What Happens in Vegas: Cirque du Soleil Performer Dies in Fall at KA

Ugh. Immediate reaction to the news was just an "oof" moment to me. It's something that is at once sad, and completely understandable. Circus performers perform death-defying acts for a living, and sometimes there is a mistake. It doesn't make it less sad, this reality. Nor does it help with the trauma felt by the performer's friends, the people in the crowd who witnessed it, or anyone involved with the show (or family of shows). But it is important to put this into context. As with air shows, and race cars, and many other thrill-providing entertainment exhibitions, occasionally--and thankfully rarely--someone is going to get hurt or die.

I've never seen KA, though I have watched other Cirque du Soleil shows, such as Mystère, Zarkana and Michael Jackson Immortal. All of them contained amazing, thrilling--and clearly death-defying--stunts. Part of the amazement is in the fact that it looks so dangerous. Now we know, if we didn't already, that the threat is very real.

Image from source, Las Vegas Sun

[Excerpt]

Cirque du Soleil artist killed in fall from stage during ‘Ka’ at MGM Grand

Sarah Guyard-Guillot, an artist in "Ka" at MGM Grand and a mother of two children ages 8 and 5, was killed Saturday night after a fall from the show's stage at MGM Grand. The Clark County Coroner's Office said this afternoon that Guyard-Guillot, 31, was pronounced dead at 11:43 p.m. Saturday at University Medical Center.

Read more: LasVegasSun