The incident occurred on Saturday night when Yann Arnaud fell during a performance of the show VOLTA, according to Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group. The 38-year-old performance artist died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.
Monday, March 19, 2018
Cirque du Soleil performer plunges to death during Florida show
The incident occurred on Saturday night when Yann Arnaud fell during a performance of the show VOLTA, according to Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group. The 38-year-old performance artist died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.
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Cirque has a really good reputation for protecting its performers and I don’t think they would exist as a company if they had a lot of occurrences like this one. Also the fact that the performer that died had been with Cirque for 15 years and was considered one of the companies most experienced entertainers, shows that this was just a really bad mistake and accident. This wasn’t a rookie that failed, this was an experienced person. The entertainers know the risks they take in these shows. It’s really just a horrible tragedy. The article mentions that the performer appeared to have lost his grip on the silks before he fell, but I am sure there is more to it than that. I hope that I read another article about the final result of the police’s investigation. I also hope that Cirque is being respectful to the family of this performer. While I have trust in such a reputable company, there is always a worry that they will be inconsiderate seeing as they are a machine that just makes money and not a human with considerable emotions for their actions.
This shows the risk that comes along with performances like Cirque. I wrote a comment on the article that introduced the Cirque on ice show and talked about their safety, saying that I appreciated the lengths Cirque goes to to advance the entertainment industry, but that they have to evaluate the risks they are taking by doing so. This death illustrates that risk completely. This was a seasoned performer, doing a performance that is relatively safe compared to their other acts, and he still slipped and fell to his death. I wonder what this means for Cirque, what the legal consequences will be, how they will attempt to further prevent this in the future, etc. I personally doubt that there will ever be a way for these things and these types of performance to be made totally safe, or to even rule out the possibility of death. I hope there are good people at work to figure out how to prevent future accidents.
This article is extremely sad to read but I think very important because it reminds the reader how dangerous theatre is. I’m not saying every show has the same risk as a Cirque du Soleil performance but I’m saying that a lot of what we do has serious risks – not just for the actors. Safety is talked about the process but doesn’t think the gravity of some things is talked about enough or rather I just haven’t experienced these talks. Like a lot of things that people do if they fail or are incorrectly installed could kill someone. When the CEO, Daniel Lamarre, says "We were very surprised, considering his experience, that something like that happened,", it is a humble reminder that it doesn’t matter the experience people have. When something goes wrong it goes wrong and no one can be spared. The one thing I wonder is what the safety mechanisms are in place during this act because from what I know Cirque is very good about its safety measures.
I recall the last time a Cirque performer died. The video itself absolutely chilled me to my core. I really had a moment of realization about how dangerous the acts that these performers commit their life to learning. You understand how people spend so many hours upon hours perfecting their movements and learning all of the safety systems to do everything possible to prevent such a tragedy. I also spent a long time thinking about the weight of the responsibility that so many of the technicians face to prepare for the unexpected. At the end of the day, there is only so much that you can prepare for in the face of so many unknowns. I feel so heartbroken for Arnaud’s family, as well as the entire community at Cirque. I am very curious to hear what Cirque does in terms of explanation as to what happened in this instance. I would like to know more about what is in place to secure the performers in case of a tragedy, what the reliability of those systems are, and what training the performers have in the face of failure.
This is so incredibly sad. It really shows just how risky the Cirque acts are which are designed to put you on the edge of your seat, but in the back of your head your like- they’re going to be fine, there are so many safety measures in place. And learning about all the contingencies Cirque has for every show incase something goes wrong or differently than normal such as the actor didn’t make it to their spot in time or the lighting cue was missed and the show continues differently and the risky act is skipped for safety. But this article and the death of this performer just reiterates how dangerous these things are and how important safety measures are. I’m interested to see the result of this case especially since I’m in an OSHA class- was it a failure of the rigging hardware or was it truly just a performer error? And how did the accident happen when the performer was so experienced? And it doesn’t help that this was one of the first nights of the act. After so many months and even years of preparing for the act, it’s crazy that something would go wrong when presumedly nothing bad happened in rehearsal.
It was so sad to hear this news. I cannot fathom how horrific this must be for both his family and the entire Cirque community. Incidents like this are really horrifying because it's your worst fear as an audience member and it's your passion as a performer. At least in my mind, I consider Cirque one of the leaders in entertainment safety. The procedures that they have in play for any sort of change whether it be a substitute performer or an emergency. The people working in Cirque are of the highest caliber in our field, but it feels like these types of risk are still inevitable even with the best of the best. This incident happened just a few days before a woman was killed by an autonomous Uber, another company who I consider the leader in their field. Similar to what we discuss so often in Boevers' class is that regardless of how well rated or protected something is, by the million and first time, things can happen regardless if everyone is doing the right thing. Still, this does not make it okay or any less horrific. My heart truly goes out to all affected by this tragic event.
With the company I have worked with I use to work for we had a circus ourselves. And the idea of family was so apparent and important. In fact a lot of the member of the Ringling Brothers and Feld Entertainment, sort of graduate to Cirque at some point. So I personal know and have lots of friends who works for Cirque Du Soleil in some form or fashion. For me it feels like Ive lost a distant family member who I hadn’t met died. I know for a fact that Cirque dose everything they can do, and really that is possible to ensure the safety of their performers. They are the leaders in the industry of safety and I think all three of the deaths that they have had to live with were anomalies. I pray for the families and friends involved. I cant imagine what they are going though.
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