Equestrian Theatre
All of us have heard of different forms of theatre like puppet theatre, pantomime, musical theatre, opera, mime and so many more. But have any of you heard of an Equestrian Theatre?
Hippodrama or Equestrian Theatre is a theatre form showcasing horses as the main stars of the show. It has live horses that are ridden by men and women enacting characters based on a specific plot or storyline. An Equestrian Theatre looks more like a circus amphitheatre to give room for the horses to move about and with a gallery kind of a seating arrangement for the audience.
It is documented that horses have been part of Western European Theatre since the second half of the 18th century and Equestrian Theatre as a separate genre of theatre emerged in England in the beginning of the 19th century. Early Equestrian theatre performances were presented in London at Astley’s Amphitheatre, Royal Circus and Olympic Pavilion and in Paris at Cirque Olympique. Equestrian Theatre gained immense popularity in England, France and the United States.
Zingaro, is a very popular Equestrian Theatre company in Paris, France. It was established in the year 1984 at Fort Aubervilliers, Paris by Bartabas, whose vision was to create artistic shows with horses involving music, rhythm and theatre. It is a world renowned theatre group now and welcomes more than 60,000 spectators every year to watch the enthralling shows created by Bartabas.
According to Bartabas, “Its caravans, its music, its horses make it look like a circus but here the show is a ritual, music is a vocation and the love of horses a religion. It is the work of a tribe of artists, to their fingertips and hooves. All these wonderful beings turn the myth of Zingaro into an insolent reality.”
I had the wonderful opportunity to have performed with this theatre group at the age of 19. I was part of Zingaro’s 3rd production called ‘Chimere’ (1994), meaning dreams. The plot of this equestrian presentation goes thus – A young girl (played by myself) plays with her toy horses near an oasis in the deserts of Rajasthan. While playing she dreams that her toy horses come alive in front of her and she is enthralled by the spectacle that unravels in her mind, which is in turn seen by the audience. The theme of the entire production is Indian and there were 26 horses on show. The music for this production was a musical blend of Rajasthani folk music by the Manganiyars and Langas (folk artists of Rajasthan) and French percussion by Jean Pierre Drouet.
Bartabas takes six to eight months to choreograph a two - hour show and tours all of over France and parts of Europe for the next two and half years, after which he moves on to the next show. The shows take place 6 days a week for about a month in one particular city. So far, he has choreographed 17 equestrian theatre productions. It was truly amazing to see this man and his relationship with these beautiful creatures. According to him the horses can never go wrong, so if anything goes wrong on the show, he always attributed it to the artists and never blamed the horses. He had a very uncanny way of connecting with the horses and strongly believed that the horse chooses his partner not the other way around.
To ennunciate this, I would like to narrate a small incident that happened on my first day at Zingaro. I joined the theatre when they were touring in Brussels, Belgium. After a long flight from Chennai to Brussels and an almost two - hour drive from the airport to the location of the theatre, I met Mr. Bartabas. After greeting each other, the first thing I was told was, “Mahalakshmi please do not unpack your bags, just come with me for a few minutes”. I was quite taken aback by this statement but nevertheless I did what I was told. He took me to the enclosure of my horse and told me, “Go inside the enclosure and stand in a corner, if the horse comes to you then you are on the show. If that does not happen, I will send you back home in the next flight.” It was quite a moment seeing this beautiful golden coloured fully grown horse standing in front of me. The horse looked at me and came slowly towards me. That was the first step towards our beautiful relationship that reflected in all the shows for the next one year.
It was a wonderful experience performing in such a production. I learnt horse riding and I also learnt how to groom, feed and take care of a horse. Being an animal lover, I always loved to be in the midst of animals as they are truly the best companions. I had to take care of my horse who was my partner on the show. His name was Micha Figua. Training with him, going for walks with him, grooming him, feeding him, getting him ready for the show and performing with him were all memorable experiences for me. I will always cherish those memories in my heart.
- Mahalakshmi Balaji
