Folks behind Cavalia reveal process of securing land for Odysseo, a show combining performance and equestrian arts.
Anyone traveling through Midtown during rush-hour traffic on the Downtown connector can’t help but notice, a big-ass tent, erected 125 feet in the air.
It’s the world’s largest touring big top designed for a new show by Cavalia called Odysseo. The company held its first Atlanta show two years ago at Atlantic Station, featuring horses, dancers and acrobatics.
Getting the tent to its Midtown parking lot took almost a year of negotiation, 115 semi-trucks traveling from Montreal and nearly 300 employees, according to Duncan Fisher, tour director at Cavalia.
“From location to location, we’re moving an entire city,” Fisher told What Now Atlanta in a telephone interview Monday. “Our traveling company has everything a city has.”
Located at the corner of 8th and Spring Streets in Midtown, Cavalia’s towering white big top was “too big for Atlantic Station,” he said. The Midtown development was home to the show in 2009 when Cavalia’s tent was much smaller.
The company considered holding its show at Turner Field, Lakewood Amphitheatre and Atlantic Station among other sites, but with 250,000-square-feet of needed space, most of those locations weren’t suitable, according to Fisher.
“First, we have to identify a parcel of land that is big enough. Atlantic Station simply wasn’t big enough for Odysseo’s big top,” Fisher said. “Second, we consider the marketing value of the site. The visibility from a major highway is important.”
Cavalia is positioned on two parcels of land, separated by 8th street: one that was being utilized as a parking lot and the other vacant. The most difficult process in securing the space was working with the city to shutter 8th Street during the show’s duration.
“Councilman Kwanza Hall played a key role in securing the site,” Fisher said. “Typically, when we approach a land owner they’re pleasantly surprised and easy to work with.”
To secure the location, which in other cities normally takes sixth months, took nearly a year, according to Fisher.
Once the site is determined, getting the space show ready, takes about a month he said. That includes dismantling the entire Cavalia setup in Montreal, transporting it to Atlanta, leveling the ground tents sit on, erecting the tent and rehearsals.
Unfortunately, unless the show gets extended, the beautiful white tent will disappear from the Midtown skyline after its last show on January 8.
Odysseo premieres in Atlanta on December 7. Tickets can be purchased here.
