An internal exodus: An inside look on Harry Houdini

Nearly two years ago, on a quiet evening, Nadya Timofeyeva, the artistic director of the Jerusalem Ballet Company, dived into the vortex of YouTube. In several videos, the choreographer and founder of Jerusalem Ballet came upon a short film about Harry Houdini.

 “His death was so stupid, so senseless,” she told The Jerusalem Post over the phone. Not knowing exactly where it would lead, Timofeyeva researched Houdini’s life and career. What she found inspired a new ballet, Houdini. 

“His story really touched my heart,” she said. He was born to a religious Jewish family and was an athlete. He started studying at a young age and was deeply affected by everything around him. He worked so hard and made this enormous leap to be a showman. He managed, in a short time, to become famous throughout the world, in a time without the Internet. 

He had to be a marketing genius. He did all this with his body, and his training was intense. He had a very special life and roots and was a very special person. I saw his story more as an internal story about how each of us is trying to escape some situation.

There’s the side of the Exodus: He was trying to escape not just from those chains but the internal ones. His whole life was an exodus.”

Eighteen months ago, Timofeyeva, trained at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy (officially the Moscow State Academy of Choreography), entered the dance studio with six dancers. Each troupe member was assigned a specific role.

By referencing key points in Houdini’s life, the choreographer created a narrative arc that guides the dance progression.

“Houdini is danced by Michael Botok, an incredible performer. His mother is played by Oryan Yochanan. She is an amazing dancer who has a classical base but later worked with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company. She is also a choreographer and a teacher. She’s an amazing person. She contributes very special colors to the piece. 

“Alexander Shevtzov plays Houdini’s father. We’ve been working together for ten years. He’s a fantastic dancer and a great partner. Each one brings their quality to the piece. Anael Zateikin plays Houdini’s wife.

I have another personality, Houdini’s friend Dmitry Shem Tov – they were together in his exploits. He [the dancer is new to Israel, was a soloist in Ballet Eichmann, and brings himself. Each one is more than a classical or modern dancer. 

They are all very versatile. I can use contemporary and classical movements, giving me many colors to draw. I like to make collages using many different colors and languages.” Timofeyeva threw in the Angel of Death as an additional character. 

Playing with death his whole life

“I felt that his whole life, he was playing with death. He always felt that he could escape it. He had such a high tolerance for pain and control of his body, and it was very hard for him to imagine that something could kill him,” she said.

In the end, a combination of untreated appendicitis and a blow to the abdomen killed Houdini, which, in Timofeyeva’s eyes, was senseless, if not a tad poetic. 

All of this is set to an eclectic playlist compiled by Timofeyeva over hours of mixing and matching. “I edit the music alone. I can’t work with composers because building the creation is like doing a puzzle with a thousand pieces.

I can’t even explain it. Each part needs something different. The score is a collage that includes Ravel, Yiddishe Mamma, Strauss, and Benjamin Yusupov. There are also parts with no music. The dancers perform it in their own rhythm as they feel it in the moment,” explained Timofeyeva. 

All told Houdini is 80 minutes of narrative dancing that Timofeyeva hopes will give the audience something to think about beyond their time in the theater.

“It’s not a ballet show; it’s an interdisciplinary show. I use ballet, modern, and contemporary. I have a lot of loves, you can say. I like different things. I think what came out is very original, and I hope it will be an experience for the audience.”

Houdini will be performed by the Jerusalem Ballet at the Rebecca Crown Theater on June 4 at 8:30 pm. For more information, jerusalemballet.com