by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
When you see Cavalia Odysseo, it’s extravagant, over the top and a feast for all your senses – it was created to be that way!
Creator and artistic director Normand Latourelle dreamed up the concept of Cavalia as a follow up to his former project, Cirque du Soleil, and asked himself how can you take that sensory cornucopia to a new level: Add more than 60 horses, of course.
Odysseo is a multi-media, multi-level tour of nature spanning from the top of a mountain down into the crater of a canyon. The show explores sun and rain and snow and space and every aspect of what makes Earth beautiful. Odysseo is the biggest touring show in the world and flexes its might to engage the audience by bringing its own mountain and lake with it everywhere it goes, creating a truly special and unique setting for its artists and performers (with 2 legs and 4).
Live music and stunning songs performed in multiple languages help transport the audience around the world and remember what unites us as a people.
The acrobatics delight on the ground as well as in the air and give a magical touch to the show that has even caught the attention of big names like Cher, who says “The feeling is so amazing; it’s like between laughing and crying.” — and that feeling seemed to be mutual for audience members after the Washington DC premiere who described being overcome by the scope and scale of the show. Some moved to tears when seeing the way Odysseo shows the strength of humans and the peace of animals as the more than 60 horses moved about the stage.
And it is those horses that most are looking to see. 64 horses from seven countries and 11 different breeds that make a cast that is hard to look away from. They do tricks, they move in formation and at times are left to their own devices to just interact with one another and explore the 17,500 square foot stage.
The show is like a symphony of sorts as one sections flows into the next. A video backdrop equal to three IMAX screens dazzled onlookers with views of different landscapes for the equine performers to engage with right up until the stunning finale when an actual lake forms at the front of the stage. An intricate underground water system floods in water and creates a memorable experience as everyone begins to splash about.
Being in the Washington DC area, Latourelle had to jab at the government shutdown in the days up to the premiere about how peaceful and cooperative his team is compared to Congress….with performers from 11 countries, hundreds of staff members working around the clock AND 64 horses, he says “I never see fights. I never see people screaming” that they all unite for a common goal and that’s how to get it done.
Cavalia’s Odysseo is performing at The Plateau at National Harbor until October 27. 2013.
Hollywood on the Potomac sat down with artistic director Normand Latourelle:
