Zumanity Accident

[contort08]

"That's what sets Cirque apart from everyone else. Extreme imagination with extreme danger. So few companies push that boundary successfully."

Cirque actually uses more safety harnesses, etc than any other company. I know some artists that won't even work for Cirque for that reason.

[Guest]

I wish soon recovery for them to!!!! cheek up!!! You count on wiht all support of fans Cirque Du Soleil!!!

[Guest]

The thought of performers being overworked and/or performing when not in optimal physical condition would be a concern. Does the company have guidelines or policies about that? Is there ever pressure on a performer to perform when they don't feel they can do so safely?

Of course - on silks, something like a hand spasm could come out of the blue and if your only point of contact at the moment was that hand ...

I imagine the performer will never be able to remember exactly what happened.

I wish her a full recovery.

[Guest]

hey there. i'm a close friend of the "girls" fiance. the family has specifically asked for her name NOT to be released. i know people love to gossip and show how much they know, but admin can you please delete the replies that say her name. i know the family would appreciate it. i mean it's not like this page isn't public. you google zumanity fall and this is one of the first things that list. so if audience members are looking for it this page gives it. and since this page is called "cirque tribune" i would think you'd want to help. THANK YOU!

also slowthree. "Extreme imagination with extreme danger" is a bit over dramatic. imagination yes, thats what sets cirque apart, in the real circus world you dont see silly hula hoop acts on a highwire, and the girl is held on there by her safety line. cirque is one of the only shows that OVERLY protects their artists some times with safety lines. and everyone knows you can't have a safety line on for silks. if you could you better believe cirque would figure how to. in the real circus we walk highwire with no nets or safety lines, you wont see cirque do that. so danger is NOT what sets cirque apart.

[sfogviper]

I removed the name from the thread, though I can't say I understand the silly secrecy surrounding it. But I see no reason to not respect their wishes in this time of need. However, if it comes up later on down the road I'm not going to censor it.

Jeff

[Guest]

The scuttlebut going around our show, we have several folks who have husbands wives that work at Zu, is that someone from the audiance has started to orginize a clas action against Cirque. It has to do with the traums the audiance went through. People will grub for money over anything.

[sakurazero]

Fucking idiots.

[Guest]

What the fuck!

[Paul]

They're probably going to claim that they were too traumatized to be able to gamble - and will win. McDonald's coffee anyone?

[Guest]

I wonder if Cirque will cover the costs of hospitalization and recovery?

[Guest]

Yes they cover her bills. She is an employee.

[Guest]

<<They're probably going to claim that they were too traumatized to be able to gamble - and will win.>>

More likely, they were so traumatized that they left, took all the free drinks they could handle and lost all their cash on the tables as they sought to erase the horror. And now they're suing to recover their losses.

Seeing an accident like this would be awful, no argument there, but a lawsuit just seems silly. Seems to me that their energy would be better spent well wishing the ones who were truly injured.

I really hope this is just a rumour.


As far as safety and precautions go, Vegas alone is full of aerial acts in nightclubs and shows... you've got Cirque for starters, Ice, Chippendales, and Bite, just to name a few. Hell, you can even get aerialists to dress up like vampires and twirl over your heads at your goth wedding. It's a beautiful, but not uncommon art form and the artists who do it know the risks they take, and I'm sure they take the precautions they feel comfortable with, after all, it's their neck on the line. Or, they don't and accept the risks, either way, I don't think you get to this level of performance without knowing how to be safe. You can train til you're blue in the face, but accidents happen. Sooner or later, they happen, careful or not, precautions or not.

[Guest]

I don't think its fair to point the finger at cirque straight away. As many have said, cirque is over cautious sometimes. Even on this forum I seem to remember a disscusion about safety lines interfering with the aesthetic value of the routines.
Performers make mistakes, thats normal and I don't say this with any insensitivity to the artist involved because even though it happens its tragic and sad for all involved.
Perhaps cirque may overwork their artists, who can say for sure, but in my experience it is the artists who work themselves the most. Especially in such a high level company, these artists really are striving for athletic and artistic perfection, it is the mentality of a performer to be a perfectionist. And even though this is a huge generalization I still feel it to be a valid point.

[Guest]

Hey All,

Sadly to say, I was at the Zumanity show where this horrible accident occured. It was my first Cirque show and I am not sure if I could ever return to another with aerial acts. We were sitting third row and witnessed the entire thing. Unfortunately, I cannot stop seeing (and hearing) the performers in my mind.

