Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...The show models itself after the Cirque du Soleil (the artistic director Norman Latourelle was a Cirque founder). But this isn’t so much a circus landscape as a frequetly overstuffed, horse-fused dreamscape—snow, leaves, dancers pawing water, you name the portentous mood-moment for a horse to gallop through. It will seem pretentious to some. Toward the end of an overly ponderous and intermittently soporific first act that badly needs some of the acrobatic sparks that fly when the superb riders do their second-act stuff, I kept imagining the Monty Python version of “Cavalia,” which would doubtless would have involved a talking horse, sitting in the front row."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...You easily could describe the whole event as an eccentric circus, too (the show's creator and artistic director, French Canadian Normand Latourelle, was a founder of Cirque du Soleil) -- a spectacle animated by the most extraordinary horse acts, as well as phenomenal acrobats and aerialists."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The horse trainers are at pains to create a sense of almost telepathic rapport with the beasts, and, yes, they do some marvelous things. But Cavalia is no less about enforcing obedience than any other equestrian show; its attempt to pretend otherwise makes it dishonest, demeaning to the animals (who are made to do anthropomorphic tricks like bowing), and boring. The second half is infinitely better. For one thing, that's when some utterly amazing human acrobats get to perform. It's also the part of the show set aside for an extended western trick-riding bit that's fast, funny, exciting, accomplished, and, best of all, straightforward: the horses run and jump, the humans show off."
Examiner
- Recommended
"...Cavalia’s hallucinatory Cirque du Soleil roots area apparent throughout; creator Normand Latourelle spent years with the French-Canadian show famed for its high-end spectacle. Thanks to the cinematic wonders of digital projection, phantom horses shimmer 100 times their normal size on vast sheets of (stage) rain, lope to life in cave paintings and fly like Pegasus alongside aerial riders. The flesh-and-blood components of the spectacle are just as eye-popping. Who knew, for instance, that bungee jumping and bareback riding were compatible sports?"
Chicago Stage Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Cavalia treats the audience to juxtaposing presentations. Daring and extraordinary displays broken up by simple and lovely homages present the horse as a complete creature, beautiful and powerful, tranquil and bounding. We are as wrapped when they drink from a pool of water as we are when they are ridden by fearless daredevils who stand on saddles with outstretched arms as the horses run at full speed."
ChicagoCritic
- Not Recommended
"...I am a big circus fan and I love horses, so I was certain that this was a show I would swoon over. Cavalia has a large collection of beautiful horses and they perform some choreography that approaches ballet at times. Unfortunately, the presentation is so slowly paced that it never captured my interest and I thought the first act would never end. This was made even worse by Michel Cusson’s dreary and pretentious score which seems less homage to horses than to Yanni on barbiturates."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Somewhat Recommended
"...All in all, this is a different look at performance theater. The second act is far superior and moves much quicker than the first. There are some wonderful moments that seem to be longer than they need be. As I watched some of the younger audience members squirm in their seats (I am not speaking about the under 10 group, but the under 30 group), I thought about how an audience can get lost if they are allowed to lose the moment. "
