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it as “Pure poetry”. Bild in Berlin called
Cavalia “A wonderland full of mystery
and poetry”, Telecinco in Madrid raved
“One of the most beautiful shows in the
world”, The Oprah Magazine called the
show “Breathtaking!” and Larry King
raved, “The best show I have ever seen!”.
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada,
Cavalia Inc. is an entertainment company
that specialises in the creation, production
and touring of innovative shows for audi-
ences of all ages. Founded by Normand
Latourelle, the company has an expertise
in equestrian and performing arts, and is
known for making the most of cutting-
edge technology, multimedia and special
effects, which allows for the creation
of magical, unique, never-before-seen
theatrical experiences. Cavalia, enjoyed
by some four million people since its 2003
debut, celebrates the relationship between
humans and horses by loosely recounting
the evolution of this bond. Odysseo, which
premiered in 2011, takes the next step,
leading viewers on a great journey where
horses and humans, together, discover
some of the planet’s most unforgettable
landscapes. Follow Cavalia Inc.’s latest
developments at www.twitter.com/cavalia
or www.facebook.com/cavalia.
60mwide screen, drawing spectators into
dream-like virtual environments. Unlike
traditional horse shows, Cavalia’s audi-
ence faces a single 50mwide stage which
allows the horses space to gallop at full
speed, at times running completely free,
unfettered by bridles or halters. Cavalia
takes place under a white, 2,440sqm big
top, that rises about 35m high, giving the
horses ample ground to performwith their
trainers and artists. Cavalia’s gleaming
White Theatre Tent is the largest touring
tent in the world.
Cavalia is a fabricated word, inspired
by the Spanish and Frenchwords for horse
(caballo and cheval) and the Englishword
cavalry. Normand Latourelle often says
he’d love to open a dictionary some day
and see “Cavalia” defining his multimedia
production about the historical relation-
ship between humans and horses.
The show has received critical acclaim
from around the world. The Washington
Post described the show as “Horseplay of
the highest order”. Las Vegas Magazine
claimed it is “One of the most spectacular
hybrids of modern theater in the world”,
The Toronto Star said “A new fairy tale-like
show from the imagination of a Cirque du
Soleil founder”, while Paris Match defined
The Artists
•
The 40 artists, acrobats, dancers
andridersarefromCanada,France,
Belgium, the United States, Mo-
rocco, Australia, Moldavia, Spain,
South Africa and Sweden.
•
The troupe also includes fivemu-
sicians (guitar, keyboard, bass,
drums, and cello) and a singer.
•
Theaverageageof theartists is25
years old.
•
•
Theartistsapply their ownmake-
upbeforeeachperformance.They
follow guidelines prepared by the
make-up designer and refer to
photos of themselves to ensure
perfection every time.
•
A live band is required to react
to the changes in the show due
to the unpredictability of their
four-legged performers.
•
The lyrics of the songs in Cavalia
are in French and Spanish.
•
For every performance, the band
leadergivesmorethan300music
cues to his band.
•
The 35 square-metre musicians’
platform is perched 4m high,
behind the colossal screen. The
booth is equipped with 3 air-
controlled systems as tooptimize
the sound quality.
The Horses
•
Cavalia features 50horses repre-
senting 11 different breeds.
•
Thehorsesare fromFrance, Spain,
Portugal , Canada, the United
States, Australia and the Nether-
lands.
•
The horses annually consume
17,500 bales of hay, 16,550kg of
grain and 795kg of carrots.
•
Spacious showers are installed
in the stables to groom our four-
legged stars.
•
Large windows inside each stall
allow the equine stars to see and
communicatewithhisneighbours.
•
Theirsmallesthorse iseighthands
tall. His name is Troubadour. He is
a proud, 15-year-old miniature
stallion.
•
Their tallestequinestar is18hands
tall. His name is Merlin – a stun-
ning, 6-year-old Percheron.