Abu Dhabi: Inspired by the relationship between man and horse, Cavalia, a touring equestrian theatrical production, has officially arrived in the capital to entertain a vast crowd as part of the Qasr Al Hosn Festival.
The production, which was created by Normand Latourelle, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, will be tweaked for its UAE performances to incorporate Emirati culture and history, illustrated through customs, make-up, performances and music.
tabloid! caught a sneak peek of the performance at a media preview on Tuesday and spoke to the director to get a better understanding of the show.
“We start the show with the first arrival of the pearl divers, the history… the ancient customs, and we do a traverse of people journeying along the old roads to arrive here as traders, [and] the building of the fort. So, we go through the whole history of how Abu Dhabi was formed,” says Wayne Fawkes, the director of Cavalia.
Based in North America, Cavalia has been performed across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.
While the UAE performance is essentially the same, a few acts have been changed and adapted to include Emirati culture. Additionally, there will be seven Arabian horses in the show, which is part of the annual celebration of heritage at the centuries-old fort. The performances take place under the big top at the fort, which is in central Abu Dhabi.
43 horses, which include Pure Spanish, quarters and Portuguese, among others, will join the 33 performers on stage.
Despite the focus on horses, Fawkes said the show caters to all tastes.
“It’s a show that we try not to just do for horse lovers. We try to make this show something that the entire public can enjoy. Horse lovers can enjoy the techniques and the rest of the public can just enjoy the beauty of horses working with men,” he told tabloid!
The most challenging aspect would appear to be training so many horses to perform acrobatic stunts, but Fawkes said the biggest obstacle so far had been preparing the stage.
The director also said the horses were well taken care of and that no horse was allowed on stage unless it was fully prepared and in good condition.
As for the performers who go at full force, he said there hadn’t been any serious injuries so far.
“Every now and then, we’ll miss a jump, but they land, and they hurt themselves, but they get up and shake themselves off and they go, but no serious [injuries],” Fawkes said.
The cast and crew have been working on bringing the show to Abu Dhabi since October when Fawkes met with Latourelle to discuss how to incorporate an Emirati theme to the show.
