Cirque du Soleil Performer falls 50 feet and dies

[BreakTheIce]

What should have been another fun-filled summer weekend turned tragic last Saturday night, when Sarah Guillot-Guyard, a 31-year-old Cirque du Soleil performer and mother of two, fell to her death during a live performance of "KA" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-new...161719031.html



Poor woman. Thoughts for her family.

[dereperez]

Yikes...poor woman and her family. My condolences.

One wonders why no safety net was in place.

[m1thousand]

Semi related topic
Does anyone remember a group in Seattle who performed on ropes. They were doing a performance - not seen at that time , about 20 years ago, and one fell to their death and I think it was a live event. They painted their faces white. I remember it because I remember what the other artist looked like as they saw their friend fall

[m1thousand]

Yikes...poor woman and her family. My condolences.

One wonders why no safety net was in place.

The video says she 'came away' from her wire
http://media.smh.com.au/national/sel...s-4533857.html

[pat grimshaw]

I refuse to pay for their shows.

They had some kind of homophobia scandal a while ago.

[maxpowr9]

I understand that is all "part of the job" and some jobs are very dangerous but it is still sad when something like this happens.

[m1thousand]

Semi related topic
Does anyone remember a group in Seattle who performed on ropes. They were doing a performance - not seen at that time , about 20 years ago, and one fell to their death and I think it was a live event. They painted their faces white. I remember it because I remember what the other artist looked like as they saw their friend fall

It was not the Wallendas as someone messaged me.

The act as abstract. They descended down head first as if they were coming out of the womb. I googled but found nothing


Its a sad story about the woman above. They know the dangers and its probably the 100% safety record that Cirque had had than gave them a sense of security.

I didnt think Nick Wallenda should be allowed to do a live event when he could die. They could tape it and show it after.

[Beachguyj]

Very sad. I would be traumatized if I saw something like that, that's why I don't like shows like that or lion tamer type shows.

[pat grimshaw]

Too many audiences go to these kind of shows for the thrill of seeing someone else risk their life for their own entertainment.

Performers seem to die every week at air shows, hot rod shows, Demolition Derbies etc, etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._and_incidents

[rareboy]

Cirque is not like an air show or demolition derby.

It is obvious you've never seen one. Your opinions on it are ridiculous.

Cirque's safety record is beyond criticism given the thousands of performances they've given over the decades. Probably more people have been killed in accidents at musical concerts than in Cirque performances.

[gsdx]

One wonders why no safety net was in place.

'The Battle Wall' is literally a vertical floor. People in harnesses hang from cables and run up and down the wall horizontally. There are safety precautions galore to prevent falls from happening with back-ups to stop them if they do. The woman somehow came out of her harness.

This is not the scene, but a short video of how 'The Battle Wall' works.

[medic1]

For Gods sake , it was an accident , they do happen .
And she was wearing a wire , plus this is the 1st fatality they have ever had in the decades they have been performing .

Yes very sad as is any preventable death , have seen them at the Albert Hall London , truly amazing and [B]PROFESSIONAL >

[gsdx]

For Gods sake , it was an accident , they do happen .

Indeed. When you consider the thousands of rehearsals and performances of that particular segment alone, it's an amazing track record.

It's tragic, yes, but it's the first death in its 30-year history.

[frankfrank]

I refuse to pay for their shows.

They had some kind of homophobia scandal a while ago.

Oh?? (Or should I say "O"? pun intended - see below.) Somehow that homophobia thing with CdS got by me. Interesting, too, that a lot of the performers are presented in ways that are indeed homoerotic.

I didnt think Nick Wallenda should be allowed to do a live event when he could die. They could tape it and show it after.

I steadfastly refused to watch it live, because I didn't want to participate in watching what could have become a snuff film. I already saw, years ago, what I think was indeed a snuff film. Once was ample.

I went to see the CdS show "O" [water...and the "answer" to the pun-intended above] at The Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas sixteen months ago. The show was incredible and wonderful, but I was rather distracted (and it bothered me some) just hoping, HOPING, that nothing would go wrong. Thankfully nothing went wrong, but just thinking about it was the one thing that kept the experience from being 100% wonderful - instead more like 95% or more wonderful.

Totally the opposite of watching and hoping for an accident, as mentioned below this.

Too many audiences go to these kind of shows for the thrill of seeing someone else risk their life for their own entertainment.

Performers seem to die every week at air shows, hot rod shows, Demolition Derbies etc, etc

For NASCAR, etc., I think those kinds of shows have audiences which include a VERY noticeable percentage of people who are hoping for a horrific wreck. However...

Cirque is not like an air show or demolition derby.
Probably more people have been killed in accidents at musical concerts than in Cirque performances.

...(continued from above thought) I think that the sheer opulent cost of going to a Cirque show "prices out" those people hoping for an accident, and the audience tends to be a lot more "upscale" in many respects. A CdS show doesn't draw the same people who veg in front of the TV all weekend watching sports, NASCAR, drinking their Crudweiser, filling their pieholes with Cheetos and pizza and Krispy Kreme, and screaming at the kids to shut up.

Indeed. When you consider the thousands of rehearsals and performances of that particular segment alone, it's an amazing track record.

It's tragic, yes, but it's the first death in its 30-year history.

That's pretty amazing - I didn't know that!

[medic1]

Indeed. When you consider the thousands of rehearsals and performances of that particular segment alone, it's an amazing track record.

It's tragic, yes, but it's the first death in its 30-year history.

So true , but if you had quoted my whole post you would have seen i said the same thing about this being their only fatality in their history .

Not having a go mate , just agreeing with you.............

[gsdx]

Not having a go mate , just agreeing with you.............

I know. I was just mentioning that the Cirque du Soleil was created almost 30 years ago (1984), which I don't recall reading in any of the posts.

[dereperez]

The video says she 'came away' from her wire
http://media.smh.com.au/national/sel...s-4533857.html

I understand that...but why not a safety net below to be doubly safe? Just in case, ya know, something happens to the wire/cable/harness.

'The Battle Wall' is literally a vertical floor. People in harnesses hang from cables and run up and down the wall horizontally. There are safety precautions galore to prevent falls from happening with back-ups to stop them if they do. The woman somehow came out of her harness.

This is not the scene, but a short video of how 'The Battle Wall' works.

I see...thanks for sharing.