IT ALL started with a show of disappearing coins, performed by a father for his daughter. And unlike other biological sciences students, the daughter, Adeline Ng, was just as happy being surrounded with balls and puppets as with test tubes.

A second-year Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student, Adeline now juggles her time between biochemistry classes in school and performing in magic shows.

Yes. Adeline juggles - and in the literal sense of the word too. And she knows magic, balloon sculpting and ventriloquism as well.

Her versatility in different forms of entertainment resulted in her being chosen as one of the party hosts on Mighty Magic Factory, a new joint venture company between magic production house Concept: Magic and online magic shop Magic Boutique.

Adeline's passion for magic was fuelled by a series of unexpected events: a coin trick by her father and, subsequently, a book entitled The Practical Encyclopaedia of Magic by Nicholas Einhorn.

"It was after my O levels," Adeline recalls. "I saw the book and decided to pick it up for my own Christmas present." That book sparked an interest in magic which has lasted way beyond that Christmas five years ago.

The biological sciences student has certainly come a long way since then. Besides being one of the featured "edutainers" of Mighty Magic Factory, Adeline is also its project executive, and operations executive of Magic Boutique.

Recently, she performed at The Business Times Budding Artists Fund Camp organised by The Arts House.

Last month, Adeline was involved in a micro magic convention on presenting magic to children. An upcoming children's theatre production in March is also on the cards.

But far from neglecting her studies because of her increasingly heavy involvement in magic, Adeline prioritises her time and has plans to create a science-themed magic show for children's edutainment.

"In this instance, my in-depth knowledge of science directly applies to my magic. So teaching the children about science in the show is valid because it comes from somebody who's educated in science."

Donning a laboratory coat-inspired, superhero-themed costume, Adeline seems to embody the characteristics of her onstage personality, the Kinetic Gal. But she reveals that her secondary school friends were surprised when she became a magician since she used to be "quite quiet back then".

Besides becoming more outspoken, Adeline reckons that magic has taught her many things. She explains: "You would think that we just perform and that's it. But that's really not all. I learnt to deal with people like demanding parents and frantic event organisers."

But the biggest challenge Adeline faces is being a professional female entertainer in a male-dominated industry. While paying tribute to one of her mentors, Magic Babe Ning, the first professional female magician here, for having broken the glass ceiling, Adeline feels that she herself is breaking new ground in the children's edutainment market, which is a different market from Ning's.

Another challenge is probably to convince her mother of her desire to pursue her magic passion professionally. Adeline hopes to show her mother how serious she is about this with her upcoming projects at Mighty Magic Factory. But she is still grateful for her parents' moral and financial support of her passion so far.

Adeline feels that it is her strong passion for magic, and the sense of fulfilment she gets on seeing the children's joy when she performs, that keep her going.

Asked what she does with the money she earns (she charges $400 per show), Adeline replies without hesitation: "I invest it right back in. Well, it is to get more resources to build up our show, that's what we always do. Because we want a better show every time we perform, and to give our customers better value."

As for the difference between her onstage personality and her own personality, Adeline says: "I feel that the onstage character is me, but it's a different part of me. I try to classify them differently. While on stage, I am Kinetic Gal - I'm supposed to be bright, spunky and kinetically charged, as the name suggests, while at home I still keep a low profile."

Despite having been interested in magic since she was young, Adeline says: "It didn't actually cross my mind that I could be a magician in Singapore. But I guess as things went along, I realised that it was possible and feasible, and that's when I dived into the passion."

She reveals that she had thought of becoming a policewoman, teacher or scientist when she was younger. "You'll never know what life has in store for us, but I guess I've pretty much decided on the path I want to take ... I'm not so fickle-minded as when I was younger."