If you have driven by Canada Olympic Park lately you will have noticed the giant white big-top perched upon a hill. Cavalia, the blend of acrobatics and horses, has returned to Alberta with a new show. Running until June 1st in Calgary and opening July 9th in Edmonton Odyesso takes the original Cavalia experience to the next level.

While sitting in the audience you cannot help but be in awe of the horses, the massive screens and set, and the astounding feats made by the human performers.

GayCalgary Magazine recently had the amazing opportunity to tour behind the scenes. From the training center for the acrobats to the stables and horse training area, backstage is a hub of activity. All of the details – down to providing the cast with black underwear in case of wardrobe malfunctions – are taken care of by the staff.

"I think you see the show and think that is it, but the real show is all the stuff that goes on before and during," says aerialist Brennan Figari. "Costume changes, putting saddles on the horses  – some of the costumes are attached to the horses – so dealing with all of that. The set and the stage itself is crazy. I think if you had nobody on stage and just saw the sets and projections you would still leave it and be like wow."

California-born Figari started working in circus arts 11 years ago and quickly took to it. After a career that had taken him around the world on cruise ships and working in Las Vegas he had the opportunity to audition for Odyesso.

"One of my friends was in the (original) show," he begins. "I hadn’t talked to her probably in five years and I got an e-mail from her out of the blue telling me she was working for Cavalia and they were looking for acrobats and I should send my stuff in. So I did. Then I flew up to Montreal for an audition and went to the ranch in Sutton, Quebec in January.

"Coming from Las Vegas it was a bit colder than this California boy was used to! About a month later I moved up to Canada and we started training. I was there for seven months before the first show. A lot of the riders were there two years before the first show. They hired me and I had most of the skills needed it was just a case of choreography and routine. A lot of the riders had to train these horses from scratch. Having been here for three years, seeing the development of the horses from when I first arrived to what they do in the show, is astounding."

Figari has several roles in the show and at one point is featured in a solo hoop piece that is spectacular to witness, featuring a risky move called a neck hang.

"I choreographed almost all of my solo," he says. "The artistic director and I have a great relationship and he trusts me enough to give me some creative freedom. Usually if I want to change something I will practice it by myself, then tell him I am working on something new to see if he likes it. We will work on heights and timings so there is a conversation about changing the solo. He was a performer himself and knows where I am coming from.

"I, as the performer, don’t want to be bored, and the audience doesn’t want to see someone who is bored, so it helps everyone to keep engaged and keep developing the show, and challenging myself and keep trying to be the best I can be.

"The neck hang is new, I just put that in this city. It is getting a good reaction; you can train something and I know that it is hard but you never really know how the audience will receive it until you do it. So I am hanging there going ok yeah, they like it that is good. I wouldn’t say that I am not afraid – I have a healthy respect for what I do and the dangers. I do enjoy that feeling of conquering your fear and seeing what your limits are and trying to continually change those limits. Still now, when I do the neck hang, because it is new I take a deep breath and let go.

"I am not going to put anything in the show that I am not comfortable with. I don’t want to fall and it hasn’t happened but I enjoy giving that sense of danger."

When working with horses there is the added hazard of what the horses leave behind. As the artists backflip and dance across the stage they have accepted that sometimes landing in horse poo is just another part of the job.

"When we all first came it was like ok, we are going to dodge the poop," Figari explains. "Then you realize it is just digested hay. Humans have such a varied diet but horses diet is really organic. That is what I tell myself when I happen to step on it, because it does happen, especially at the end when the stage floods. There is no getting around it, it is a horse show and you are barefoot. It is an interesting challenge in the hoop number, where you have to try and avoid it. There was one show where there was this big perfect clump right under the hoop the whole show. I think the audience clapped more when I would avoid the poop versus the actual tricks! You get used to it."

Regardless of your orientation or gender you cannot help but notice how attractive the cast is. It seems like a recipe for drama, but Figari explained that despite the scenery, it is all professional.

"Because I have been here for three years and we spend hours together every day it feels like a family. So there has never been an issue for me. I like the people I work with but I don’t want to mix work and pleasure. Since we are touring together we are stuck with each other. In a normal city, if things go south, you can avoid someone, but when you are on tour you are stuck together.

"We all realize that and that it is not really worth it. You just ignore it. You are relying on someone else on stage to keep you safe and you have to have that trust and bond with each other because you are onstage. When I am holding a bar in the jumping number I have to trust that the rider is in control of his horse and not going to run into me. When I do the pole number I have to trust that my partner is going to hold on to me. I need to trust my riggers and they need to trust me.

"I think we are a lot closer being on tour in this show than in maybe an office job where you can get by with surface level relationships. We come to a new city and don’t know anybody so we hang out with each other. It seems like a cliché, but we really are like a family and comfortable around each other because of the time we have spent. We are all here because we love what we do and that unifying fact is enough to keep the show together."

Figari then took us to the training ring and brought out Bassilo, the horse he works with for the Liberty piece that opens act two. Having solely worked in the air before, coming down to the ground to work with horses was a new and exciting experience.

"Horses are big!" he guffaws. "I hadn’t worked with horses ever before. I don’t ride in the show. I am working on doing the Liberty number in the second act with the horses lying down. I do that in the show sometimes, which has been an incredible learning experience for me. People say horses are like people and you can see they have good days and bad days and personal relationships – there is no one size fits all with horses.

"I am definitely more comfortable now but at the beginning it was a little frightening to have horses galloping at you at full speed. I enjoy horses and respect them a lot more from the experience."

Many of the cast members sport similar flowing manes to their horse counterparts. Figari now dawns long hair, another adjustment made for the job.

"This is the longest my hair has ever been," he says. "Growing up my rule was I never want to touch my hair and now I worry about what my hair is doing. It has been a learning experience. It takes getting used to and takes more work. It lends itself very well to the overall themes of the show and the elegant flowing – whether it is the horse’s manes or the human manes. It works here. Spinning on the hoop the long hair gives it another aspect."

Odysseo has received rave reviews from press and attendees alike. It is a spectacle unlike any other and a must see for fans of horses, circus arts, or those just looking for an evening of entertainment.

"I think our show has everything," Figari states. "If you don’t like horses there’s the acrobatics and the tumbling. Just the size of the tent and the 30-foot high hill and a stage that floods with water and the two Imax screens... if you just look up and see all of the rigging and think about the fact that everything moves in 17 days. Just the technical aspect of the touring show is interesting to me.

"If you like horses you will love the show but there is so much more. My whole family has seen it – from little cousins to my grandparents, there is something for everyone."