A performer in Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas show Ka has died after falling 50-feet to her death in a fatal high wire accident. Sarah Guyard-Guillot, a 31-year-old acrobat, “was being hoisted up the side of the stage and then just plummeted down,” witness Dan Mosqueda told The Sun describing Saturday’s accident.
“Initially, a lot of people in the audience thought it was part of the choreographed fight. But you could hear screaming, then groaning, and we could hear a female artist crying from the stage,” Mosqueda added.
Cirque du Soleil wrote an official statement on their Facebook page saying, “The entire Cirque du Soleil family is deeply saddened by the accidental death of Sarah (Sassoon) Guyard, artist on the production ‘Ka,’ that happened on Saturday, June 29th, in Las Vegas. The artist’s immediate family has been informed of the accident. Our thoughts are with her family and the entire Cirque du Soleil family.”
This is the first time an artist from Cirque du Soleil has died during production in the company’s three decade history.
Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté wrote of the accident, “I am heartbroken. I wish to extend my sincerest sympathies to the family. We are all completely devastated with this news. Sassoon was an artist with the original cast of ‘Ka’ since 2006 and has been an integral part of our Cirque du Soleil tight family. 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.”
Cirque du Soleil is currently working in full cooperation with authorities to determine the cause of the accident. All future performances of Ka have been cancelled until further notice.
