I'm a big fan of the shows of Cirque du Soleil, that wonderful mesh of astonishing acrobatics, great costuming, haunting music, expert choreography and incomprehensible storylines. So naturally, I had to go see, as I did last night, the new show by Normand Latourelle, one of the founders of Cirque du Soleil. Cavalia is more or less the same thing, only with horses — 37, to be exact, appearing with a merry band of riders who put them through their paces. There are also acrobats who do impossible physical feats, often with the horses galloping past them, and the whole thing is presently housed out by the Santa Monica Pier in a white, 26,264-square-foot circus big top.
Before I get to the show itself, I want to kvetch about the seats. They're plastic bleachers, the kind where the whole row shakes if the guy nine chairs down from you crosses his legs. Which he probably can't do because anyone taller than Herve Villechaize is going to be darned uncomfy. I'm 6'3" and after we were seated but before the show started, I was seriously considering not staying for it. Two hours in that vise and my legs would have had worse circulation than anything I ever wrote for Eclipse Comics. My friend Carolyn, who often takes better care of me than I do of myself, went and talked to a nice gent who relocated our party of four to the front row, which was somewhat better. Still, I had to wonder how someone taller than me could possibly cope with having his kneecaps resting on his ears.
So much for the seats. Now, did I like the show? No, I did not like the show…though in fairness, a lot of those present (including at least half of my party) liked it very much. I thought the acrobatics, though splendidly executed, were rather pedestrian; nothing I hadn't seen before, including Cirque shows where they were the prelude to more spectacular stuff. The costumes and music failed to thrill me. In fact, there was something about the music that seemed to suck about half the energy out of the tent.
Mostly though, it was the horses…and I like horses. Never rode one, and it's been years since I touched one…but I certainly appreciate the special human-horse "bond" that Cavalia celebrates. What I think I stopped appreciating about ten minutes into the show was Trained Animal acts. The horses trot in precision. They bow. They leap over small hurdles. They dance and walk sideways in lockstep and do all the things they've been trained to do. And as they were doing all those things last evening, I suddenly decided I didn't like Animal Acts just as displays of what an animal can be trained to do. The acts I like create some context and perhaps a little story and personality. The mere fact that a horse can be made to replicate certain actions every night, with matinees on the weekend, is of no more interest than the fact that an alarm clock can be set to go off at a desired time.
I guess I was expecting more of Cavalia. There were some nice moments here and there, and the horses sure were pretty. But at $80-90 a ticket, I won't be going back. Especially to sit in those seats.