The Other Side of Houdini

By Lina Goncharsky

You’ll never guess what the Angel of Death really looks like.

Turns out, it’s a clock hand.

Dressed in white, with a flawless figure, and – surprise! – it’s not a “he” but a “she.” But the most important detail? She’s a clock hand en pointe.

Mind you, this is the hour hand, not the minute hand, and certainly not the frantic second hand. Death is deliberate, unhurried, and expansive – it even grants you one last dance. And oh, this angelic being is breathtakingly beautiful; there’s no reason to fear her.

In fact, I asked her name.

Nastya Korneyeva.

Yes, really. Not the familiar grim faces from Bosch’s paintings, not the whispering specters of Dante’s Inferno, but a white-clad beauty, like Grace Kelly gracing a forgotten glossy magazine from the ‘50s – unreachably ethereal. And this clock-hand ballerina seems to offer, with a gentle hint of reproach: “Come with me; I’ll show you eternity.”

I’d have never guessed this concept if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes in Nadya Timofeyeva’s new ballet, Houdini: The Other Side.

As of now, this is undoubtedly her opus magnum – flawless from head to toe, from choreography to music, with its vibrating soundscapes that echo the surreal spires and alleys of de Chirico’s paintings. From the costumes to the masks, from every dancer to every ballerina – every movement is a marvel of invention and fantasy. Nadya has created steps you’ve never seen before. The pas de trois is beyond imagination – along with the solos, duets, and the infernal dances of the spiritualists around the table-turned-underworld. There are Jewish inflections in the movements of Houdini’s parents, the quicksilver agility of Jim Collins (Houdini’s assistant, embodied by Dmitry Shevtsov), and the fiery expressiveness of Cecilia Steiner, Houdini’s mother. Orian Yohanan brings her to life with such force, I could swear I was watching a young Maya Plisetskaya.

And then there’s the stunningly beautiful duo of Mikhail Botsok and Anael Zateikin as Harry Houdini and his wife, Bess. Alongside them, the entire exquisite ensemble of the Jerusalem Ballet deserves applause. Costume designer Inna Polonskaya has created stunning masks that seem like fragments of long-lost childhood dreams, rediscovered at a séance. Lighting designer Anton Makarenko helps Houdini pull off his tricks, while rehearsal director Martin Schoenberg lends his guiding hand to the production.

I could go on endlessly, listing names and showering praise. But until you see it for yourself, feel its energy, decode Nadya’s encrypted messages hidden within the layers of choreography, nothing will truly suffice.

You need to witness Houdini escape the Chinese Water Torture Cell with your own eyes. To see man and puppet switch places, again and again. To dive into the multilayered choreographic references, as intricate and meaningful as stained-glass windows in an ancient cathedral. To hear how Nadya transforms the music of Richard Strauss, Ravel, Benjamin Yusupov, John Williams, and Ferde Grofé into something wholly new and unexpected.

At moments, Houdini seems to become the Cheshire Cat, wandering between worlds, disappearing and leaving behind only a faint glimmer of broken chains.

Yes, even the hallucinations there unfold as if choreographed into a ballet. Escape the ordinary, Catch the spellbinding ballet Houdini: The Other Side—where gravity defies logic and magic meets dance. Come see for yourself! (And maybe, just maybe, you’ll see the impossible unfold right before your eyes.)

A bright ballet studio ideal for young dancers