The Magical Element of Pinky Loo

THERE is a very good chance that you would have met Pinky Loo at the opening ceremony of some shopping mall or at some VIP’s grand birthday bash, but hers is not an easy face to recognise. But, then, this is not surprising, as the 21-year-old usually has her face hidden behind a mask.

Loo, a fair, slender beauty who hails from Kuala Selangor, is a magician who practices the ancient art of mask changing, which she affirmed has been her strongest act for the last four years.

There would be more to come, Loo promised when we met at the apartment of her boyfriend’s parents in Ampang. Mark Yong, 24, is also a magician by profession, and the pair had hit it off during a show. The duo has been collaborating under the name of Vivas Magic for three years now, and they have a pet Maltese which they have named Little White.

Collaboration: Loo and Young form a formidable act as Vivas Magic.

“It is very difficult to form a partnership when you’re a magician – there is always the fear that one’s act will be stolen by an unscrupulous partner, who will then become a direct competitor. But then, there is the advantage of strength in numbers, and a partnership means a bigger and more exciting act. That is why, at times, one cannot be held back by doubt,” surmised Loo on the business aspect of her profession.

And, no, magicians cannot wave away their troubles with their magic wands. One example was the mess of costumes and props in the living room that had to be cleared before Yong’s mother, a teacher, returned from school.

“Magic is all about fooling the audience. There is no enchantment or witchcraft involved. It’s just a matter of the hand being faster than the eye – an illusion, to be precise. In reality, a lot of body skills and hidden physical movements are involved,” Loo said, adding with a sigh that housekeeping still had to be done the normal way.

A former student of Chung Hwa Chinese school in Sasaran, Kuala Selangor, Loo, the eldest of four siblings, said she would never have opted for any other career, except for one in showbiz. Her father Jack Loo, 48, a show promoter who is known for bringing acrobatic acts from China, had exposed Loo to magic tricks from a very young age.

“My father would take me to the trick shops and it was like being let loose in a toy store because he’d buy a whole lot of trick sets for me to practise on. By the time I was 16, I was ready to go on stage with a simple repertoire of appearing and vanishing acts,” recalled Loo.

But, when she was 16, Loo watched a mask-changing act that her father had brought from China.

“I was totally mesmerised with the speed of the mask-changing performers. This was when my father decided to send me to Hebei, China, for half a month to learn the technique,” recalled Loo.

After about a month of practice, Loo was convinced of her ability and took to the stage ... only to bungle in her first performance.

“I got a friend to stand in one corner so that she could signal me. A nod would mean that all had turned out well; a shake of the head meant that nothing had changed.

“To my utter horror, she kept on shaking her head. I was at my wit’s end but I kept on strutting around the stage. Finally, I had to forgo the entire show. Luckily, the audience thought that it was just an act and didn’t realise that the masks had not changed,” she recalled.

Later, Loo discovered that the constant pressing of her headgear before she went on stage had caused the inner mechanics to malfunction. It was a mistake that she would not repeat in her subsequent performances.

Loo surmised that her foray into the entertainment world as a magician had begun with a desire to be “different”. Psychologically, it might have had something to do with the fact that Loo’s mother, Kua Wan Bee, now 44, had been a popular singing artiste in the 1980s and had recorded seven albums in Mandarin and Hokkien, and that Loo wanted to present an act more breathtaking than what Mum used to do. On a simpler level, however, Loo attributed her career choice to the typical path of a modern girl who thrives on her own individuality.

“I like the idea of being in charge of my own destiny. I want to be able to determine and execute the concepts for my shows, be in charge,” Loo stressed.

And, one aspect on which Loo had worked was to give the mask-changing act a modern feel, by replacing the traditional-style Chinese masks with a more contemporary harlequin kind of look. Loo does not see this as defying tradition but rather, as her way of honouring the advice of her mask-changing sifu: that, “In life, you must always go and seek out new things and new ways of doing things.”

There can be no doubt that Loo has taken this advice to heart. In addition to learning new magic tricks, the computer studies graduate, who has a penchant for sushi and Kentucky Fried Chicken, also has plans to brush up on her English.

“One day, when I go up on stage to receive the award for being the best magician, I don’t want to just say ‘thank you’ and walk off, but to present a speech which I hope will inspire more girls to join the profession,” Loo revealed. To contact Loo, visit her website at www.vivasmagic.com or call 016-688 8302.