# Cirque de Soleil Kaa performer falls to her death **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350 "2013-07-01T14:36:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/21 "2013-07-02T03:34:49Z")
[Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1mjJTQPcrw&feature=youtu.be) is what is was supposed to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/22 "2013-07-02T04:43:36Z")
Damn. This kind of thing scares me to death. My 12-year-old niece is a [highwire performer in the local youth circus](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=611374)(started when she was 10). Thank God she has a net. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/23 "2013-07-02T09:08:04Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > There’s no getting around the fact that part of the appeal of these shows is the element of danger. That’s true for so much of our entertainment–air shows; auto racing; daredevil stunts. > > The chance that someone will die is in some way attractive and intriguing to us. If not, these forms of entertainment wouldn’t prosper. (The physical dexterity and grace that’s _also_ on view in Cirque shows doesn’t seem to be…enough.) That explains why nobody ever watches any dance taking place on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/24 "2013-07-02T19:22:19Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That explains why nobody ever watches any dance taking place on the floor. Well, it might explain why dancing-on-the-floor (in the Western world, anyway) generally requires subsidies to thrive, whereas the danger-of-dying varieties of entertainment generate profits. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/25 "2013-07-04T07:42:37Z")
Does anyone know what those safety wires are made from? I’ve seen their shows a few times and they look awfully thin. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/26 "2013-07-04T11:20:24Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Well, it might explain why dancing-on-the-floor (in the Western world, anyway) generally requires subsidies to thrive, whereas the danger-of-dying varieties of entertainment generate profits. People paid just to watch others dance in the 1930s, but again only because they would eventually collapse from exhaustion (and occasionally die). I’m referring to the desperate marathons as depicted in the film _They Shoot Horses, Don’t They_. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/27 "2013-07-04T14:07:07Z")
[Turns out](http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/jul/04/cirque-du-soleil-sarah-guillot-guyard) she actually fell 90ft, not 40 and she still had her harness on when she hit the ground. So either a connector failed or the wire broke. I’ve seen Ka (and almost every other Cirque show) and it’s amazing. I don’t think that when I’m watching I’m thinking of the possibility of death, but rather the amazement that humans can DO that. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/28 "2013-07-05T00:02:14Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > People paid just to watch others dance in the 1930s, but again only because they would eventually collapse from exhaustion (and occasionally die). I’m referring to the desperate marathons as depicted in the film _They Shoot Horses, Don’t They_. Good point. It seems to be a pretty well-established interest for our species. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/29 "2013-07-05T02:13:39Z")
She had children apparently. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/30 "2014-01-19T05:19:29Z")
There was an investigation and Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that "investigators had determined that Guillot-Guyard’s wire rope came off its pulley because she had risen too fast during a climactic battle scene, which is performed in front of a massive wall. Her rope scraped against a sharp edge of some kind until it broke, officials said, propelling Guillot-Guyard to her death." > **[Cirque du Soleil and MGM Grand cited in death of Vegas performer](https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2013-oct-29-la-na-nn-cirque-du-soleil-20131029-story.html)** > > Cirque du Soleil and MGM Grand cited in death of Vegas performer OSHA fined the company for failing to properly train Guillot-Guyard and for failing to protect other performers by not properly planning for the dangers of the show’s elaborate set. Naturally the company appealed rather than admit it was in the wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/31 "2014-01-19T14:02:32Z")
I think shows like this should have a net. The possibility of a fatal accident does NOT increase my appreciation of the beauty and artistry of such a performance. On the contrary, the assurance that there will not be a fatal or near-fatal accident during the show would enable me to relax and really enjoy the program. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/32 "2014-01-19T15:54:42Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > … "investigators had determined that Guillot-Guyard’s wire rope came off its pulley because she had risen too fast during a climactic battle scene, which is performed in front of a massive wall. > > OSHA fined the company for failing to properly train Guillot-Guyard … Unless Guillot-Guyard was able to control how fast she was rising I don’t see how they could say she was not properly trained. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350/33 "2014-01-19T18:12:14Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Unless Guillot-Guyard was able to control how fast she was rising I don’t see how they could say she was not properly trained. Even if she was going up too fast, the failure mode of the harness system in that case shouldn’t be “send you plummeting fifty feet to your death”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cirque-de-soleil-kaa-performer-falls-to-her-death/662350.md?page=1)