Mark Kalin

The Mark Kalin Years

Mark wanted to be a puppeteer until one day, at age 9, when he looked on a shelf at the library and found a book on magic. ?I enjoyed the puppets, but the idea of magic really intrigued me. I tried to do a few tricks and found out it was something that I could master?. Ten years later, as a young man, he was recognized as one of the top magicians in the world. Kalin performed around the globe, bringing his innovative routines to theaters, casinos and clubs.

That was when he met a performer named Jinger Leigh. Jinger had taken dance lessons when she was four, and by age fifteen she was working as a professional dancer. She worked for companies like Disney, Fuji Television and in Southern California dinner theaters. At a resort in Guam she met Mark Kalin, and was instantly impressed by his magic and his rapport with the audience.

The Kalin & Jinger Years

As they began working together, Jinger became an integral part of the show?. ?From the start, I realized that those standard ?magician?and?assistant? roles just didn?t fit us,? Mark explains.? ?We had to find a special combination that made the most of our performances and created our own sort of magic.? Their signature illusions?the Fire Spiker, Circle of Fire, and their amazing Sawing in Half illusion?combined with a unique performing style quickly earned them a reputation among audiences and professional magicians alike.
In the 90s, they began creating their own shows. ?Before Your Very Eyes,? ?Carnival of Wonders,? and ?Illusionarium,? garnered accolades throughout the entertainment industry and set records at showrooms across the United States. Working with comedy magicians Jeff Hobson and Mark Kornhhauser, these performances were more than critical successes; they were experiments in magic that allowed Kalin and Jinger to explore different presentations and utilize their combined skills. ?Carnival of Wonders,? for example, packed all the fun of a traveling carnival into an evening of entertainment, hinting at dark mysteries and deeper wonders that surround us in our everyday life. It was a surprising vision for a magic show, incorporating dance and character to create an emotional bond with the audience. When their show came to Reno, Nevada, it was voted the city?s best production, and audiences returned again and again. In the summer of 2008, Kalin & Jinger returned to Atlantic City with their newest production, ?Real Magic?.

Whether appearing on network television, at the most exclusive, high-powered corporate functions, or within the framework of their own?theatrical?stage productions, Mark Kalin & Jinger Leigh are respected around the world as powerful performers and creative, trend-setting producers.