Odysseo by Cavalia Live Equestrian Show Takes Horsing Around to Epic Levels

Odysseo by Cavalia Live Equestrian Show Takes Horsing Around to Epic Levels
About this video
YH does some horsing around, but in the best and most elegant way possible as we go behind the scenes of Odysseo by Cavalia, the equestrian spectacular that puts all other live shows to shame! Mastermind Normand Latourelle gives us the inside scoop of this huge undertaking, which includes 65 horse and 45 (human) performers, plus Claire Beer takes us into the stables to get to know some of the four-legged stars a little better!
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Hey guys, Audrey Cleo here for Young Hollywood and don't mind the smell.
I am actually behind the scenes of Odysseo by Cavalia.
A show unlike any you have ever seen before.
There are almost 50 acrobats, aerial artists, dancers, riders and of course, all the pretty horsey.
I'm with Norman Latourelle.
Thank you so much for having us.
This is an amazing show.
This is your baby.
This is your brainchild.
Logistically, what's the hardest thing for you about this show?
Well, this is the biggest touring show in the world and we tour with 65 horses and 45 artists that are on stage.
But in top of that, the site is very important.
So we need 200,000 square feet because this is the biggest touring tent in the world.
So it became the biggest touring show in the world.
We traveled with 120 semi-trailer, we chartered Boeing 747 for all the horse between cities.
And all that is very challenging.
That have been said, we have a great success because people are here to see something that they cannot see anywhere else in the world.
Today, we're at the stables of Cavalia's Odysseo.
It's like a five-star hotel for horses.
This is Drago, one of my favorite horses that I have here.
He's super talented.
His specialties are dressage, which is kind of more of a dance with the horses, and he also does Roman riding, which is two horses and the, the girl stands with one foot on each horse and we do routines with that.
Um, he also does liberty, which we're going to demonstrate to you in a little bit and that's uh one of my favorites cuz that really shows you the connection that you have to have with the horse, because there's no tack, no equipment on him and it's your, your energy connecting with their energy and that's what liberty is.
He loves it.
So when I want him to back off a little bit, I kind of tell him just to back away.
When I want him to come forward, I use my energy.
Very nice.
I'm one of the founder of Cirque du Soleil and I wanted to bring performing arts or entertainment a step much further.
By including horses, but also get by giving myself a fabulous theater.
And I call Odysseo a 6D show.
Why is that?
Because you have many, many, many, many layers.
So the first layer is the show start with the forest and then you happen to discover a real mountain that we got 30 something feet high.
And then behind you have a screen which 3D images give you the feeling that you're into a journey.
And that's where the name's coming from.
It's an Odyssey.
And at the end of the show, we call it Odysseo because the O, I'm French speaking and the O mean water.
And the bottom of the stage get filled with 40,000 gallons of water and the horse and the acrobat just have fun in the water.
What's most impressive too, is that when you started, you actually didn't know anything about horses.
Is that true?
Yeah, totally true.
When I left Cirque, I started Cavalia.
I could barely see the difference between a cow and a horse.
Well, what's the thing that makes you the most nervous on like an opening night?
It's not the horse because the horse, you can rely on them.
It's all the technique.
This is the most sophisticated technical show, touring show in the world.
I wanted to offer the audience the same quality or even better than any permanent show that we do in Vegas.
Which one's your favorite out of these four guys right here?
They're very jealous.
So I have no favorite horse because they're going to start to fight, you know, or But they're all very friendly.
They're all very nice.
Every horse has its own personality.
So different personalities of people work with different personalities of horses.
And that's the really neat thing is you find those horses that you automatically connect with.
There we go.
Oh, There we go.
Come on.
We have 11 different breed and we choose them because of their temper, but also because of the color.
And here in this number, we call it Grand Liberté.
But at one point there's 42 horses just running free on stage with no, they're not attached, they're just running free and having fun and we create a choreography with all those horses.
You know, when we, you treat a horse very well and he's not afraid of you because you don't beat him, because you just go slowly with him, then he'll become your friend and they're just want to be friendly.
Well, it looks like a lot of fun, Normand.
I'm going to let you, you have a lot of work to do, so I'm going to let you go back and do it.
Thank you so much for letting us drop by.
Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think that's enough horse around for one day.
Don't you think?
Timestamps are approximate — click one to jump the player.
PEOPLE MENTIONED
- Audrey Cleo
Host for Young Hollywood
- Normand Latourelle
Mastermind and founder of Cavalia and Odysseo
- Claire Beer
Takes viewers into the stables to meet horses
FAQ
What is Odysseo by Cavalia?+
Who founded Odysseo by Cavalia?+
How many horses and performers are in Odysseo?+
What is the '6D' aspect of Odysseo?+
What is 'liberty' training with horses?+
How large is the tent for Odysseo by Cavalia?+
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