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The Man Who Dances With Horses
In the dim gloom of an unlit theatre, a large grey horse stands, entirely free of tack, in the middle of a stage. The auditorium around it is empty; the rows of red velvet seats an elegant backdrop. The atmosphere is still, serene even. The horse hears a noise, and lifts its head, ears pricked, in the direction from which it is coming. The tall man who appears from the wings of the theatre, talking emphatically to his female companion, stops as soon as he sees the horse.
He nods at the animal in recognition, pulls his tweed cap to his chest, and then slowly crosses one culotted leg in front of the other. The horse mimics the movement. The man, Bartabas, laughs fondly and walks towards the horse, which bows its head to its chest. For several moments they stand like this.
Later, Bartabas tells me that he and this particular horse – Le Tintoret – have worked together for more than 20 years. 'We are great friends,' he smiles. Of the four horses in the show that will be performed tonight at La Coursive theatre in La Rochelle, France, Le Tintoret is the oldest. But the others – Horizonte, Soutine and Pollock – are trusted favourites, too.
There is no particular breed of horse that Bartabas favours. Rather, the shows he decides to put on are dictated by the horses with which, at that particular moment, he feels that he has something to say. 'There is a lifetime of work behind this particular show,' he says. 'I couldn't have done it with horses I was less familiar with.'
Le Centaure et l'Animal (The Centaur and the Animal) is the latest show from the man who, since he founded his Zingaro Equestrian Theatre in 1984, has been thrilling audiences as far afield as Moscow and Japan with his unique, highly symbolic, dressage-based equestrian theatre productions. A self-styled 'pioneer of original expression', Bartabas, now 53, is a national treasure in France, where horses are valued almost as highly as the arts.
For more on Bartabas visit www.telegraph.co.uk
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