Nunavik magician mesmerizes big city audience

Jimmy Tommy Kumarluk, otherwise known as Jimiini: Magician of the North, performed for crowds at the Toronto International Circus Festival May 16 and 17. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Jimiini, otherwise known as Jimmy Tommy Kumarluk, entertains a crowd of youngsters with his magic tricks May 16 at a circus festival in Toronto. (PHOTO BY RACHEL DAVID)

TORONTO — “Do you believe in the power to read people’s minds?”

It seems like a loaded question, but when Jimmy Tommy Kumarluk asks it, people nod and engage him.

The 17-year-old magician from Kuujjuaraapik, Nunavik’s southernmost community, convinces his audience that they should guess which number he’s thinking of.

The audience member makes her guess: 57, at which point Kumarluk pulls exactly 57 cents from the otherwise empty pockets of his jeans, while eyebrows raise all around him.

When he’s not encouraging people’s psychic skills, Kumarluk, who goes by the stage name Jimiini, has a whole bunch of card tricks up his sleeve, and a wallet that catches fire — although only temporarily.

Kumarluk impressed crowds at the Toronto International Circus Festival May 16 and May 17 — his first time performing at the annual show and, as it happens, to one of his largest audiences ever.

The soft-spoken teen, dressed all in black, got hooked on magic when he was just eight years old after a Montreal magician came to perform in Kuujjuaraapik.

“He was doing really awesome things that everyone liked,” Kumarluk said. “And I wanted to do that too.”

“At the time, I was bullied a lot,” he added. “Mostly, I was trying to gain acceptance. And I also really like the idea of doing something unusual.”

So Kumarluk started working with a deck of cards he found at home, taught himself tricks from watching magicians on television and would then perform for his family and friends.

“And I liked the reaction,” he said. “They encouraged me to do more.”

By the time Nunavik’s Kativik Regional Government launched its Cirqiniq social circus program in 2010, Kumarluk saw the connection between his magic tricks and circus performance.

Kumarluk is now a junior instructor with Cirqiniq, and has gained a reputation across Nunavik for his magic skills.

So when Cirqiniq colleagues mentioned an opportunity to perform in Toronto, he jumped at the chance. While he was in Toronto, Kumarluk also took part in a week-long mentorship program for young artists called the Circus Sessions.

While Jimiini has travelled and performed throughout Nunavik, Nunavut and even through southern Quebec, the Toronto festival in the country’s largest city posed a new challenge.

Jimiini had to do a “walk-about” for the first time, where performers wander through the crowd and try to engage audiences on their feet.

“I normally like to joke and play around, but I was a little bit tight here,” he admitted.

One of Jimiini’s Cirqiniq trainers, Rachel David, said that street performance skills are important ones to learn — especially for Northern performers who don’t always have access to that kind of venue.

“A big part of it is getting feedback from people,” David said. “And the more gigs you do, the more comfortable you get.”

But David, who watched Jimiini’s Toronto performances, said he had the crowd “mesmerized.”

“Jimiini has a really amazing presence,” she said. “He’s a great performer and he really connects with kids.”

Kumarluk will have a chance to try out his newly-developed skills at this year’s Cirqiniq summer camp, to be hosted in Kangiqsualujjuaq.