The courage and resilience of circus performers never ceases to amaze me. The cast of Cirque du Soleil’s Ka returned to work in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. And according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, their performance of Robert Lepage’s Ka at the MGM Grand Resort and Casino drew a standing ovation – even before it began.
They stood and applauded the memory of Ka performer Sarah Guillot-Guyard who died as a result of a fall during the June 29 performance of the show. (Read another account in the Las Vegas Weekly).
The daredevil battle scene during which the tragic accident occurred is no longer part of the show, replaced by a non-acrobatic scene that had previously been used as a replacement whenever technical problems arose. The battle scene which involves the raising of a towering wall is very high-tech and complex in its execution. According to the LVRJ story, it’s not likely that this scene will be reinstated until after the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration completes its investigation of the accident, a process that could take six months.
The question is whether anyone will miss the act. Apparently they didn’t on Tuesday night.
No doubt the OSHA is taking its time because it has been inspecting Ka on a regular basis ever since the show began previews in 2004. So the accident brings up questions about OSHA vigilance as well as the safety standards of the Cirque du Soleil and the circus industry itself. Cirque standards are widely regarded as the best in the business. The fact that there have been a number of serious injuries and one other death (in a rehearsal hall) during the company’s 29 years of existence has to be regarded within the context of the huge numbers of Cirque performances that take place around the world every day. In Las Vegas alone, when 7 shows are running with two performances per night at least five nights per week, that means about 70 performances conducted safely each week.