Regardless of what the CNN story says, they were 35 feet, if not higher. The gentleman (I believe his name is Alan) seemed to slip first and grab on to the young lady. They quickly were seperated from the silk and came free falling to the stage. As you can imagine, the gasp from the audience was palpable and the sound of their bodies hitting the stage was something you never want to hear.

Silence ensued for what seemed like minutes (but was probably much less). The one performer who was on the stage at the time ran to their sides, checking for breathing or any sign of distress. Both were silent. Finally some of the stage crew came running and an announcement was made to "stay in your seats. The performance will continue shortly"

Seriously, how could they even consider continuing the show? The fellow cast members who weren't on stage at the time began to appear from behind curtains, in the aisles and on the catwalks, visibly shaken and hoping for the best of what was sure to be bad.

An audience member in front of me was a nurse and she rushed to the stage to assist. One of the ushers began to help her to the stage but another usher (more senior, I guess) told her she needed to sit down. I am not sure if that was for legal reasons (or fears) but it made several in the audience think this might be "part of the show" and the performers had staged the fall.

It became evident that Alan had movement in his extremities but the girl wasn't moving or making any noise...yet. All the crew was very professional and careful to not move either performer until they had a plan and knew exactly what others were doing. The girl (who landed first with Alan on top of her) was in a very awkward position with the man on top of her left leg. Eventually, they were able to move him enough to free her leg and brought it to a position where they could attempt to get her on a back board for removal from the stage.

She began a very ominous, guttural moaning and you sensed that she was in complete shock. Her pain must have been excruciating and it was so silent in the theater, you could hear every breath she took and moan she made.

They braced her and strapped her in and carried her off stage. At this point you began to hear faint sobbing from backstage and several audience members. They eventually carried Alan off and then silence ensued for several minutes. The audience didn;t know what to do. Were we supposed to leave? Were they going to turn up the house lights?

Finally people started to get up and leave. Not a mad rush, but scattered rows here and there started to file out. The announcer asked people "to remain in their seats. Zumanity would continue in one minute." The voice then announced that "both actors had been taken to the hospital and were going to be okay." Yeah, right!

To add insult to injury, as we began to file out quietly (almost like a funeral), several people in the audience fainted, one man looked like he was having a heart attack. The nurse from the front came rushing to his aid but I do not know what happened because at this point I just wanted to get out of there.

The ushers were visibly shaken and just silently nodded at us as we made our way back into the New York, New York facility. Many of them had dry tears in their eyes. As you can imagine, it was quite surreal.

We ended our evening after that. Somehow, going out to party on the strip and dance until daylight didn't seem like fun anymore. It was rather sad to see the audience for the later show starting to queue up with excitement on their faces, only to wonder why everyone was exiting the first show so somberly.

I guess as they say, "The Show Must Go On!" If I was at a football game and they carted someone out, I wouldn't expect them to stop the game but for some reason, this just seemed different.

I will continue to pray for these two performers and thier fellow cast and crew (family). This much certainly be a sad time for all. I hope good news and speedy recovery will happen for both and make this a wonderful season of Thanksgiving for all.

Thanks for letting me share my experience with you.

Sean
Columbus, OH

[Guest]

Thanks Gator. That is exactly as we heard it from several techies.

Some notes

Most of the Cirque techs here in town have EMT certs, NOT just CPR but full EMTs. Cirque pays for this as do other shows in town.

One reason you were able to hear all the sad sounds so well was because the VRAS mic system was still on. These are mics placed all through the theatre to enhance the natural stage sound.
Also why the actors landing was so loud as well.

And it also verifys what was said earlier about it not being a rigging problem, but a slip.

[Guest]

Loudguy,

Please understand, I was never questioning the skill level or dedication of the attending staff. At first, I was surprised why there were no ambulance crews or "uniformed" personnel on scene. After witnessing the serious attention and professionalism exhibited by the crew on site, I have no doubt that they prevented any further damage or injury.

I will continue to re-visit this site in hope of some good news on both performers.

[Guest]

There's something just like.. traumatic about seeing someone injured, regardless of what it turns out like. I was at a Badger game and one of the players from Illinois got his leg broken in two places and they had to stop the game, bring out an ambulance, etc.. He'll be fine, but it still had me shaken up the whole game.. so I can't even imagine being there for that. I'd probably have to leave, too.. it would seriously get to me.
Anyway, I hope the best for both of them.. My parents were at the show like two days before this. Oy.

