At 7:30 p.m. today, the NIU Convocation Center will host the “World Famous Lipizzaner Stallion Horse Show.”

Tickets have been on sale since Dec. 10, 2004, and range from $16 to $26 per ticket.

“This is the second time the Lipizzaner Show has performed here,” said Kevin Selover, Convocation Center marketing manager.

Lipizzaners are full-blooded Spanish stallions trained in the art of “dressage,” which translates from French to “the schooling of a horse.”

The tradition of dressage began in 400 B.C. in Greece. The horses are immaculately cared for and trained to perform feats of strength and agility for wartime intimidation or exhibitions.

Dressage originally was reserved exclusively for royalty, and the Spanish government put an embargo on the export of an original breed of Lipizzaners for more than 100 years.

Now, more than 23 million people worldwide have seen the Lipizzaners.

“The show has visited every U.S. state and Canadian province and expects to perform soon in New Zealand, Greece and Japan,” said Troy Tinker, Lipizzaner master of ceremony.

“The horses are treated and travel better than us,” Selover said.

It wasn’t always so pleasant for Lipizzaners, though.

In 1945, the Lipizzaner breed was in dire danger of being exterminated. Its stable in Vienna, containing every Lipizzaner stallion, was evacuated by General George S. Patton because of insurmountable danger resulting from the war.

“If the rescue hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be seeing any Lipizzaners at all,” Tinker said.

A Disney documentary was made to commemorate the act, and this year is the 60th anniversary of the rescue.

This year is also the 35th anniversary of the show’s conception.

There will be 12 horses performing various courbettes, levades and cabrioles for the company’s routine created for the anniversary tour.

“The World Famous Lipizzaner show is a tribute to man’s relationship with animals,” Tinker said.