Last week, I had the opportunity to take my daughters to see Odysseo. When they asked me what that was, I described it as, “kind of like Cirque du Soleil with horses.” They then stared at me blankly until I realized they hadn’t seen Cirque du Soleil before.
In truth, Odysseo is a beautiful show that combines 65 horses as well as 50 artists in 350 costumes who all perform under a giant, big top white tent. The show marries the equestrian and stage arts with theatrical effects on a stage that’s bigger than a hockey rink (1,626 square metres) and offers up an incredible and vast playground for the cantering horses.
My kids don’t traditionally have big reactions to movies and shows. Their canned response for how almost anything is (their first day of school, the play date they went on, the movie they just saw), is ‘good.’ But they absolutely loved this experience.
Here’s what they thought.
As the show opened, a vocalist came onto stage in a beautiful, flowing costume. “Is she a princess??” my daughter whispered to me. That was the first sign they were captivated.
Throughout the evening – whether it was acrobats, horses running freely around the stage or artist and animal performing together – each act was beautiful and enchanting in the eyes of my kids.
There was only one act that could be considered a touch slow and caused my oldest daughter to get restless for a moment. But that quickly passed and the rest of the evening was a mix of my kids staring wide-eyed at the stage and whispering excitedly to me with a running commentary.
“When I grow up, I’m going to do that,” my 5-year-old told me after watching acrobats flip and climb and swing on a full-sized merry-go-round. “They must practice a LOT!”
They also wanted to know if they could see the horses up close after the show. Luckily, we had VIP tickets, which gave us access to the Rendez-Vous tent for dinner and dessert, a private tour of the stables, a chance to go backstage and a photo opportunity with the artists.
Going backstage and seeing the horses was definitely a key moment for my kids, but the actual show was the real treat.
Despite the sun being directly in their eyes, they’re pretty pumped.
Odysseo is currently playing in Mississauga, ON, right next to the Hershey Centre. Ticket prices are definitely on the high end, but if you can swing it for a special night, a birthday gift or a special treat – it’s well worth it, in my opinion. They range from $65 – $165 for kids and $90 – $250 for adults.
If you do want to take the show in, you can save 15% on tickets with the code SOCIAL by purchasing tickets here: cavalia.com/live
Tagged under: GTA,kids,theatre,review,shows,entertainment,cavalia,odysseo,horses,acrobatics
Category: events
