Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alethea Crawford. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Alethea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My business partner and I created a full length equestrian acrobatic show called Gladius the Show. We have been working together for over 20 years and went from having a little performance company to being on tour in a big show , to creating our own show. We have been through many high and lows and even a multimillion dollar investment that went south and we had to rebuild in our own backyard. Through it all we have persevered and realize more and more everyday that it truly is about the journey.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I spent 20 years as a competitive equestrian vaulter (gymnastics on horses). In my late teens I met my now business partner through competition and we decided to start a performance company together . I then moved across country and we started teaching ourself to do new things (Roman riding, fire performance, etc). We started doing performances all over the country and were noticed by the owner of an up and coming touring show called Cavalia. He ended up offering us a deal to be on the show, so we moved to Quebec with one of our horses and did the creation of the show, and then the tour. We really got to see what went in to a full production of that calibre.

After touring we decided to move to Las Vegas. We then put together even bigger acts of things never seen before, including an act Roman riding a team of 8 giant Belgian horses . We toured the US and Canada with the act and it evolved into creating a whole 90 minute show. We built a field of dreams in our yard in Vegas and started putting on community performances and gaining fans. We still do these performances, always growing and evolving and also still hit the road to take our show to other venues. Our end goal is a permanent show in Las Vegas but in the meantime, we are still creatively expressing ourselves daily.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2012 we had investors put 10 million dollars into our show. To make a very long story short, they were a married couple, who fought a lot and had a lot of problems. After training for 4 months and just before opening we artistically cut ties with them. Almost the whole cast left and they went forward to open the show anyway (with the name we had given it ). It was a heartbreaking experience, where we felt like we had finally reached the success we had always wanted and it all came crashing down. When we got back to Las Vegas we put all of our resources together and started building a community show here in our property, which is still going strong today.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is the feeling of limitlessness. There truly are no rules and life can be anything we make it . Being a creative keeps me closely connected to the divine, as it shows me how energy works . It allows me to feel ultimately free.

Contact Info:

• Website: Gladiustheshow.net
• Instagram: @gladiustheshow @alethea_crawford
• Facebook: Alethea Crawford
• Youtube: Gladiustheshow

Image Credits
Jeff Ragazzo