[Guest]

Hello Sean

I am writing from Scotland and was also at the show on Tuesday last week. I agree whole heartedly with what you have said and your description of it. It was horrendous and remains with us. We went back to our hotel room that night and I did not sleep. We didn't feel cheated out of a night of gambling or boozing, we were genuinely very upset as was everyone I saw leaving. I've never been on a discussion forum before but I keep scouring the net over here for some update on those performers because we are so worried about them. I started praying when I saw them hit the stage; I've never heard anything like it. My partner was convinced it was part of the act and I nearly slapped him. I know he wasn't the only one. This isn't about us, or seeking sympathy as an audience member (I wouldn't dream of asking for a refund although I believe people did, neither could we stay as I felt it was in really bad taste to do so) but it is about sending sincere best wishes to those performers injured and their families and on some level 'sharing' this experience because it was traumatic to see and I need to get it off my chest. I went back the following evening to ask how they were but was met with a polite nod and a smile with 'they're fine'. We went to Vegas specificaly to see Cirque, I'm absolutely gutted but have to say until that point it was the funniest and most talented show I've ever seen. Again, the most important point in this is that those hurt, get well as soon as possible. Sending sincere best wishes. Cal

[Guest]

someone from the audiance has started to orginize a clas action against Cirque

There is no doubt that it was traumatic for the audience...but surely a lawsuit is just a bit too much?

[Guest]

I cannot believe folk would go for a law suit. That stuff just doesn't happen over here. Where is the humanity? You could see something just as awful on any road accident or walk of life. Sick to do that from where I'm sitting.

[bobba]

Sean and Cal, I hope the two of you have a speedy recovery as well. I'm glad this forum (thanks to Jeff) is here for you to be able to talk out what happened and get it off your chest.

[Rod Digga]

Alan will be back in the show tonight doing passages only.

[Guest]

Gator

An audience member in front of me was a nurse and she rushed to the stage to assist. One of the ushers began to help her to the stage but another usher (more senior, I guess) told her she needed to sit down. I am not sure if that was for legal reasons (or fears) but it made several in the audience think this might be "part of the show" and the performers had staged the fall.

accidents and injuries like this are routinely rehearsed. it is not a good idea for audience members to become involved. remember when the green bird fell in la nouba? that situation was handled very well.

most likely, there will be changes to this routine in the near future.

[Guest]

The "senior" usher telling the audience member/nurse to take her seat is a correct move on that usher's behalf. I'm sure the audience member's reaction was a natural and selfless one, but it was for both her and the artists protection.

When I was in Fire School, our medical training had an entire day on liabilities and lawsuits (unfortunately). We were advised that when you act on your own, you are not protected at all, and when you act on your own and do something wrong, or you do CPR, and the person doesn't make it, you can be sued for more money than the average Joe. This being because you are trained, and you should know more than the average Joe, so some families will say you didn't try hard enough.

Also, if you catch any blood borne disease or are injured in any way, you are not covered by the mandatory life insurance and medical coverages given to you both local, state, and federal governments because you did not contract the disease while on the job.

We were even advised to take any fire/paramedic stickers off our cars because just passing an accident and not stopping could be interpreted as a violation of our "duty to act" and if someone writes down our license plate, they can sue you for that. The Lt. teaching us even told us to start reading a newspaper or put on earphones on a plane/train when an announcement for medical assistance is made.

Its a sad state that our country is in, but unfortunately there are too many "what-ifs" with that nurse jumping on the stage to help. Even if she just touched a performer with her finger, literally, made contact with any part of one of the performers' skin, she could be held accountable for any medical liability suits brought upon anyone involved in the patient care. That is why you'll see fire/paramedics arrive at the scene and talk to people while their hands are behind their back. They won't touch a patient until necessary.

Wow...that was a lot of nothing to do with cirque. Just trying to give insight.

[graymccarty]

Doesn't that have a lot to do with local law though? I don't think the law is as strict here in terms of assisting other if you're trained to... however I know that certain laws do exist. I know that there is a Good Samaritan Law in effect in Quebec that, correct me if I'm wrong, basically says that you are obligated to assist people in need if it's safe to do so, otherwise you could be held responsible.

I'm not sure what the laws are like in Florida, where the specific incident took place, but that may have something to do with the nurse being asked not to assist. Or of course it could simply have been because they already had the required assistance at that time.