Odysseo opened its latest Toronto run Wednesday night to a sold-out crowd, and the roughly two-hour production held the audience spellbound throughout. For those unfamiliar with the concept, Cavalia’s shows combine acrobatics, horses and multimedia production.
The “cast” of Odysseo includes 70 horses (the majority geldlings, with 13 stallions), and the horses are as talented on their own as they are when ridden. One particularly impressive scene involved just one person on stage with about a dozen horses. With seemingly just a few words from the trainer, the horses ran basically single-file in large circles, and even moved slowly as a rotating line.
With riders, the horses proved adept at jumping over barriers and one horse, in a sequence near the end, appeared for a complex bit of dressage, which looks like the horse is dancing. Many of the riders also proved daring with their horses — the riders would sometimes leap over their horse like a pole vault, or hang themselves over the horse with their heads just inches from the ground. Audiences gasped, but thankfully there were no accidents.
The human elements of the production were just as awe-inspiring, with a number of nimble acrobats who performed on the ground as well as rings and a couple of special pieces of equipment, like a carousel. One segment, which featured African drumming, was aimed at audience participation. Members of the group chanted “O walu guere moufan” — a phrase in the Susu language meaning “No more war on Earth” — eventually encouraging the audience to repeat it.
Perhaps the most endearing aspect of the production was when things just went a tad off-kilter; it was nice to be reminded that at the end of the day, horses are still horses. Not every horse formation was perfect, and once or twice during a movement a couple of horses went off on their own. But that added to, rather than took away from, the show as a whole. It showed how trainers could calm horses with a gentle touch, and that horses are spirited creatures.
The technical side of the production was spot on, from the engaging music choices to the use of the stage. Various curtains help obscure how gigantic the stage really is, and when it’s fully open the view is impressive. A combination of lights and screens also helps set the scene, from space, to the desert, to the African Savannah, to inside a glacier. For the show’s finale, half the stage is covered with water for a splashy (in both senses of the word) finish.
There’s enough here to entertain those who love horses and those who are looking for a spectacle.
Odysseo runs through to May 10 in Toronto, with matinee and evening shows.
