Brilliant, magical, enduring, and unforgettable.

One can easily describe Cavalia with these words in the most praising way; however, it simply would not do it justice.

Cavalia, the widely talked about show that represent horse and human relationship throughout history engage s the audience with a new way of storytelling; music, acrobatics, special effects, and of course, the horses themselves.

I had an idea of what to expect first walking in, though I had never seen the show or even heard much about it. But, within the first three minutes of the performance it wipes clean your slate of preconceived notions and unfolds a new, tantalizing work of art.

Walking into the Big White Top you see an open area where dirt and miniature toy horses are scattered among the floor, followed by two white drapes that hang lightly from the ceiling. As the lights dim a picture projects onto the sheet of a horse in the fields, for what seems like simple grazing and leisurely walking.

It was this moment that I was given a clean slate of Cavalia, for the picture of the horse in the field was more than grazing, it projected one of the many beauties in the world for any creature; the start of life. The audience witnesses the birth of horse setting the tone of beauty, growth, and changing life.

Cavalia begins with horses and ends with them, showing that horses are such a valued life to this world just like humans. That for a long time, even to this day, many considered them equals.

The settings are simple yet elegant, to not retreat the audiences or the horses attention from the show, in addition, they provide enough to showcase where and when in time the story takes place.  

Another aspect that added to Cavalial’s appeal, as well as, what made it unique show piece was how interactive it was. Even as the audience sat down waiting for the show to begin the production played trivia about the show and horses on the projector encouraging the audience to guess and get hyped for the event.

The riders also provide playful banter with the horses, teasing the audience, and providing an interactive setting where the audience feels apart of the fantasy.

The simplicity, however, magical setting is all brought together by a few props, the band, and a massive screen that changed with the era. One moment you are watching horses gallop in the late 1800s with cowboys as they walked as teams in the cold and lonely desert, then suddenly you are in the forest of the renaissance age where kings and queens ride for fun with their four legged friends in order to escape their heavy duties.

Cavalia engaged the audience not only by performance along, but by the presence it projected. Even when the attention was on the acrobatics who gracefully danced in the air, it was the horses who steered them in their directions always on mark. Whether they were running freely, showing how playful and carefree each one can be, or dancing to a song that surely took them months to learn- the essence of Cavalia was there.

Cavalia reminds us the beauty that still reigns with animals, specifically with horses, how they played a big part in history on an equal level to humans. The relationship between man and horse has been intact since the beginning of time.

Cavalia only enhanced and truly showed the friendship, in all its glory, which resides within the duo of man and horse.

http://www.cavalia.net/

Seattle (Redmond), Washington, USA
from January 18, 2012 to February 19, 2012