HORSE SENSE FOUNDER OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL HARNESSES NATURE'S FURY FOR 'CAVALIA'.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Writer

There was a time when Normand Latourelle, the Canadian co-founder of the famed Cirque du Soleil, actually boasted that he could deliver an amazing circus with no animals. Not that he didn't like them, but he just didn't want to be behind a project where animals were in any way exploited.

That lack of animal sophistication extended to the horse, a veritable staple of traditional circus.

``I knew trapeze, I knew lights, I knew sound, I knew music,'' says Latourelle, whose new show, ``Cavalia,'' opens Tuesday in a big top adjacent to the Glendale Galleria. ``But horses - for me, it was something on four legs.''

Not anymore.

``I did a pageant about historical Quebec,'' says Latourelle. ``At one time on stage, I had 150 performers and one horse crossing the stage. And I looked at the audience, and they were following the horse, not the artists. I thought, 'Oh, there is something there.' ''

Welcome to the equine education of Normand Latourelle - a work in progress.

``Cavalia: A Magical Encounter Between Horse and Man'' originated outside Montreal before playing engagements in Toronto and San Francisco. In the performance, 33 horses share the stage with acrobats, aerialists, musicians and trick riders. The 1,800-seat big top contains a 160-foot stage constructed to allow the four-legged performers to reach full speed. The bleacher seating is designed for every audience member to have a view of the horses' hooves.

The horses - all stallions and geldings - are Arabians, Belgians, Lusitanians, Percherons and American Quarter horses. They come from the south of France and from the United States.

And ``Cavalia'' is very much their show, insists Latourelle. Since they treat the stage work as play time, the horses dictate the pace and routines. Each animal has a given function within the show that is suited to his personality, meaning some will be ridden and others will simply dash on stage to play for a minute or two. ``Cavalia'' performs seven times a week. To do more shows would be to risk equine burnout, say members of the ``Cavalia'' team.

That's not something Latourelle is willing to risk. His horse education hinged greatly on the hiring and participation of the husband-and-wife team of Frederic Pignon and Magali Delgado, who are now ``Cavalia's'' equestrian directors. Delgado's parents bred Lusitanian horses in the south of France. Pignon is a ... well ... the term most frequently used would be ``horse whisperer.''

``When I first visited Fred and Magali, they asked me if I wanted to see their horses,'' recalls Latourelle. ``I was expecting him to go to a ring, but he took the horse out to the field and started to run and play with it. My first script was based on the dream of freedom - the idea that man has stolen freedom from the horse to acquire his own freedom.

``Watching Fred, I said, 'Oh my God. This is the end of my story, the end of my show.' ''

Replies Delgado: ``(Latourelle) wrote the beginning. I was the end. He just needed a middle.''

Pignon and Delgado agreed to join the new venture, but only under a certain set of conditions.

``They said, 'We'll go on tour with you. We're willing to do shows, but we have to follow the horse,' '' says Latourelle. ``I accepted that. I think it was part of my decision to go with them.''

On a warm spring afternoon in Glendale, the ``traveling village'' that is ``Cavalia'' is in full activity mode. Inside the big top, the musicians, located high above the stage and out of view, conduct a sound check. In adjacent tents, the horses sleep, get hosed down or receive shoe treatment. Pignon visits briefly with Templado, the show's 17-year-old star horse, before frolicking a bit in an adjacent pen with Templado's half-brother, Guizo. Both are Lusitano stallions.

``Sometimes when we take time with the horses, we can develop something, and they become the best horses,'' says Delgado. ``Templado has a very strong character, and Fred is like his really best friend. I think he couldn't live without seeing Fred every day.''

Guizo seems equally besotted. He runs and rears, nuzzling Pignon, sometimes letting the whisperer jump on his back, other times not and dashing playfully away.

``People think horses have no emotions, which they do have,'' says Latourelle. ``They know when you're a good person and when you're not a good person. I wouldn't say they're very intelligent, but they understand. They do understand. They follow the music.''

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

CAVALIA: A MAGICAL ENCOUNTER BETWEEN HORSE AND MAN

Where: White Big Top, Colorado Boulevard next to the Glendale Galleria between Brand Boulevard and Central Avenue, Glendale.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday; through May 7.

Tickets: $59 to $79. Call [phone] or visit www.cavalia.net.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) A shoeless Frederic Pignon leads three of his equine charges under the big top in Glendale.

(2) Normand Latourelle came up with the ``Cavalia'' concept when he noticed the horse in another production commanding more attention than the human performers around it.

(3) ``Cavalia'' performs only seven times a week in order to keep the show's 33 horses as healthy as possible.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer