Vienna · Lower Austria · Austria
A mystery to share between waltz and dessert.
Congress dinner, palace gala or Christmas party: in Vienna, Isma Zmerli gathers your guests around mentalism and close-up magic, in English or French.
5.0 on Google (500+ reviews) · In English or French · Response within 24 hours, no commitment.
Choose your format
Vienna combines international congresses, a long ball season and company celebrations in historic palaces. A delegates’ reception, a gala in a state room and a team evening at a Heuriger each call for a different approach.
Receptions and delegate dinners
During a reception, Isma joins small groups and performs right in front of them: a thought guessed, an object that changes places, a choice predicted. With delegates from many countries, few words are needed, in English or French.
Usually one to three hours, depending on attendance.
Galas in historic halls
Between courses or before the dancing, a feature of 20 to 45 minutes gathers the room around one mystery, with volunteers drawn from your guests. It suits a gala in a palace ballroom as well as a hotel banquet.
A microphone and a performance area are required.
Innovation and tech
For tech conferences, start-up events or a digital strategy day, Isma, an artificial intelligence engineer, shows how algorithms predict our choices, and where they get it wrong. See the AI keynote and the AI magic show.
Made for tech conferences and strategy days.
Tell Isma about your audience and running order: he will help you choose, with no commitment. For a company event, see also corporate magician and mentalist.
Vienna and its surroundings
Vienna is about two hours from Paris by air, and Railjet trains link the airport with Wien Hauptbahnhof in around 15 minutes. Isma performs in English or French, which suits a city that is home to UN offices, the OSCE and OPEC, and many international teams.
International congresses
Next to the UN’s Vienna International Centre, the Austria Center Vienna hosts large congresses such as the European Congress of Radiology and, each spring, the EGU General Assembly. VIECON, the former Messe Wien by the Prater, takes conventions and fairs.
Imperial settings
The Hofburg Vienna rents out historic state rooms such as the Festsaal and the Grosser Redoutensaal for congresses, balls and galas, and the grand hotels along the Ringstraße host company dinners all year round.
Vineyards and the Danube
A team evening at a Heuriger, one of the wine taverns on the city’s vineyard slopes, is a Viennese classic. As close-up requires no stage, it fits a garden table under the vines as easily as a private room or a boat on the Danube.
Innere Stadt, Leopoldstadt, Landstraße, Wieden, Mariahilf, Josefstadt, Alsergrund, Döbling, Donaustadt and the Donau City, Favoriten around the Hauptbahnhof
Baden bei Wien, Klosterneuburg, Mödling, the Wachau valley with Dürnstein and Melk, St. Pölten and Lake Neusiedl
Bratislava, about an hour away, as well as Linz, Graz and Salzburg
Good to know: the Viennese ball season runs from December to the end of the carnival, with a peak in January, and the Hofburg and the palace ballrooms are reserved far in advance for balls. If your gala or company party falls in that period, book the venue before anything else.
What clients say
Corporate event · Mentalism
★★★★★
“A huge thank you to Isma! An incredible performance: our clients absolutely loved it. Professional, astonishing and incredibly friendly. We recommend him wholeheartedly!”
Corporate event · VIP guests
★★★★★
“Isma is fascinating and charismatic: the perfect experience and wow factor for our event with VIP guests. We were all amazed by his talent, and the guests are still talking about it.”
Company plenary · 200 employees
★★★★★
“Everyone loved the entertainment! […] He was very accommodating and tailored his performance to our company’s needs and industry.”
Meet Isma
On stage or up close with your guests, Isma turns surprise into an experience people share.
The art of capturing attention and getting your guests involved.
Trained in machine learning and deep learning.
A master’s degree exploring perception, attention and decision-making.
Easy to organise
One conversation is enough to get started, even if your programme is still taking shape.
Your questions
No. Isma performs in English or French only. Vienna’s congresses and international organisations largely run in English, a good match for the stage show; for an audience that speaks only German, close-up is the safer choice, because the effects happen in the guests’ own hands.
Yes: welcome receptions, sponsor dinners and evening events for delegates are good moments for close-up, and a stage feature can open a gala dinner. Share the congress programme so the timing fits between sessions.
Yes. Close-up entertains guests during the reception and between dances without interrupting the orchestra, and a short stage feature can become the centrepiece of the evening. Check with the venue that a microphone is available for that part.
Yes, in Lower Austria and beyond: Baden bei Wien, Klosterneuburg, the Wachau wineries, Lake Neusiedl, and Bratislava just across the Slovak border. Mention the venue in your enquiry.
Company Christmas parties, the Weihnachtsfeier, take place in late November and December, while the Christmas markets on Rathausplatz and in front of Schönbrunn Palace are open. A pairing that works well: close-up over drinks, then a brief stage moment ahead of the meal.
Close-up generally lasts one to three hours, depending on the number of guests; a stage feature runs from 20 to 45 minutes. Both can be spread across the evening.
Format, duration, guest numbers and date, plus the trip from Paris, which is set out in the quote. Send the details of your event and Isma replies with a proposal within 24 hours.
Let’s talk about your event
Share your date, venue and programme for a quote, or ask which format would suit your guests.
Reply within 24 hours.
Across Europe and beyond: a selection of our recent dates.
