Post by Eolith on Sept 26, 2005 19:45:40 GMT -5
This is a report I wrote for my music class last year. Having re-read it recently I know it could be better but it got full score when I turned it in, so I can't complain.
“Cavalia is a poem written in the language of sound, image and extraordinary performance.” This quote, taken from the show’s website, could not explain Cavalia any better. The show’s name was derived from the root caval, from which comes cheval, (French for horse). Many newspapers such as the Toronto Star, San Francisco Times, and the Seattle P.I. have raved over the performance.
Many remark upon the extraordinary individuality of Cavalia, but who is it that thought up such a stunning show? The idea originated with Normand Latourelle, a founder of Cirque de Soleil. Latuorelle noticed that when one horse was brought across a stage with nearly one hundred fifty other performers, the audience paid attention only to the horse. Realizing that he had a unique inspiration, Latourelle decided to further investigate, attending Dressage shows, Jumping shows, and Rodeos. His idea was further expanded and built upon when he began working with two professional dressage artists, Frédéric Pignon and his wife, Magali Delgado. Knowing of no limits in the horse world, Latuorelle urged Pignon and Delgado to heights that other horse trainers would dub positively impossible.
Latourelle first saw Pignon and Delgado on a Dressage video he had bought. After nearly a year of trying to reach them, Latourelle finally got the chance to meet them in a park. Both Frédéric Pignon and Magali Delgado grew up alongside horses in families dedicated to the equine. Pignon grew up on an Endurance riding farm, and he loved to play tag with the horses as a boy. Magali Delgado’s family owns a Lusitano breeding farm. Delgado and Pignon met at a teaching program, he was giving lessons on how to vault onto the backs of horses, and she was giving riding lessons. Frédéric enjoyed helping to raise the Lusitano colts at the Delgado farm, and often found them the most enthusiastic to participate. In May of 2003, Frédéric and Magali got married, the main theme of their celebration being horses. Magali describes the occasion as having twenty horses waiting outside, and the wedding rode to a reception being held in a pasture.
The star of Cavalia, a nineteen year old Lusitano stallion by the name of Templado was born at the Delgado farm and sold at age one. The Delgado farm has a policy that if for any reason one of the Delgado-bred horses causes too many problems, they should be returned to the farm. A few years later, Templado was returned to the farm, a headstrong and rebellious stallion. During a five-year reeducation period, Frédéric and Magali learned to pay close attention to the stallion’s mood by watching the position of his ears or his nostrils. As Pignon said, “We were happy just to follow the clues he gave us, to take the time to understand them and leave him enough time to accept us.”
Frédéric Pignon is an artist. He has a college degree in fine arts and paints as a hobby. Pignon has stated that a painting is physical, and it will last forever if taken care of, but his time with his horses in the show is an art of the moment. When he works with his horses, he works alone. It is a time for him to be with them one on one. In the show, he pretends that it is nothing more than another one of the times he spends with his horses. In the show, he creates a work of art that can only be savored for a few wistful seconds before it becomes a memory. Every session he shares with his horses is different, every show is different, but all of them are splendid.
Cavalia required $27 million dollars and six years of preparation, before their goal to create a show dedicated to the equines was fulfilled. The performance stars the Lusitano, a usually grey to white colored breed from Spain. Among the other breeds in the show are Quarter Horses, Percherons, Belgians, and an Arabian. In total, there are nearly forty horses.
The actors are not to be forgotten however, there are acrobats, talented riders, and aerialists. The acrobats create human pyramids, flip and twist into positions hard to imagine while riders tell the horses to do equally amazing moves. The aerialists float above, suspended by ropes and harnesses concealed in their costumes. They often touch the horses or interact with a rider.
Even with the fantastic graphics and gifted actors, Cavalia would not have possessed half of its magic without the music. Composed by Michel Cusson, the music is a marvel in itself. From slow, enchanting tunes to vivid songs full of life, the music fits the performance like a glove. Cusson started composing when he was fifteen, concentrating mainly on jazz. He grew up in Drummondville, a small town near Quebec. Even though the town did not have any jazz schools, he excelled, and later studied music at McGill University, in Montreal and Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In 1976 Cusson founded a jazz-fusion band called UZEB. The group toured twenty different countries and released ten albums that later received awards. When the band broke up in 1991, Cusson went on to compose for a number of other movies and shows, Cavalia included. Currently he has composed for 16 films, 6 mega-shows, 13 television series and 26 albums. Another of his works that I am a fan of was the music he composed for the IMAX film, Wolves (1998). Even though all of his composed music is not jazz, Cusson was quoted as saying, “From the beginning I never saw the tree, I always looked at the whole forest… Jazz is one tree but music is the whole forest.”
