Cavalia - All the World's a Stage:
by Carole Dwinell

The lights dim and spots pick up some small horse toys, a stuffed huggable pony, a rocking horse, a stick horse... as two foals enter left and play with one toy, then another. They are unfettered, exploring their options. Joined by artists, acrobats and tumblers, the humans pick up the toys and make them their own. Is this portent of things to come? The lights again dim and the spots go out.

Early dawn light rises and you, the audience, begin the journey of horse and man, myth and conjecture, truth and reality. It is a road less traveled artistically, its like has not been seen before. In fact, with Cavalia, it is a road of such magnitude that one is transported into the tapestry of its story without conscious knowledge that's what happened. Cavalia is big.

The action goes from quiet, pensive interaction to a flamboyant embrace of strength and courage. Erik Martonovich and Alethea Shelton bring powerful vaulting images to the mix but it is never separated from the whole, and the whole defies description.

I, and probably other friends of Erik and Alethea, went to see them on a stage that was finally big enough. All confinement, rules and expectations of the past have faded, to be replaced by true persona, a home, an expression, a story that has the bones, the skeleton to support their presence. They are magnificent. There is not one part of this production that is not.  

A fluid history of horse and man - it is wrapped in mystery surrounded by a dreamlike background with unobtrusive music that flows into and around the sequences without effort or intrusion.

The story is the beginning, the middle and perhaps the future of the horse/man relationship as the artistry and confidence of horse trainer, Frederic Pignon, Co-Director of Cavalia, may influence the ideas and methods of those yet to come. The lovely Pas de Deux with Co-Director Magali Delgado and her sister Estelle on two of the Lusitano stallions working in and out, around and through the parts of the stage in a mirror image segued from the two actual riders to illusive projections that filtered in and out of reality. The following frenetic Roman Riding sequence left one never quite sure of the solid ground below the seat that purchased for the eveningUs performance.

Both our vaulters expressed astonishment that they could do this work, this play and get paid! When Cavalia comes to your area, do yourself a favor. Put it at the top of your must see list and go. You will never regret it, ever.

For its exclusive 11-performance run in Los Angeles, Cavalia will take place on the future site of GlendaleUs new Town Center. For more information and reservations, call (866) 999-8111 or visit the website at www.cavalia.net.