Cuddling next to a stranger, leaping like a frog and dancing like Fergie are just a few things audience volunteers participated in during comedic hypnotist Alan Sand’s performance Thursday.

Sands got into the business of hypnotism through familial connections.

“My father did hypnotism a little bit,” Sands said. “He was a full time magician. He took me around to the different hotels we lived near in the Catskill Mountains in New York, and we would see other hypnotists.”

Sands started out as a magician but quickly decided to pursue hypnotism.

“Hypnosis was far more popular than magic was as far as drawing in larger crowds, so in 1993 I decided to practice it and I was able to really do it by 1997,” Sands said.

Since mastering the craft, Sands has performed his show all over the country.

Sands’ show was presented by MU’s Student Unions Programming Board and was planned by director of Unions Entertainment for the SUPB Jacelyn Miller.

“This event consisted of quite a bit of planning,” Miller said. “Last semester we set the date for the event and reserved the room and at the beginning of this semester. We began contacting different hypnotists to see who was interested and worked with the marketing team to create flyers and other ways of promoting the event.”

In Memorial Union’s Stotler Lounge, Sands hypnotized 12 audience members, leaving the rest of the audience in stitches and the participants in abashment.

“I didn’t think the hypnosis was going to work on me,” freshman Melinda McMahon said. “After the show was over, I had no idea what I had been doing.”

Another participant, freshman Jen Tomashek, decided to volunteer despite her skepticism.

“I knew I wanted to volunteer through watching hypnotists,” Tomashek said. “I thought they were faking it. I quickly learned that everything felt real.”

Miller said she hoped the crowd would have a positive response to Sands’ performance.

“Before the event, I hoped the audience would be willing to participate and would leave feeling like they had genuinely enjoyed the show,” she said.

After the event, numerous audience members had similar reactions to the hypnotist.

“I thought it was great,” senior Mo McClain said. “It was hilarious.”

Other audience members were eager to give their positive input.

“I’ve seen hypnotist shows before,” senior Kim McCune said. “I thought this one was real and very interesting. I had a good and entertaining experience.”

In the end, that is what Sands said he really wanted to accomplish.

“I hope people get absolutely nothing but entertainment from this show,” he said.