To dream. To dream is to look courageously into the deep space of possibility and manifest a whisper of a wish into a new form of reality it is to celebrate the power of imagination. Picture many gifted artists being called together by their dreams, to create a world of light, sound and image, an extravagant multi-media production—all for love of the horse. And so unique is the collaboration of humans and equines joined to create this spectacular tribute to the horse that a new word was coined for it - Cavalia.
[Templado & Frédéric Pignon]

The French Canada-based Cavalia performance has been described variously as a ballet between man and horse, a gentle, romantic dance, a civilized showcase of precision horsemanship and courtly behavior, and a constant yearning to be airborne. It is indeed the magical encounter between horse and man that it is billed, opening to sold-out crowds and standing ovations at the engagements scheduled so far in Canada, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.
[Magali & Estelle Delgado, Dao & Penultimo]

The white nine-story tall touring tent is the largest in North America, and would have to be to contain a 200-foot wide curving projection screen that backs a 150 foot, two-level dirt stage, six live musicians and vocalist, and the activities of more than 60 performers, including equestrians, aerialists, acrobats, trick riders, and 33 horses, of which 13 are magnificent Lusitano stallions. Forty people working at construction require three weeks to assemble the tent and its 1,800 seats, and the adjoining stable. Cavalia is clearly a huge undertaking to take from city to city.

But it seems the Cavalians think the considerable effort is not too high a price to pay. Tracing the odysseys of the dreamers as they wandered the worlds of their separate visions, preparing to converge at Cavalia makes a most interesting tale…
[Cavalia tent on the beach in Santa Monica]

Horses have given mankind so much,” comments Normand Latourelle, the co-founder of Quebec's famed Cirque du Soleil and the creator/director of the lavish Cavalia production. They have fought in our wars and have given us our freedom. They gave us transportation, and they helped us with our agriculture. Though he has never ridden a horse, six years ago Latourelle became fascinated with the thought of doing a horse-oriented show after observing that a walk-on horse part in his current production enraptured the audience's attention. The people were looking only at the horse, not the human performers. He says, I thought, something is going on here…and my dream began to take shape when I met the equestrian trainer and artist Frédéric Pignon and his partner (now wife) Magali Delgado.
[Normand at the Santa Monica opening with American Humane Association director]

As equestrian co-directors of Cavalia and performers as well, they bring a wonderfully gentle and magical way with horses to the heart and soul of the production. Cavalia is a chance to give freedom back to horses.
[Magali, Templado, Fred, Fasto & Aetes]

Frédéric Pignon grew up in the Loire Valley in a horse-loving family that kept horses for endurance riding. He ran and played tag with the family's horses, and rode them bareback up in the hills. We were like little Indians. There were no rules, he says. He studied fine arts,a splendid artist in his own right, and learned and began teaching vaulting (known as voltige in France).
[Fred & Fasto, backstage at Glendale, California]

Pignon met Delgado when they both ended up teaching at an equestrian center-he taught voltige, she taught dressage. As Pignon and Delgado formed an alliance and Pignon began to work closely with the Delgado horses from their birth, he found his gentle training methods and light touch brought out the best in them, particularly the young stallions.
[Fred, Templado, Fasto, Aetes]

The famous example of course is the luminous Templado, whose story is told in the photographic book "Templado: A Star at Liberty" (available in English for purchase at Cavalia).

Now 18, Cavalia's equine star Templado was Delgado-bred and sold as a colt, as usual. But the Delgados have a policy; if for any reason an owner is unhappy with the horse, the Delgados wish the horse to be returned. And several years after his purchase, Templado was returned, desperately fearful and suspicious of humans. He was violently rebellious, verging on dangerous, and resisted any attempts to train him or even overtures of friendship.