Show & Tell: Meet Jacklyn Ibarra
March 16, 2012 - 1:04 am
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.
Meet Jacklyn Ibarra
"Nathan Burton Comedy Magic"
Hometown: Los Angeles
Age: 24