Nationally renowned for his keen ability to hypnotize people, entertainer Tom Deluca baffled and amused a large gathering of students in Wait Chapel on Oct. 9. Deluca, a popular campus performer, has been widely acclaimed in publications like The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone.

Before attending the Student Union-sponsored event, I, like many other cynics in the house, took great pride in maintaining a healthy skepticism regarding Deluca's supposed mesmerizing powers. But when Deluca began to work his magic, I became a convert.

Deluca says of his act, "People always ask me if I am a hypnotist. In turn I tell them about imaginism, the term I coined years ago to describe what I do. Through relaxation and the power of suggestion, I enable people to access the real creative parts of their imagination. I try to get them to use areas that haven't been tapped much ­ if ever."

When the show began, Deluca called for 20 student volunteers, and brought them up on stage to sit in a row of folding chairs. He methodically asked them to close their eyes, loosen their jaws, breathe through their noses and place their feet flat on the floor. He then asked that soft, tranquil music be played, continually snapped his fingers, and asked that the group count backwards from 300.

Incredibly, within minutes the group began nodding off as he asked that they all delve "deeper and deeper" into their imaginations. He talked extremely fast and melodically and for the vast majority of the volunteers on stage, sleep became a reality.

One girl, however, began smirking in disbelief, and he promptly took her off stage.

Deluca set up a wide range of different imaginative scenarios for the hypnotized people, including letting the group believe they were driving in Ferraris.

The volunteers were also winners in the fictional "Mr. And Miss Beautiful Body" competition, and all showed off their finely chiselled bodies, as they flexed their muscles.

One of the highlights of the show occurred when Deluca managed to convince two guys that they were premiere ballet dancers in the New York City Ballet. These two tangoed, pranced, frollicked around, and even embraced each other for a solid five minutes, keeping the audience giggling uncontrollably.