A man-horse dialogue that’s above a whisper

In a lot across from the Glendale Galleria, performers from “Cavalia” have commandeered an abandoned building. Inside, it’s like camp for adults -- with no-smoking signs in French, acrobats eating lunch at rickety tables and, in a nearby tent, a stable full of white stallions.

“Cavalia: A Magical Encounter Between Horse and Man” was created by Normand Latourelle, one of the founders of Cirque du Soleil. It is a circus of sorts -- with horses. But as Latourelle also points out more than once, “It’s not a ‘horse show’ -- it’s a show with horses.” “Cavalia,” which opens Tuesday, also features acrobats, bungee jumpers, live music and images projected on several screens.

The story -- “not a story line,” says Latourelle, “more like a poem” -- tells of the relationship between man and horse since its beginning. The production staff numbers close to 100; there are 60 artists -- “33 of them are on four legs,” Latourelle says.

Central to it all is Frederic Pignon, the horse whisperer.

Tall, with shoulder-length dark hair, charcoal-lined eyes and robes like a sheik’s, Pignon explains that this too is a moniker that doesn’t quite suffice. After all, he does more than whisper to the horses. He also listens and conducts the daily diagnostic.

“What we like to do is work in a psychological way and find out what is going on in their heads,” he says.

Born into the metier, Pignon developed his own techniques of communing with the horses. At first, he encountered skepticism from other horse people. “They thought I was crazy,” he says.

No wonder.

Standing in the center of a huge circus tent erected on the lot, Pignon faces a white Lusitanian galloping toward him. (The custom-built tent has a 150-foot stage that allows the horses to run at top speed.) Upon hearing his soft-spoken command, the horse stops inches from Pignon. At another command, it stands on its hind legs while kicking its front legs near Pignon’s body.

It looks crazy. And risky.

Pignon is rehearsing the “liberty” portion of the show -- stallions running free around the arena, chasing each other and playing with the man in the center who communicates by touch, eye contact, gesture and sound. (The horses understand both French and English, he maintains.) There are no ropes or harnesses. Pignon has a whip but doesn’t use it.

Instead, he clucks and whispers, commanding the horses as if they were dogs.

Later, a young, female acrobat donning a semi-transparent dress is suspended from the ceiling on wires. As Pignon rides like a royal around the stage, she flies in circles around him.

“I’m not a horse person,” Latourelle says. So to find him in the middle of this show is a little odd. After all, he says, he was the one who invented the Cirque line: “A circus with no animals.”

But about six years ago, Latourelle decided to create something equestrian. To conduct his research, he watched countless horse shows, attended rodeos and flew around the world. Eventually, he came across a tape of Pignon and his wife, trainer and rider Magali Delgado. He traveled to France to see their show and, the next day, persuaded them to run away and join his circus.

Designers and engineers created the custom-built tent, which seats 1,800 people.

Backstage, after the workout, Pignon sheds his waist-length black wig and robes.

“It can be very dangerous,” Pignon says of his horseplay. “I show him I understand him.

“Maybe he thinks I’m like his mother,” he continues. “They trust me lot. They come to me to solve the problems.”

‘Cavalia’

Where: 218-220 W. Harvard Ave., Glendale

When: Tuesdays to Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 1 p.m.

Ends: May 7

Price: $41-$79

Contact: (866) 999-8111