The story behind Cavalia
In 1998, one of the co-founders of Cirque du Soleil, Normand Latourelle, created a live event called Les Légendes Fantastiques.
“I needed one horse as an extra,” he recalls. “I wanted a hundred-year-old village to come alive, and it was a big performance, with more than 100 people, a few sheep, a few pigs — and one horse.”
Audiences liked the pigs, finding them funny, but it was the lone horse that stole the show.
“They stopped looking at the performers, they were all looking at the horse,” says Latourelle. “My director said, ‘We’ve got to get rid of that horse, he’s stealing focus!’ I had just the opposite reaction — well, if he’s stealing focus it’s because he’s the star!”
From one horse to many . . .
Out of that realization came Cavalia, a show that is every horse lover’s dream. Cavalia’s current show, Odysseo boasts the greatest number of horses at liberty of any live equestrian performance.
Horse Talk – horses at liberty: working with horses that are free of physical restraint; no halters, bridles, or saddles
The White Big Top is huge, as tall as a 12-story building and 107 meters long by 73 meters wide with a seating capacity for 2,000 people.
1. Typically, each story in a building is 10 to 12 feet. Assuming 10.4 feet per story, how many feet high is the tent at its highest point? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.
It takes 280 people to set up and tear down the show. Eighty of them are Cavalia’s Odysseo employees that travel with the show. The rest are hired locally.
2. How many local people are hired to assist in the set up and tear down of the show?
There will be 32 shows when Odysseo comes to Vancouver, starting on December 7, 2013 and continuing to January 5, 2014.
3. How many days will the show be on in Vancouver?
4. If every show is sold out, how many people will have seen the show by the time the crew packs up in early January? Write your answer in word form.
The Horses
There are 2 Appaloosas, 15 Arabians, 2 Canadians, 1 Holsteiner, 1 Lipizzan, 17 Lusitanos, 1 Oldenburg, 2 Paints, 10 Quarter Horses, 14 Spanish Purebreds and 2 Warmboods.
5. How many horses are there altogether?
6. How many breeds are represented in the show?
The horses live in a climate-controlled stable tent complete with showers, tack shop and a blacksmith department. While a farrier travels with the show, most of the horses are not shod.
Horse Talk – farrier: A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses’ hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary.
Each year, 73,000 bags of wood chips (shavings) are used as bedding in the horse’s stalls. The shavings in each stall is changed every day.
7. How many bags of wood chips are used each month? Write your answer in word form.
The stable team works from the time shown on the clock to the left to midnight every day. Some employees live on the site, so the horses are being monitored around the clock.
8. What time does the stable team’s workday begin? Be sure to include am or pm in your answer.
9. How many hours does the stable team work each day?
Each horse has a diet based on their individual needs. Eight meals are provided each day: 5 meals of hay and 3 meals of grain. 15,000 bales of Timothy hay and 70,400 lbs of grains are consumed per year. Linseed oil is added to their food to moisturize their mane and skin and on Sunday evening, the horses receive special treats. On the menu: apples, carrots, bananas and pears.
10. How many bales of hay are fed each month? Write your answer in word form.
11. In the Vancouver area, the current price for a bale of Washington Timothy hay is $26.95 a bale. How much would it cost to feed hay to the horses for one month at that price?
12. How many lbs of grain are fed each month? Write your answer in word form.
A program of stretching and gymnastics is part of the horse’s daily routine. The horses go outside in paddocks every day where they roam and play and enjoy the weather. The horses each has a stall with ample space to stretch, lie down, sprawl out, roll and relax. The riders spend a lot of time with their horses. Cavalia’s horse training is based upon a philosophy of understanding the needs, the preferences and the emotions of the four-legged equine stars. The tone of the show, embraced by the entire company, is one of mutual respect, kindness, patience, and trust. The performance aspect for each horse lasts roughly 12 minutes. The rest of their daily activities include warm-up, grooming and free time. Sounds like a good life!
Here is a video showing what goes on behind the scenes at Cavalia.
The Story Behind Cavalia – Answers
1. Typically, each story in a building is 10 to 12 feet. Assuming 10.4 feet per story, how many feet high is the tent at its highest point? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.
Answer: 10.4 x 12 = 124.8 feet. The tent is 125 feet at its highest point.
2. How many local people are hired to assist in the set up and tear down of the show?
Answer: 280 – 80 = 200. Two hundred people are hired locally to assist in the set up and tear down of the show.
3. How many days will the show be on in Vancouver?
Answer: 30 days
4. If every show is sold out, how many people will have seen the show by the time they crew packs up in early January? Write your answer in word form.
Answer: 32 x 2000 = 64000. Sixty-four thousand people will have seen the show.
5. How many horses are there altogether?
Answer: 2 + 15 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 17 + 1 + 2 + 10 + 14 + 2 = 67. There are 67 horses altogether.
6. How many breeds are represented in the show?
Answer: Eleven breeds are represented in the show.
7. How many bags of wood chips are used each month? Write your answer in word form.
Answer: 73000 ÷ 12 = 6083.33. Six thousand and eighty-three bags are used each month.
8. What time does the stable team’s workday begin? Be sure to include am or pm in your answer.
Answer: The stable team start work at 6 am each day.
9. How many hours does the stable team work each day?
Answer: The stable team works 12 hours each day.
10. How many bales of hay are fed each month? Write your answer in word form.
Answer: 15000 ÷ 12 = 1250. One thousand and fifty bales of hay are fed each month.
11. In the Vancouver area, the current price for a bale of Washington Timothy hay is $26.95 a bale. How much would it cost to feed hay to the horses for one month at that price?
Answer: 1250 x 26.95 = 33687.5. It would cost $33,687.50 to feed the horses hay for a month.
12. How many lbs of grain are fed each month? Write your answer in word form.
Answer: 70400 ÷ 12 = 5866.66. Five thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven pounds of grain are fed each month.
Photos:
Les voyageurs VI / The Travelers VI | Credits: François Bergeron; courtesy of Cavalia
Normand Latourelle and Gorrion courtesy of Cavalia
Odysseo by Timothy J Carroll; CC BY 2.0
Grand Cavalia IV | Credits: Pascal Ratthé; courtesy of Cavalia
Cavalia Odysseo – 08 – Écuries.JPG by Benoit Rochon; CC BY 3.0
Cavalia Odysseo – 09 – Écuries.JPG by Benoit Rochon; CC BY 3.0