Cirque du Soleil Performer Dead in Las Vegas After Falling 50 ft to her Death During 'Ka' Scene
A Las Vegas acrobat's high rise act ended in her fate on June 29.
Sarah Guyard-Guillot, 31, plummeted 50 feet to her death when she fell loose from her safety wire in one of the final scenes of Ka at MGM Grand. The performer was hired by Ka when the production opened at MGM Grand in 2004. In the final battle scene of the act, performers are hoisted up into the air covering the massive vertical stage by harnesses that are clipped to cables. The Las Vegas Sun reported Guyard-Guillot's harness was still attached when she slipped and fell into an open, unseen pit below the performers.
Audience members at first thought it was part of the show until they heard screaming and a woman crying from the stage. Minutes later, the theatre issued an announcement over their sound system for available refunds and vouchers from people in attendance. The theater was then cleared out. After taken to the hospital, Guyard-Guillot was pronounced dead at 11:43 p.m. June 29 at University Medical Center.
Born in Paris, Guyard-Guillot had spent more than 22 years as an acrobatic performer. A mother of children 8 and 5 years old, she was veteran who served as a coach in aerial acrobatics. After the incident, MGM Resorts International, Cirque's artistic and business partner in Las Vegas, issued a statement about the tragedy:
"Our company is deeply saddened by the loss of one of the talented 'Ka' artists Saturday night. The thoughts and prayers of our employees are with the performer's family, the cast of 'Ka' and the entire Cirque family during this difficult time."
Performances of Ka will be canceled until further notice.
Although this was the first reported death from an accident onstage in Cirque's 30-year history, this is the second time in less than a week that a Cirque show was forced to a stop due to a difficulty involving a performer. On June 26, a performer suffered a mild concussion after slipping through the slack rope, missing the protective pad below the act and landing with great impact onto the stage during one of the final preview performances of Michael Jackson One at Mandalay Bay. That performer is expected to return to the show.
