Cavalia Odysseo – Cheryl Cottrell-Smith
Social Media Night at Cavalia’s Odysseo
By Cheryl Cottrell-Smith
Cavalia, the international touring equestrian sensation, has returned to Edmonton for its second year. This time, the company is touring for their second show, which is entitled Odysseo.
On July 23, Cavalia held their social media night in Edmonton and YEG Tweetup was asked to host the VIP experience of Odysseo along with their guests. Using the hashtag #OdysseoYEG, social media guests took to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with newfound freedom—as a rule, Cavalia does not permit video or photography during the show. Thanks to social media night, however, most photography and videography restrictions were removed (barring a 5-minute limit for videos). As a result, social media networks blew up with mentions of @Cavalia, #OdysseoYEG, and @YEGTweetup.
YEG Tweetup’s guests included members of Edmonton’s Twitterati, such as @AdrienneKS, @SarahMacDonald, @TamaraVineberg, @RealScottWeller, @CottrellSmithC, and @ETownMickey.
For those unfamiliar with the company, Cavalia is a Montreal-based entertainment organization that specializes in the equestrian: acrobatic and theatrical performances using horses.
Odysseo, which was launched in 2011, focuses on the mystical and the magical, infusing each performance with a dream-like quality made even more ethereal with vibrant, colourful lighting effects and stunning, flowing costumes. The horses and the feats of the riders are at the centre of the performance, which showcases trick riding, vaulting, and outstanding equestrian control.
Supporting these acts are international acrobatic groups, whose performances are interspersed among the horse-riding acts with amazing coordination and an energy that gets the crowd buzzing in their seats.
Cavalia maintains that Odysseo is the “only 6-D show in the world,” using 3D graphic backdrops to add extra dimension to each real-life performance. With an enormous stage, a live band, 18 simultaneous projectors to set the scene, and the largest touring tent in the world, Odysseo offers a next-generation look at the relationship between human and horse, taking the audience on a mystical voyage through beautiful landscapes and fantastical imagination.
As VIP guests, we began our night in the Rendez-Vous tent, which offered a complimentary full buffet, a bar with a generous amount of complimentary drinks, a small Cavalia gift shop, and other treats such as ice cream and popcorn. We were lucky enough to experience the show from fantastic third row seats (almost in the splash zone, but I won’t ruin the finale) and several lucky social media guests were treated to a backstage tour after the show, which allowed them to meet many of the performers and horses.
Odysseo will be holding shows in Edmonton until August 17th, so there’s still time to get tickets if you haven’t yet had the chance! More information on available dates and show times can be found here. As an added bonus, anyone reading this can purchase tickets at 10% off using the Promo Code: SMNYEG
On behalf of YEG Tweetup and all of their guests, we would like to thank Cavalia for hosting such a wonderful event and giving us a chance to share the magic of the show through our social media channels. We wish Odysseo much success in its current tour and we can’t wait to see what Cavalia has in store for us next!