Because of the composer’s music background, it is sometimes possible to hear a jazzy side to Cavalia’s music. In my definition, Jazz is a type of music that incorporates many different instruments and sounds, while staying to one underlying beat. It starts fairly simple and gradually grows more and more elaborate, almost as if it is being thought up right then. Each instrument in Cavalia has a different voice, and each has its own chance to show its unique sounds before falling into the background again as another instrument takes the spotlight. Most of the instruments used are string and wind instruments. Listening to Cusson’s music, one can tell that he favors the guitar for some of his more energetic songs.
Music can help or take away from performances, for example, one movie I watched, Lady Hawk, had poorly placed music. The movie’s theme was medieval, but they had rock playing in the background at all the wrong times. Although the plot was interesting, because of the music, I do not want to see the movie again. Michel Cusson and Cavalia worked together to ensure that the music and the scenes matched each other with its mood and style.
Every style of riding is given credit in Cavalia, even though the show focuses mainly on Dressage. Dressage is the precise maneuvers of a horse in response to subtle signals from the rider. To those who are not familiar with Dressage, it appears as if the horses are dancing to the beat of the music.
Dressage is used in many of the quieter scenes of the show, because it is a more subdued type of riding. In one scene called Reflexio, Magali Delgado and her sister, Estelle do a pes de deaux, a Dressage term meaning that they ride in synchrony with each other, looking like a mirror image of the other. The favorite scene of many is when three actors gallop in, each with one foot on one horse’s back, and the other on another horse’s back. The music in this act reflects the danger and excitement of their wild stunts. This version of riding is derived from the Roman Circuses in which they stand on the horses and ride at the gallop. Western and Jumping are also incorporated into the show to create a wonderful mix, making it so that the watcher can never know what to expect next.
Creating a show as incredible as Cavalia takes a great deal of time and effort. It takes a week and forty workers to fully erect the tent. The show’s custom-built tent is nine stories high, the stage is one hundred and sixty feet across, and it seats approximately two thousand. The stage consists of a sandy ring around a central stage with ramps on either side leading up to be at the same level as the central area. Cavalia also hosts live musicians as well as a singer. The costumes are custom made, often appearing to be of Native American, Medieval, or Roman Circus origin. Throughout the show, scenes and pictures are projected onto the backdrop. As for special effects, one scene has a real waterfall pouring into the sand as a ghostly horse is projected onto it. In another part of the show, leaves are dropped over the audience.
When one first enters the tent of Cavalia, they do not know what to expect. During the time before the show, two horses are set loose on the stage, where they romp with each other and toss props about playfully. At the end, a small herd of horses are released on the stage, where they interact with each other and relax, often rolling in the sand. After seeing the show, I felt an overwhelming mix of enchantment and sadness, knowing that I may never again see something so amazing. Even for people who have not had experience with horses, Cavalia is an experience not soon forgotten.
“Cavalia is a poem written in the language of sound, image and extraordinary performance.” This quote, taken from the show’s website, could not explain Cavalia any better. The show’s name was derived from the root caval, from which comes cheval, (French for horse). Many newspapers such as the Toronto Star, San Francisco Times, and the Seattle P.I. have raved over the performance.
Many remark upon the extraordinary individuality of Cavalia, but who is it that thought up such a stunning show? The idea originated with Normand Latourelle, a founder of Cirque de Soleil. Latuorelle noticed that when one horse was brought across a stage with nearly one hundred fifty other performers, the audience paid attention only to the horse. Realizing that he had a unique inspiration, Latourelle decided to further investigate, attending Dressage shows, Jumping shows, and Rodeos. His idea was further expanded and built upon when he began working with two professional dressage artists, Frédéric Pignon and his wife, Magali Delgado. Knowing of no limits in the horse world, Latuorelle urged Pignon and Delgado to heights that other horse trainers would dub positively impossible.
Latourelle first saw Pignon and Delgado on a Dressage video he had bought. After nearly a year of trying to reach them, Latourelle finally got the chance to meet them in a park. Both Frédéric Pignon and Magali Delgado grew up alongside horses in families dedicated to the equine. Pignon grew up on an Endurance riding farm, and he loved to play tag with the horses as a boy. Magali Delgado’s family owns a Lusitano breeding farm. Delgado and Pignon met at a teaching program, he was giving lessons on how to vault onto the backs of horses, and she was giving riding lessons. Frédéric enjoyed helping to raise the Lusitano colts at the Delgado farm, and often found them the most enthusiastic to participate. In May of 2003, Frédéric and Magali got married, the main theme of their celebration being horses. Magali describes the occasion as having twenty horses waiting outside, and the wedding rode to a reception being held in a pasture.
The star of Cavalia, a nineteen year old Lusitano stallion by the name of Templado was born at the Delgado farm and sold at age one. The Delgado farm has a policy that if for any reason one of the Delgado-bred horses causes too many problems, they should be returned to the farm. A few years later, Templado was returned to the farm, a headstrong and rebellious stallion. During a five-year reeducation period, Frédéric and Magali learned to pay close attention to the stallion’s mood by watching the position of his ears or his nostrils. As Pignon said, “We were happy just to follow the clues he gave us, to take the time to understand them and leave him enough time to accept us.”
