Horse spectacle Cavalia riding to Beijing

The show Cavalia features dozens of horses and riders, and aerialists, acrobats, dancers and musicians.[Photo provided to China Daily]

After 13 years of touring globally and having been watched by around 6 million people, Normand Latourelle, co-founder of the famed Cirque du Soleil, will debut his multimedia spectacular, Cavalia, in Beijing this April.

Involving more than 40 horses and 40 riders, and aerialists, acrobats, dancers and musicians, the show is a tribute to the bond that exists between the animal and people.

"I was not a horse person. But after years of being with the show, I think the horse is the most beautiful animal in the world. Horses are smart and artistic," says Latourelle, who was in Beijing to promote his show.

Through the show, Latourelle tells the story of the relationship between humans and horses against a constantly changing digital backdrop projected onto a 60-meter-wide screen.

Usually set in outdoor venues, the show uses a white tent, called the "big top", covering more than 2,000 square meters of area and pitched at a height of 35 meters. It allows the horses enough space to run around.

With a capacity of 2,000 seats, one of the world's largest touring tents will come to Beijing's Chaoyang Park when the show opens in the Chinese capital.

With 46 years of experience in creating and staging such live spectacles, Montreal-based Latourelle is considered an expert in his field.

Cavalia was born as an irresistible idea around 15 years ago, he says, after he noticed audience attention completely focused on a single horse on the stage rather than the human performers during a separate show.

"I wondered why (people watched the horse), and the idea went on for several years. I began to fall in love with horses. Because of my experience with Cirque du Soleil, I began to think about incorporating horses, lots of horses, into a show," Latourelle recalls.