About
This website is dedicated to everything Cavalia. You will find all the latest news, schedule and ticket information. Make sure to check the site often to get all the latest info.
Cavalia is a large-scale equestrian production created and directed by Normand Latourelle, one of the original founders of Cirque du Soleil. The tour, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada includes a cast of over 60 horses in addition to acrobats, aerialists, dancers, riders, and a live band surrounded by a 210-foot curved video screen.
The show is performed under a white, 71,000-square foot structure rising 110 feet and the width of a NFL football field, “North America’s largest touring tent.” Because the show was created before the tent, the tent design had to accommodate the show. Therefore, a crew of 50 people spends three days putting up the canvas structure and a caravan of 85-semi trucks haul the production from city to city.
Cavalia, seen by 2.5 million people since 2003, has been acclaimed by many equine publications for its attempt to trace the common ground of humans and horses through the centuries. The horses have free rein to interact with the cast of over 20 performers coming from Canada, France, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Morocco and the United States. They are only required to practice one hour a day, and get two hours for play. They perform 5-10 minutes per show, 7-8 times each week. Due to their training as understudies to each other they can rotate days off. In addition, if a horse does not feel like performing it simply leaves the stage – no punishment from the trainers.
And the show begins…A horse enters the stage to a large puddle of water, pretends to drink, looks around and continues on his way through the puddle. Suddenly, the puddle disappears and is replaced by an explosion of acrobats while horses tranquilly lie down where the puddle had been. After time the performers exit the stage – leaving it bone dry like the water never existed.
This scene is the first of many breathtaking, surreal moments. Soon, fairies on bungee cords float above the horses, riders perform acrobatics on galloping horses. And the audience is mesmerized.