Fun facts about Odysseo by Cavalia

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Photography by Nancy Bowman

Odysseo marries the equestrian arts, stage arts and high-tech theatrical effects at never-before- seen levels. A veritable revolution in live performance, Odysseo comprises a list of superlatives: the  world’s  largest  touring  production  and  traveling  big  top,  the  biggest  stage,  the  most beautiful visual effects, and the largest number of horses at liberty. 
Odysseo pushes the limits of live entertainment by creating a larger-than-life show that sends hearts racing, but it is also a feast for the eyes that succeeds in delivering the spectacular with soul.    
To  give  life  to  this  extraordinary  equestrian  adventure,  a  1,626  square  meters  stage  was created with a hill that rising three-stories tall. Some 10,000 tons of rock, earth and sand are trucked in and then sculpted to create the vast space of freedom where humans and horses come to play in complicity.  Above the stage hangs an imposing technical grid capable of supporting 80 tons of equipment including a full-sized merry-go-round far beyond anything attempted to date on any touring show and comparable to the best-equipped theaters of Las Vegas, London or New York.

We've got a ton of cool facts about this show that's in Mississauga over the next few weeks that'll be sure to amaze you!

  • Standing 38 meters tall, the White Big Top is a traffic-stopping addition to the skyline of each city Odysseo performs. When visitors enter, they are immediately transported into a lavish and intimate environment reminiscent of any permanent theatre
      
  • There are 65 horses that represent 12 different breeds from around the world in the Odysseo stable. All the horses are male – stallions and geldings. They hail from 6 countries including Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the United States and Canada. The average age of the horses is 9 with the youngest at 6 and the oldest at 14
     
  • More than twice the size of the structure created for the first production, Odysseo’s White Big Top is the size of a CFL football field. The 1,626 square metres stage, larger than a hockey rink, and the 15 meters wide backstage area offers a vast playground for more than 30 cantering horses. 
     
  • There are 3 arches that support the White Big Top. Each arch consists of 8 sections that are 2.5 metres wide by 9 meters long. Once assembled, each arch is 27 meters high by 62 meters long
     
  • The masts of the big top have been specially engineered to be able to lift the arches    into place
     
  • The canvas is held in place by 1,310 one-meter long stakes holding down the 250 anchor  plates
     
  • 26 motors are needed to raise the canvas onto the structure, resulting in the White Big Top
     
  • The length of all the steel cable used to attach the structure to the ground is equal to 5.8 kilometres
     
  • Odysseo features 65 horses of 12 different breeds including the Appaloosa, Arabian, Canadian Horse, Holsteiner, Lusitano, Paint Horse, Percheron Hanoverian Cross, Quarter Horse, Selle Français, Thoroughbred, Spanish Purebred (P.R.E.) and Warlander
     
  • The horses are from Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the United States and Canada
      
  • There are 50 artists - riders, acrobats, aerialists, dancers and musicians
     
  • The  artists  are  from  around  the  world  including  the  United  States,  Canada,  Brazil, France, Italy, Guinea, South Africa, Poland, Russia, Spain and Ukraine
     
  • There are 350 costumes and 100 pairs of shoes and boots in the show. Artists may have up to seven different costumes
     
  • An  artist  may  have  no  more  than  30  seconds  to  do  a  quick  costume  change  between numbers
     
  •  A  team  of  13  dressmakers,  one  property  master,  one  designer  and  one  shoemaker worked in the Odysseo studios to create the costumes
     
  • Materials used in the costumes include linen, silk, cotton, leather and some imitation fur. The use of natural fibers gives the clothes sheen and lets them fall in a way that synthetic fibers simply cannot match
     
  • The  costumes  are  adapted  to  the  artists’  needs,  especially  those  of  the  acrobats  and riders, to facilitate their onstage movement while not compromising their appearance
     
  • The  on-tour  costume  department  consists  of  one  wardrobe  person  and  three  dressers who launders, mends and cares for the costumes. At times during the show, they juggle 15  simultaneous  wardrobe  changes.  They  have  two  sewing  machines,  one  shoe-repair machine and one overlock machine.