"Illusionists are talented magicians who have trained hard to develop a secret slight of hand that most people cannot see," according to veteran equilibrist and jury member Nguyen Thi Tam Chinh.

The competition will include white magic and black magic, and tricks with props and without props.

"White magic is only beneficial to the caster or others, such as healing and divination, while black magic is meant to cause harm to another person, what might be called a curse or a hex," explained Hoang Minh Khanh, head of the Viet Nam Circus Arts and Vaudeville Secondary School.

Magicians will perform 13 repertoires in total that will be judged by five jurors, including veteran illusionist Bao Thu.

Thu is a member of the International Magicians Society, and was awarded a Doctor of Magic Degree Certification
last October.

Born in 1944, the magician became famous at the age of 16. In the 1960s, he travelled to Europe to learn from old masters, and at the end of that decade he was honoured to be recognised as a professor of magic by the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM).

He has trained many talented magicians including Z27, Bao Linh and Huynh Phuoc.

"Many Vietnamese magicians have been trained by me, and we really work together as brothers," he explained.

"We support each other and I have introduced many of them to the IBM."