Equestrian extravaganza 'Cavalia' gallops into Renton

By Misha Berson
Seattle Times theater critic

FRÉDÉRIC CHEHU Above, some of the 30 show horses featured in the big-top equestrian showcase "Cavalia."

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The stars of "Cavalia" include Bungee and Bandolero, Pico and Popeye, Hades and Hollywood.

These performers tip the scales at an average of 1,400 pounds. They get their long tresses shampooed, detangled and rebraided daily. And they can become quite nervous when flying to their next gig by jumbo jet.

They are among the 30 show horses featured nightly in "Cavalia." Also in this big-top equestrian showcase for "four-legged artists" are a couple dozen two-legged talents: aerialists, acrobats, musicians and professional riders.

A Canadian export described by producer Normand Latourelle as "Cirque du Soleil with horses," the venture makes its Northwest debut Thursday in a 26,000-square-foot big-top tent, parked on a lot adjacent to the Renton Boeing plant. (That's the same site used by Cirque du Soleil for its recent runs here.)

Horse show preview "Cavalia," opens Thursday, and runs Tuesday-Sunday at the lot on Garden Avenue North and North Eighth Street in Renton; $51-$73 adults, $25-$59 children under 12, senior/student discounts available Tuesday-Thursday shows only, VIP packages also available for $115-$165 (866-999-8111 or www.cavalia.net).

Horses, of course, are showbiz veterans: They've been soaking up applause for millennia.

The ancient Romans employed them in circuses and chariot races. Across the centuries, horses appeared in European, Russian, North American and Latin American circuses, and in such folksy attractions as the rootin', tootin' Wild West shows fronted by Buffalo Bill. In 2003 Cirque du Soleil launched its own touring horse circus, "Cheval" (French for horse).

The all-male company of stallions and geldings in the whimsically named "Cavalia" romp, jump, prance and canter for the crowd. And they share affectionate and playful moments with two French "horse-whisperers" and trainers, Frédéric Pignon and his wife, Magali Delgado.

But Latourelle underscores these are not mere trick-ponies on display. They are presented as creatures of natural glamour, grandeur and fantasy.

"This is a show of beauty," he stresses. "Anyone can enjoy beauty. 'Cavalia' is a poem for the eyes and the ears."

	Frédéric Pignon, co-director, gets a kiss from one of the show's stars.

Described by impressed critics in California and Canada as "a truly magical experience" and "for horse buffs, nirvana," the touring extravaganza aims for a dreamy blend of horse and human choreography, live music, lighting effects and an ever-shifting array of "virtual sets," photo images projected as backdrops.

The company travels with 36 horses in total (each horse has an understudy in the company, in case they're indisposed), a dozen grooms and two veterinarian technicians. So far, they have performed in three cities (Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles) on a sandy, 160-foot-wide staging area in the tent. It allows the horses room to gallop at a tear, unrestrained at times by halters or bridles.

You would think "Cavalia" was dreamed up by somebody who has owned, ridden and/or shown horses for years. Not so, says Latourelle.

"I'm not really a horse person," admits the Montreal producer, who worked with Cirque du Soleil in the 1980s and later produced popular light-and-sound shows and dinner-theater entertainments in his native Canada.

His interest in the animals was sparked six years ago when equestrian acts included in "Legendes Fantastiques," an annual folkloric Quebec summer show Latourelle commandeered, drew a big response from audiences.

Searching for a different format, he researched what already existed: rodeos, circuses, races, dressage competitions.

"I dislike the traditional circus that has elephants in chains, lions in cages," he reports. "And a lot of the way horses are trained for shows is to me fairly rude."

In the South of France, watching Pignon and Delgado work with their horses, Latourelle saw a more caring approach. "It was amazing. They took stallions out to a field, and started to run and play with them, like they were dogs or children."

Latourelle hired the couple as equestrian directors for "Cavalia." And through Pignon's horse-breeder father and other sources, Latourelle acquired a stable of handsome Percherons, Lusitanos, Belgians and other breeds.

Acrobats, trick riders, vaulting and dressage experts, and dancers make up the two-legged cast interacting with the animals onstage — and, insists Latourelle, treating them humanely.

"No whips are used as tools to hit the horses," he says. "There are whips, but they're just used to give direction."

"Cavalia" trainers mainly communicate with the animals through speaking in a low voice, and by finger and body gestures, and tongue-clicks. "They understand horse language," according to Latourelle. "Horses make a language in the way they move their ears and mouths, and other body parts. And they whinny when they want another horse who isn't nearby to come back."

"Cavalia," which abstractly conveys the history of the human-horse relationship, proved a hit in its Toronto debut last year. When Latourelle decided to tour it to the United States, it was highly impractical to transport three dozen horses 2,900 miles by trailer-truck from Montreal to the first tour stop, Los Angeles.

So he chartered a 747 cargo jet, reassured the nervous flight crew, and the horses and grooms were loaded onto the plane for the five-hour journey.

"The horses did very well," he says, adding with a laugh, "but the grooms were all green when they arrived. Those planes don't have windows — it's very dark."

Though he has no plans to mount and ride a stallion himself, has Latourelle grown to know any of his four-legged stars well?

"Oh yes, they have personalities," he replies. "Templado, an 18-year-old white stallion, he's the oldest horse in the stable and the leader. And Aetes, another white stallion, he's funny ... how would you say it? Yes, the class clown."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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