‘America’s Got Talent’ spiritualist star creates ‘Las Vegas-style’ living experience in Abu Dhabi

James Harrington has dreamed of wowing audiences with his tricks since he was 6 years old.And, this week, he surpassed those ambitions Impress the judges and millions of viewers America’s Got Talent.

He and his wife Marina Liani, who live in Dubai and met on an online dating app in 2017, started Mind2Mind five months later after realizing they had a deep “emotional connection”.

“The best way to explain it is when you get close enough to someone, you start completing their sentences,” Harrington said. “We decided to see how far we could go. I always thought it would be cool if we could say whole sentences instead of just finishing each other’s sentences.

“It can be defined as an unspoken language that somehow connects us all, and to acquire that skill one just needs to learn that language.”

The act takes advantage of this connection, and they are careful not to call themselves “psychics”, but psychologists who perform a variety of incredible techniques.

superior America’s Got TalentFor example, Liani demonstrated “remote reading of minds.” She stood outside with showrunner Terry Crews, with Harrington holding Judge Sofia Vergara’s phone. Liani goes on to determine the correct percentage of battery remaining in the phone.

The pair then invited viewers to think about positive personal memories and write them down on a piece of paper. With one in hand, Judge Heidi Klum recalled that memory, while Liany successfully recounted it.

The panel gave four affirmations and a standing ovation.

While Harrington, 38, turned his childhood obsession with magic into a career at the age of 18, former flydubai crew member Liani never set foot on stage before meeting her husband.

Harrington has been performing close-up magic in Dubai since moving to the UAE 14 years ago, but it’s also new to him. The pair worked eight to 10 hours a day for several months before they took the stage together for the first time.

They have been practicing at Friday brunch in Abu Dhabi, where Harrington works. He started taking Liani to gigs, and the first time they performed, Liani did something called a “second glance,” where she described blindfolded objects that were taken out of people’s pockets at random.

“I distinctly remember seeing the audience’s reaction and knowing we had something special,” Harrington said. “Marina’s confidence grew slowly from there.”

Their first stage performance was for the Middle East Channel Awards held at the Armani Hotel in Dubai in October 2018.

“I still remember our first show,” recalls Liani. “James was so supportive and it helped my nerves. I was shaking after that – the buzz and the adrenaline was addicting.”

In 2019, they traveled to Harrington’s hometown of England to perform Britain’s Got Talentwhere they taught Simon Cowell how to read the thoughts of fellow judge Amanda Holden.

Since then, they have also appeared in Ukraine’s Got Talentbecause Liani is from Ukraine, where they got the golden buzzer, putting them on the fast track to the 2021 live show.

Harrington doesn’t speak Ukrainian, and it’s their first time performing for a non-English-speaking audience, but the magic clearly transcends language barriers.

“As soon as we were done, the audience started chanting ‘knopka,'” recalls Harrington. “I didn’t know what that meant, so I asked Marina and she whispered ‘they want the judge to press the golden buzzer.'” Judge Ksenia Prkhatskaya then stood up and actually pressed it.

“It’s all vague, but to say this was one of my proudest moments would be an understatement.”

In the final, Harrington studied the entire performance in Ukrainian. “He spent a month working every waking hour,” Liani said. “When the time came, I couldn’t be more proud. His Ukrainian language, on that stage, in front of my country, family and friends, was flawless. The judge on the show who most resembled Simon Cowell said: ‘James, yours Ukrainian is better than some of our politicians”.

The duo didn’t win — that honor belongs to 14-year-old singer Artem Fesko — but they weren’t prevented from entering America’s Got Talent when they were asked to audition.

“exist AGT The stage was fantastic, the show production team was so well organized, and our two days there were like clockwork,” Liani said. “As you can imagine, it felt bigger, Even scarier. Host Terry Crews is lovely. During our performance, he stood outside the theater with me, very reassuring. He even offered to run over and get me a coffee, which was a very sweet gesture. “

Harrington said he was actually looking forward to seeing the tough Judge Cowell again, “I know he likes the behavior,” but it also brought a certain amount of nervousness. “We always felt like we were risking our careers because we knew these shows could go wrong and bad auditions could ruin everything we worked for, but still… No regrets taking the risk and moving forward. Luckily, we’ve done well so far.”

Offscreen, the duo’s other career highlights include performing for tennis star Novak Djokovic, who now “occasionally chats with us on Instagram,” and for American Magic after his Las Vegas gig Teacher Criss Angel performs backstage. “He invited us to his green room, where we chatted and showed part of our performance,” Liani said. “He was so nice and it was absolutely exciting to get glowing comments from one of the biggest legends in magic. .”

Back in Dubai, Mind2Mind regularly hosts corporate shows, but is planning “the first spiritualist theatre show” in the UAE.

“As far as I know, the only permanent theatre location in the UAE is La Perle,” Harrington said. “In the past, theaters had one-off magicians and psychologists. What we’re doing is a long-term, Las Vegas-style product. A show that visitors and residents have the opportunity to see year-round.”

They hope to start the show in November at the Royal Suite at the Park Hyatt Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. “The show will be an intimate night of souls tentatively titled Connected,” Harrington said.

In the short term, we still need to understand their America’s Got Talent live performance. “Unfortunately, we’re bound by a nondisclosure agreement about the nature of what’s to come, but please be aware of this space,” Liani said.

They do have another trick, though. “We’re going to Vegas soon and start doing some super exciting things,” she said.

No matter how famous they are, Harrington is sure they will call Dubai home for years to come. “It’s an amazing place with huge opportunities for growth,” he added.

Updated: August 5, 2022 at 9:06 am