draw to go viral. I’ve done that about 4 times now; none of it necessarily due to my own will, talent, or ability. I’m a magician, an author, and a battle rapper, so when intersecting all these, I suppose I was bound to go viral at some point. I think my greatest claim to fame was that I learned how to “eat coins”. I have never seen another magician do this, and I made it my own.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

As far as resources, I was never able to afford many books or videos. Even the ones I owned were difficult to get through with family life. However, during the times I took to practice my art, I surrounded myself with the greats of my craft. So I was always getting advice and feedback from those like Spencer Horsman, Adam Stone, Vince Wilson, and the late Denny Haney. I believe that their face-to-face help assisted me much more than any book or video could. I would suggest that anyone coming up in their acquired field would seek out those who are already in that field.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @DraccnusShock
• Facebook: @themagicofdakota
• Twitter: @magicofdakota
• Youtube: @themagicofdakota

Image Credits

I took this photo myself