I have always been a fan of cups and balls, especially unique ones such as Mariano Goni’s. This routine uses 1 cup and 3 balls made of modelling clay. The routine starts with the performers VERY cleanly placing the 2 balls into the cup one at a time and keeping the 3rd ball away. The 3rd ball then re-appears inside the cup. This is repeated like the standard 2 in the hand 1 in the pocket type of routine, this happens for a few times until the last phase where a big ball appears as final load.
I need to use Rene Lavand’s Cup and Ball routine as comparison as they are both very alike. They look very similar except for the last part where Goni’s have a final load and Lavand’s balls all disappears. In Lavand’s routine, he doesn’t use any gimmicks. Goni’s uses gimmicks.
What I like about Goni’s routine is the clever way the routine is constructed. The gimmick is nothing new but it is very cleverly used. It helps to keep the ball in and release the ball as and when you like. Goni’s routine looks cleaner but the downside of the routine is that you have to sit down to perform and prep the table before performance. Lavand’s routine uses bread that is rolled into a ball, thus you can perform it anywhere and even impromptu.
I was really intrigued by Goni’s routine initially but after comparing it with Rene Lavand’s routine, I think the gimmick used in Goni’s routine to achieve a cleaner look is rather negligible. I like both but given a choice, I’d use Rene Lavand’s routine.
Rating 7.5/10. Its still a good routine, if you like playing with gimmicks, thus might be for you.