Show & Tell: Meet Jacklyn Ibarra

Q: How long have you been in "Nathan Burton Comedy Magic"?

A: I've been in it for about six months now. I've done a few other things in Las Vegas. I've danced in a few nightclubs and I also danced in "Bite." I've been living in Vegas now for about 6½ years, on and off.

Q: Have you always been a dancer?

A: I've always been a dancer. I've always loved performing. I grew up dancing, and I actually moved out here to Las Vegas for dance. I studied dance at UNLV.

Q: Did you finish there?

A: I had an opportunity to go elsewhere. I moved to Miami for two years (to be a Miami Heat dance team member).

Q: UNLV probably had already prepared you for rabid basketball fans.

A: Oh yes, I know the Rebels are a big deal (laughs). ...Then I came back here about three years ago.

Q: This is your first magic show. Were you a fan of magic when you joined the show?

A: No, not really. But I am very impressed, actually, with how things are done. I'm always trying to figure things out. It's very exciting to see how everything is done, and Nathan Burton does a very, very good job. His tricks are very exciting.

Q: Do you get to participate in illusions?

A: We do. ... That has nothing to do with dance, I feel, because you're just kind of focusing very hard and working together, working with Nathan and trying to do the best you can. And Nathan's No. 1 goal is magic before dance, so we all have to focus on performing the illusions correctly.

Q: Do you have to sign a secrecy agreement or do a pinkie swear or something like that?

A: (Laughs) No. But (revealing secrets is) just something you don't do.

Q: Has anything ever gone wrong with an illusion onstage?

A: Maybe a few minor things you might not have noticed (laughs). But it's all good.

Q: You're already familiar with crazed sports fans. What are magic fans like?

A: I don't think they really expect to see us there dancing and doing numbers and stuff. But (Burton) does feature us a lot, which is great.

Q: What's your favorite illusion?

A: My favorite illusion, I think, is the first one we open up with. We all appear out of a show box.

Q: You're probably not going to tell us how that works.

A: No (laughs). I don't even know.

Q: But people probably ask you stuff like that all the time, right?

A: Oh, of course. Everybody wants to know. But (not knowing is) what's exciting about it.

Q: Has Nathan taught you any basic tricks, like how to pull a quarter out of somebody's ear?

A: No, I'm not the magician (laughs). But just working with him, you are part of the illusion, so it's kind of exciting.