Another Aerial Tragedy

[ruinexplorer]

Another "tissue act" performer has died. This article just mentions what happened without going into detail. It isn't clear yet if there was any equipment failure or human error. I'm sure we'll see more soon.

[avkid]

I've seen probably 20 tissue acts, but I always come away amazed.
These performers are true athletes and artists.

[scobrakid]

My company supplied the PA for the Birds Nest where the acrobat died. I wasn't there that night, but my supervisor saw him fall and was immediately at the scene. It was scary and very sad.

[Hughesie]

Can someone tell me what a tissue act is?

[willbb123]

Originally Posted by Hughesie

Can someone tell me what a tissue act is?

Hanging Tissue Act: A beautiful and elegant act. Based on the "Icarus" myth, the artist begins with a slow press into a one-hand stand on canes, followed by a graceful climb up a seemingly fragile, draping chiffon curtain. The flowing tissue creates an illusion of giving wings to the act, and the climax occurs as the artist spins and turns as in Icarus's fall to the Earth.


http://tinyurl.com/c6fh5d

[What Rigger?]

Disclaimer: This is indeed another tragedy. I'm NOT blaming/faulting anyone or their choices. Just a simple fact, from friends who perform like this full time (some for Cirque in the recent past)- it's entirely possible to wrap yourself up for the maneuver in question the wrong way and fall out.

[gafftaper]

Unlike some of the previous stories we have seen this sounds like a real professional doing something very dangerous who made a mistake and paid with his life. It's terribly sad, but It doesn't sound like one we can blame on people doing things they don't belong doing. It's a beautiful and amazing thing to see, but when you work without a safety net there is no room for error. My condolences to the artists family, hopefully he doesn't have a couple of little kids at home.

[ruinexplorer]

Originally Posted by What Rigger?

Disclaimer: This is indeed another tragedy. I'm NOT blaming/faulting anyone or their choices. Just a simple fact, from friends who perform like this full time (some for Cirque in the recent past)- it's entirely possible to wrap yourself up for the maneuver in question the wrong way and fall out.

Oh, I agree. This one is still under investigation, but it does seem to point towards the artist's mistake in the performance. When I was watching a documentary on Gaff's favorite Cirque show, they were very concerned on one or two acts that have only one point of failure (as this performer did). Most Cirque acts (if possible) have 2-3 points of failure. In other words, they try to have safety measures in place but as hidden as possible.

Also, one thing I read earlier is that this may not be one of the traditional tissue acts as some of the reports were mentioning chains. I saw one of this artist's performances on youtube where he was using something that looked like a macrame hammock to do the act. Not that that changes what happened or anything.

[Hughesie]

Here is a video from CDS's Varekai

Varekai Flight Icarus,Aerial Contortion Net,Cirque du Soleil

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when it was done here (in Australia) i can tell you no safety harness was used, but around the world laws differ so this video might feature one.

[avkid]