Helder Guimaraes Lecture - Fri., May 25th - 7:00 PM

Born in 1982, in Porto, Portugal, Helder Guimarães soon became interested in unusual knowledge. At age 4 he became fascinated by magic and prestidigitation, giving his first public performance in kindergarten! Later his interest broadened into areas such as lateral-thinking and optical illusions. At 12 he was entering different national and international competitions,  and has now been awarded 15 different prizes in some of the world’s most prestigious events. In 2004 he became the first Portuguese person to win the Ascanio Prize.

His work distinguishes itself through the right fusion between prestidigitation, psychology and humor. His International reputation was confirmed when, in 2006, he won the highest award that can be given in magic, being crowned Magic World Champion. Again, he is the only Portuguese person to have received this distinction to date.

Since then, his shows have traveled the world. He has performed in more than 15 different countries including Japan, the United States, England, Argentina, Finland, South Korea, Switzerland, Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands. His professional activity is divided between this artistic, performance based component and an educational one. Helder also travels around the world as an instructor/consultant offering training based on his experience in the manipulation of perceptions to help companies in areas such as communication and marketing. He also performs for private parties and company events,  including some of the Forbes 500 companies.