Cirque du Soleil is the name of a troupe or entertainment company based in Canada. The meaning of the name is circus of the sun and this circus or street entertainment act has been going on for the last 30 years around the world. The troupe came into limelight recently when a performed died because of an accident while performing acrobatics during the show. It was the first of its kind of an accident in the history of the circus and led to the death of an acrobat by the name of Sarah Guyard. Interestingly, Sarah was a veteran who had trained for more than two decades as an acrobat.
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Sarah was the chief performer at a sub event called Ka inside Cirque du Soleil. The show was being held at MGM Grand
Hotel in Las Vegas when the accident took place. According to the eyewitnesses who were present there watching the circus said that the gruesome accident took place during the end of the performances. One of the visitors, Dan Mosqueda said that he saw Ms. Sarah being hoisted up in the air with a steel wire on one side of the stage when she suddenly plummeted down to a pit that was 50 feet below. There were screams all around but the audiences could not see what happened as the pit was hidden behind the stage.
Dan says that most of the audiences, including himself, felt that this act was a part of the show and that Sarah would come up smiling. But when there were screams and groans and we saw one of the female artists on stage crying, we understood that an accident has taken place. Momentarily though, the show seemed to continue. But after a few minutes, an announcement was made that the authorities would issue a refund to all those who had come to see the circus. The spectators were asked to leave after this announcement.
In a statement issued afterwards, the founder of the circus Mr. Guy Laliberte said that he was shocked and stunned by the sudden demise of one of the integral parts of the circus. He said that Sarah was not just a performer in the circus but a part of the family. She had been performing Ka since 2006 and was a veteran acrobat having been doing these stunts day in and day out for the last two decades.
“I am heartbroken. I wish to extend my sincerest sympathies to the family. We are all completely devastated,” 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.”
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On the Facebook page of the circus, there was a statement from the management of the circus that said that in this hour of deep sorrow, the entire family of Cirque du Soleil stands behind the family of Sarah Guyard. The company has requested the media to respect the mourning of the circus.
