It’s no secret that circus acts such as those seen in Cirque du Soleil shows are dangerous–that is part of what makes attending such shows so appealing.  Despite some of the heart-pounding acts that take place during a show, the company had never experienced a fatality until this past weekend.  During a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas Saturday night, a performer fell to her death.

Sarah Guillot-Guyard, 31, was pronounced dead at a hospital Saturday night after falling 50 feet from the stage during a production of “Ka” at the MGM Grand. She had worked as an acrobat for Cirque du Soleil since 2006, and including her time on “Ka,” she had been an acrobat for more than 20 years.  Guillot-Guyard leaves behind two children, ages 5 and 8.  The acrobat was known as a “great mom” as well as an influential member of the community–she operated a circus school for children, Cirquefit, where she taught children handstand, tumbling and trapeze skills.

When the incident occurred on Saturday in front of a live audience–which included young children–many people thought that it was all part of the act at first.  Dan Mosqueda, an audience member, described his take on what happened.  He says that Guillot-Guyard “was being hoisted up the side of the stage and then just plummeted down. 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.”  After being told that they could get a refund or a voucher for a future show, the audience was dismissed.

Investigation into exactly what caused the accident is still ongoing, but it appears that a snapped wire is to blame for the tragedy.   Guillot-Guyard and several other performers were being suspended by the wire during the final moments of the show–no other cast members have been reported as injured thus far.  When Guillot-Guyard fell, she was still wearing the safety harness that was supposed to be connected to the suspension cable.

Guillot-Guyard’s death is reportedly the first onstage death in the 30 years the show that has been operating.  Even though there have been no previous fatalities, another incident happened onstage over the past week.  Last Wednesday, a Cirque du Soleil show at Mandalay Bay was shut down after a performer fell. The performer wasn’t seriously injured and had only a mild concussion.