A dancer plummeted to her death in the middle of a Cirque du Soleil performance in Las Vegas — the first such casualty in the acrobatic show's 30-year history.
Sarah Guyard-Guillot, a dancer in the Cirque production of “Ka” at the MGM Grand, died Saturday night after a gruesome fall from the production’s stage, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
Cirque du Soleil performer Sarah Guyard-Guillot is shown here with her two children. Guyard-Guillot plunged to her death during the troupe's performance at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
It was the first reported death from an onstage accident in the show’s 30-year history.
Guyard-Guillot, a 31-year-old mother of two young children, reportedly slipped free of her safety wire and plummeted more than 50 feet to the open pit below the performers Saturday evening toward the end of the performance.
A scene from the Cirque du Soleil show 'Ka.' Sarah Guyard-Guillot, a mother of two, fell to her death while performing in the show Saturday night.
Guyard-Guillot, a 22-year veteran of acrobatic performances and a cast member of “Ka” since its inaugural 2006 run, had been suspended by a wire from the production’s vertical stage during the show’s epic final scene when the grave error occurred.
Sarah Guyard-Guillot was a 22-year veteran of acrobatic performances and a cast member of Cirque du Soleil show 'Ka' since its inaugural 2006 run.
The show briefly continued, members of the audience told the Sun, before screams from fellow performers halted the music and the show.
“You could hear screaming, then groaning, and we could hear a female artist crying from the stage,” Dan Mosqueda, who was in attendance, told the Sun.
Cirque du Soleil dancers are pictured here at premiere party for the show 'Ka' at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Acrobat Sarah Guyard-Guillot fell to her death late Saturday during a 'Ka' performance at the resort.
In a release, Cirque du Soleil said the company was “deeply saddened by the accidental death of Sarah (Sassoon) Guyard.”
The MGM Grand Las Vegas is where Cirque du Soleil performer Sarah Guyard-Guillot plummeted 50 feet during a show. After her fall, the show briefly continued but was halted by screams from fellow performers.
“Our thoughts are with her family and the entire Cirque du Soleil family,” the statement read.
Further performances of “Ka” have been canceled “until further notice,” the company said.
Cirque’s founder, Guy Laliberte, issued a separate statement expressing his personal devastation.
“I am heartbroken. I wish to extend my sincerest sympathies to the family. We are all completely devastated with this news,” Laliberte said.
“We are reminded, with great humility and respect, how extraordinary our artists are each and every night. Our focus now is to support each other as a family,” Laliberte said, adding that the company is cooperating with authorities.
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