The Clackamas print., November 23, 2011, Page 8, Image 8

O The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011
aced@clackamas.edu
Cavalia: Equestrian ballet prances onto stage
Left: K a ti Cox
shares a m om ent
w ith her horse
Cisco after a
Cavalia perfor­
mance.
Right: Gregory
M olina gazes a t
suspended arial
acrobat:
The show contin­
ues u n til D ec.4 .
By Isaac Soper
The Clackamas Print
mystery, of intrigue. The female riders
left their horses, to be led midair by
their male companions;-the women
floated, along side of the horses,-as if
■ After gallivanting down a side street they were angels or fairies., •
that'was under construction, I finally
The setting that Cavalia was held
reached the enormous white big top. in was a big top which contains a
W ithout looking too conspicuous, massive area where the horses at times
I followed an older gentleman who have free roam. The floors seemed to
seemed to know where he was going be dirt, rain and leaves fell on. The
and we entered through the glass doors powerful music was delivered by a live
into a central chamber. A short woman arrangement of musicians, whose sil-
with “dark, curly hair directed me- yo houettes could be segq faintly behind
fff^rfrcASfa uemraiVce into* the ballet a curtain above the stage.
known only as “Cavalia.”
I gazed at the spectacle , before
I reached what seemed to be a me and the lights dimmed; a pale
point of no return, the man in front blue image of a giant horse appeared
of me was on the list, I alas, was not. through the mist. A moment later,
I used my wit and boyish charm to at opposite ends of the arena, two
aiii- entrance. A woman dressed in white horses emerged —- each carry­
lack'Cbijlrhanded that I follow her; ing a woman, also dressed in white
garments. They looked as if they were
I obeyed^
The air was hot as I was guid­ either warriors or princesses, perhaps
ed down the darkened corridor by elves from Tolkien’s, “Lord of the
the woman in black. Booming music Rings?’ The riders strode in and out of
could be heard behind the visage of the Tight as if searching for. something
darkness. As I reached the end of the and then through a hidden door at
corridor, the music gained clarity and the rear of the stage, they vanished
volume and dim lights appeared. I as quickly and as silently as they
found a seat near the right of the stage. appeared.
In the first scene that I witnessed,
The lights grew brighter and out of
two horses appeared on stage, each the rear door, two men appeared, car­
carrying two riders, one male and one rying a wooden beam. The men con­
female. The horses walked through versed back and forth in an unknown
glimmering light; the scene was one of tongue as a woman appeared, standing
on the backs of two separate horses. standing up, even jumping on and off
The horses ,ran in unison so that the of the horses, while only holding onto
woman is able to hold steady. She held the reigns.
When the show ended, after an
the reigns of two other norses and
they gallop around the arena. The men all-roo-short 45 minutes (they only
with the pillar scurry into the center of allowed the media to see the abridged
the dirt floor and held the beam hori­ edition of the show), I packed away
zontally, as if making a fence to block my camera and notepad and searched
the woman with the four horses. Her warily in the darkness for my coat.
mighty steeds approached the barri­ Once found, I stumbled my way down
cade and opposed to halting abruptly, the steps from the seat I had found
to the unbelievable surprise of the earlier, still in a state of wonderment
spectators and myself, all of the horses from the performance and headed back
down the dark corridor from where I
jumped over the beam.
Cavalia was not what I expected had come. Without a guide this time,
at all from a so-called “ballet with exiting the big top through the way I
horses;”, it was something else alto­ had entered was a bit more of a chal­
gether. The performance consisted of lenge. The air in the passage was just
acrobatics, equestrian feats and many as menacing as before, as ifa chemical
special effects as, well; the visiials were was being pumped into it from .a sinis­
magnificent, seeming to be taken from ter being in a hidden position. Though
a fantastical medieval time. The bond the hall was dark and acrid, I was able
that the riders seemed to share with to find my way out, again passing the
their horses was beyond imagination, woman in black garb. I tipped my hat
to witness the performance was a great to her and spoke a word or thanks and
treat indeed. Throughout the snow, made my way out.
Looking back on the performance
I, along with the rest of the specta­
tors, was unable to keep myself from of Cavalia, it seems to be more of a
cheering; every scene of the perfor- dream than a show that I had wit­
jnance was greater than the last, every nessed, one in fact that I would love
moment building in excitement, up to have again, if only to see once more
until the magnificent finale, which a woman standing atop two horses
included performers doing stunts atop reigning another two horses in front of
their horses running at a full gal­ her ana jumping all four over a fence.
lop. Some performers rode backwards,
Truck falls victim to student stress for nursing program fundraiser
Kyle Bradbury (left) and Sarah Kuehl (right) take out stress fro m upcoming finals by smashing a truck a t the nursing programs fundrasier on M onday Nov. 21.