Aug. 12, 2013 — Talk about having a hand in the show! Nationally known media figure and RLTV Lifestyle Host Dr. Anna Marie (yes, you know her from The Weather Channel) literally dipped her hand in paint and placed her rainbow palm on the Palomino AQHA gelding Nuchex Pimero Whiz (“Rocky”) after he got a royal makeup job from the good doctor herself in preparation for the Native American reining act at Arabian Nights August 6th Media Day.
The date coincided exactly with the “Your Life Redefined” host’s 48th birthday, so of course, Mark Miller, founder of the Orlando equestrian attraction, escorted her straight to the Royal Table when the painting job wrapped for a special luncheon matinee performance of “The Royal Celebration,” the new production at the Orlando dinner theater that brought local media out full force. But as the saying goes, a picture, well, YouTube, says a thousand words.
Here’s Marie getting acquainted with Csaba (cha-ba) Szilagyi, who incredibly had never ridden a horse until coming to Arabian Nights 10 years ago. (He somersaults above one now!)
See the Arabian Night’s Interview With Acrobat Csaba Szilagyi on YouTube.
Marie gets the honor of painting the Native horse. Here she is, pre-show with a budding equine makeup artist to help!
Watch the Arabian Nights Painting The Horse on YouTube.
Art in action! Hand-painted by RLTV network’s Marie (www.RL.TV), here’s a quick peek at the Native American tribute in the show. (That’s Csaba Szilagyi in the saddle.)
See the YouTube video of the Arabian Nights 25th Anniversary-Media Day.
“For me, getting close to the big five-oh (50), painting the Native horse meant a lot. Everyone of those symbols . . . every time I did a brush stroke around the eye, or placed my hand on that horse’s heart, I made a point of remembering how the Native Americans honor the horse,” said the blonde media figure. “What a great way to kick off my new birth year and Arabian Nights’ new show,” said Marie, who sat next to Tim Farley (author Walter Farley’s son) during her first look at 90-minute production “The Royal Celebration.”
She said, “This is a nice, tight, flowing script, and I really like how they brought the act with The Black Stallion further up. Tim Farley was sitting next to me, and I looked at him and said, ‘What do you think?’ He thought it was great. There’s nonstop action; these guys are doing quick costume changes. And, Mark has a new chef. The food was outstanding.”
The first complete revision of the show in 14 years (and only its second since the dinner attraction opened 25 years ago in 1998), Arabian Nights has staged more than 10,000 shows for more than 10 million people since its inaugural performance. How fitting that the host of “Your Life Redefined” TV series had a “hand” in Media Day for the award-winning dinner show “redefined.”
“I’m about an hour away in Altonna, Florida,” said Marie, whose connection with “The Royal Celebration” may well grow stronger in months to come. Al-Marah Ben Dream, the first of the famous Al-Marah Arabians’ senior stallions to move from the Tucson farm to Orlando to begin an entertainment career, was chosen by Miller to be the horse ridden by Princess Amirah in his new show. And how does that connect to Marie you ask? A Ben Dream filly Southwind Dreamz was born to her Al-Marah mare in March. “How many degrees of separation is it in the horse world,” said the TV host with a laugh. Not much, where Arabian Nights www.arabian-nights.com and Al-Marah LLC www.al-marah.com are concerned.
The largest family owned and operated entertainment business in Central Florida, Arabian Nights features a cast of 60 horses and 20 human performers in a 90-minute dinner show performed without intermission, 365 days a year. Founded by Mark Miller in 1988, Arabian Nights is located in Kissimmee (Orlando), Florida, just moments from Disney World. Devoted to preserving equestrian arts, Arabian Nights is a “sister company” to Al-Marah LLC. For Arabian Nights tickets and information visit www.arabian-nights.com. Stay tuned to www.al-marah.com for upcoming news about Al-Marah and its legendary herd.