Frédéric Pignon is an artist. He has a college degree in fine arts and paints as a hobby. Pignon has stated that a painting is physical, and it will last forever if taken care of, but his time with his horses in the show is an art of the moment. When he works with his horses, he works alone. It is a time for him to be with them one on one. In the show, he pretends that it is nothing more than another one of the times he spends with his horses. In the show, he creates a work of art that can only be savored for a few wistful seconds before it becomes a memory. Every session he shares with his horses is different, every show is different, but all of them are splendid.
Cavalia required $27 million dollars and six years of preparation, before their goal to create a show dedicated to the equines was fulfilled. The performance stars the Lusitano, a usually grey to white colored breed from Spain. Among the other breeds in the show are Quarter Horses, Percherons, Belgians, and an Arabian. In total, there are nearly forty horses.
The actors are not to be forgotten however, there are acrobats, talented riders, and aerialists. The acrobats create human pyramids, flip and twist into positions hard to imagine while riders tell the horses to do equally amazing moves. The aerialists float above, suspended by ropes and harnesses concealed in their costumes. They often touch the horses or interact with a rider.
Even with the fantastic graphics and gifted actors, Cavalia would not have possessed half of its magic without the music. Composed by Michel Cusson, the music is a marvel in itself. From slow, enchanting tunes to vivid songs full of life, the music fits the performance like a glove. Cusson started composing when he was fifteen, concentrating mainly on jazz. He grew up in Drummondville, a small town near Quebec. Even though the town did not have any jazz schools, he excelled, and later studied music at McGill University, in Montreal and Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In 1976 Cusson founded a jazz-fusion band called UZEB. The group toured twenty different countries and released ten albums that later received awards. When the band broke up in 1991, Cusson went on to compose for a number of other movies and shows, Cavalia included. Currently he has composed for 16 films, 6 mega-shows, 13 television series and 26 albums. Another of his works that I am a fan of was the music he composed for the IMAX film, Wolves (1998). Even though all of his composed music is not jazz, Cusson was quoted as saying, “From the beginning I never saw the tree, I always looked at the whole forest… Jazz is one tree but music is the whole forest.”
Because of the composer’s music background, it is sometimes possible to hear a jazzy side to Cavalia’s music. In my definition, Jazz is a type of music that incorporates many different instruments and sounds, while staying to one underlying beat. It starts fairly simple and gradually grows more and more elaborate, almost as if it is being thought up right then. Each instrument in Cavalia has a different voice, and each has its own chance to show its unique sounds before falling into the background again as another instrument takes the spotlight. Most of the instruments used are string and wind instruments. Listening to Cusson’s music, one can tell that he favors the guitar for some of his more energetic songs.
Music can help or take away from performances, for example, one movie I watched, Lady Hawk, had poorly placed music. The movie’s theme was medieval, but they had rock playing in the background at all the wrong times. Although the plot was interesting, because of the music, I do not want to see the movie again. Michel Cusson and Cavalia worked together to ensure that the music and the scenes matched each other with its mood and style.
Every style of riding is given credit in Cavalia, even though the show focuses mainly on Dressage. Dressage is the precise maneuvers of a horse in response to subtle signals from the rider. To those who are not familiar with Dressage, it appears as if the horses are dancing to the beat of the music.
Dressage is used in many of the quieter scenes of the show, because it is a more subdued type of riding. In one scene called Reflexio, Magali Delgado and her sister, Estelle do a pes de deaux, a Dressage term meaning that they ride in synchrony with each other, looking like a mirror image of the other. The favorite scene of many is when three actors gallop in, each with one foot on one horse’s back, and the other on another horse’s back. The music in this act reflects the danger and excitement of their wild stunts. This version of riding is derived from the Roman Circuses in which they stand on the horses and ride at the gallop. Western and Jumping are also incorporated into the show to create a wonderful mix, making it so that the watcher can never know what to expect next.
Creating a show as incredible as Cavalia takes a great deal of time and effort. It takes a week and forty workers to fully erect the tent. The show’s custom-built tent is nine stories high, the stage is one hundred and sixty feet across, and it seats approximately two thousand. The stage consists of a sandy ring around a central stage with ramps on either side leading up to be at the same level as the central area. Cavalia also hosts live musicians as well as a singer. The costumes are custom made, often appearing to be of Native American, Medieval, or Roman Circus origin. Throughout the show, scenes and pictures are projected onto the backdrop. As for special effects, one scene has a real waterfall pouring into the sand as a ghostly horse is projected onto it. In another part of the show, leaves are dropped over the audience.
When one first enters the tent of Cavalia, they do not know what to expect. During the time before the show, two horses are set loose on the stage, where they romp with each other and toss props about playfully. At the end, a small herd of horses are released on the stage, where they interact with each other and relax, often rolling in the sand. After seeing the show, I felt an overwhelming mix of enchantment and sadness, knowing that I may never again see something so amazing. Even for people who have not had experience with horses, Cavalia is an experience not soon forgotten.
