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Southfield
29069 Greenfield Rd.
559-8587
54
Friday, March 27, 1987
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
ENTERTAINMENT
Abracadabra!
Continued from preceding page
graphic barriers." .
Cutting across barriers is
an ability which seems to
come naturally to Horowitz
who insists she never set out
to establish precedents.
A member of Grand
Rapids Temple Emanuel
since the age of five, she was
that congregation's first
woman officer in 1952. She
has chaired numerous com-
mittees for Hadassah and the
sisterhood, been an officer of
the Urban League for 35
years, and is now her tem-
ple's historian, maintaining
all the archives and setting
up special exhibits. She also,
on behalf of the temple, gives
presentations on Judaism to
the churches which predomi-
nate in Grand Rapids.
Magic and its mysteries
have woven a continuous
thread through her adult life.
Her love of the medium
endured through the raising
of two sons and the fulfill-
ment of a long career in the
Grand Rapids school system.
"In my saner moments,"
she quips, "I taught math-
ematics and music in Grand
Rapids schools. Magic always
served me well when I was
called upon to demonstrate
some of the tough puzzles and
principles in math classes."
Quite a few of her students
have gone on to become adept
magicians. "I told them, first,
get an education. Next, get a
good job, and then, pursue
magic for the pleasure it can
offer and for the sense of dis-
covery it awakes."
Horowitz muses that her
own foray into magic was, at
least in part, a way of com-
pensating for her inability to
become involved in sports as
a youngster. A bout with
bone tuberculosis linked to
drinking unpasteurized milk
left her with an immobile hip
joint and a permanent limp.
"I was such a conservative
little girl, because I concen-
trated so much on getting
good grades. Magic was a
real outlet of creativity for
me."
In later. years her outlets
expanded to include such av-
ocations as playing violin
with the Grand Rapids Sym-
phony Orchestra. She also
was responsible for bringing
magic performances to hospi-
tal pediatric wards, a service
she and her husband con-
tinue to donate.
Citing the existence of con-
temporary greats such as
David Copperfield and Doug
Henning, she says, "They are
a small minority. There are
many talented magicians, but
to pursue the medium as a
profession requires extraordi-
nary skill and dedication."
Horowitz officially retired
from teaching ten years ago,
but pooh-poohs the idea of re-
tirement as relative to one's
attitude. "My own mother is
99 and living independently
here in Grand Rapids," she
says . "Mother is an avid
reader, writes beautiful
poetry, and is currently work-
ing on her life story!"
Horowitz's performing re-
pertoire takes her as far
away as Jackson, Mich.,
when she isn't participating
in regional, national and in-
ternational conventions and
talent competitions. While
she has considerable experi-
ence as a stage magician, and
works with traditional ap-
purtenances like ropes, balls
or coins, it is close-up magic
in which she believes she ex-
cels.
"I've always enjoyed the in-
timacy of small audiences of
.
In later years her
outlets expanded
to include playing
violin with the
Grand Rapids
Symphony
Orchestra.
ten or 15. My props aren't
exotic — I use the Blue Bicy-
cle playing cards."
Two of the many accolades
bestowed on her were the
"Women's Best Close-Up"
award granted by a national
convention in San Diego in
1979, and the "Best Close-
Up" award presented by Ring
211 last year.
Dispelling a popular myth,
she insists, "In magic, you're
not trying to fool or get the
best of people. You're there to
provide enjoyment, to
entertain. I consider magic
problem solving elevated to
the level of dramatics."
She considers the greatest
challenge confronting magi-
cians the instantaneous judg-
ing of one's audience, stres-
sing that attention is elicited
or lost almost instantly.
Horowitz will be officially
installed president at IBM's
annual convention planned
for July 4 in Nashville, Tenn.
She is eagerly approaching
what she calls "an extension
of her former roles as good-
will ambassador" for the
organization. To date, she has
held nine chairmanships,
served as an executive vice
president, and, like her
father before her, president of
the Grand Rapids/Western
Michigan Ring 211. Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Magi-
cians is comprised of 264
rings, or chapters, in its
member countries, and she
has also been a licensing
coordinator of those rings. As
president-elect, she has per-
sonally installed numerous
officers.
Abe Warsaw's stewardship
of Ring 211 coincided with
the founding of IBM over 60
years ago. During the 25
years he presided over activi-
ties, he maintained a close
friendship with Harry Cecil,
who went on to found Harry
Cecil Ring 22, the chapter
serving magicians in the
Greater Detroit area.
Warsaw, according to his
daughter, was a colorful fig-
ure who welcomed the great
Harry Houdini and Thurston
the Magician to their home.
Those were memories a
young girl was not likely to
forget, and the sense of his-
tory being made stayed with
Horowitz a long time.
In fact, many of her
endeavors and community
services have focused on
preserving the best of times
gone by. She was recently in-
vited by Harry Blackstone,
Jr. to assist with kickoff
ceremonies for the Michigan
Sesquicentennial Year in
Lansing.
"It's no mere whimsy that
the sesquicentennial is offi-
cially called 'The Magic of
Michigan,' she informs. "Our
state bears a rich tradition."
Colon, Mich., is the site of
a world-renowned factory
specializing in the manufac-
ture of illusionist material
and other magical appurte-
nances. The American
Museum of Magic is located
in Marshall, Mich. Harry
Blackstone, Jr., whose father
made world headlines with
his famous floating light
bulbs, was born in Colon.
Horowitz is a major force
behind Grand Rapids' efforts
to spotlight the anniversary
year. She's currently the
curator of the Grand Rapids
Public Museum's efforts to
honor the event with special
exhibits and community pro-
grams. Almost daily, she re-
ceives visitors to her home to
brainstorm ongoing projects.
As a historian, Horowitz is
quick to mention that magic
was not really dignified as a
performing art until after
World War II. "The earliest
forms of magic were evi-
denced over 4,000 years ago,"
she says. "Symbols and ar-
tifacts suggesting magic have
been discovered which pre-
ceded Egyptian culture by as
much as 2,000 years. It has
its roots in shamanism, the
religious rites of ancient
tribes. Magic was performed
in ancient Chinese civiliza-
tions, and, of course, the
magic of American Indian
folk medicine is well
documented."
The professional journal of
IBM is a publication called
The Linking Ring. In addi-
tion to that one, she and her
husband subscribe to at least
nine other journals, but she
claims hundreds are pub-
lished regularly.
Of her personal goals she
says, "I aim to draw closer
the net of international rela-
tions. And the fact that only