Performer falls 30ft at La Nouba

[Main Street USA]

If I'm not mistaken, the bird shown in the original press photos and posters (the picture posted earlier in this thread) is no longer the girl who performs this part. One of the girls who used to do Power Track, which is the last act of the show with the trampolines, ended up taking over the part for whatever reason. In the La Nouba DVD, the girl in the press pictures talks about her character, "The Bird." Then in a more recent special about Cirque, the new girl talked about her part as "The Bird," whilst they showed clips of the old girl playing the part.

Both girls seemed very passionate about it, and both played they role very well. Either way, as everyone else has said, thoughts and prayers for all. Get well soon.

 

[Giraffe Lounge]

Word from some cirque insiders is that there was a human error putting on her harness and that she has ankle and pelvis injuries but that she is in stable condition. Let's all wish her the absolute best and hopefully she will make a speedy recovery.

 

[Giraffe Lounge]

Any idea of her age?

Natasha Hallett currently performes the Green Bird, if its her, she's 33.

 

[unkadug]

Natasha Hallett currently performes the Green Bird, if its her, she's 33.

Quite the accomplished gymnast:

NATASHA HALLETT- Senior National Team Member; 1992 Canadian Olympic Team, Barcelona (Spain); 1990 Goodwill Games, Seattle (USA); 1988 Pacific Alliance, Chengdu (China); Represented Canada internationally many times between 1988 and 1992. She was coached by Michel Arsenault & Valerie Oudin from 1985 to 1993.

Natasha was a spectacular gymnast, reputed for the amplitude of her release skills on bars and for her vault & floor power. Natasha was particularly known for the amazing amplitude of her Tkatchev on uneven Bars (see picture), which Tatiana Gutsu's coach (1992 All-Around Olympic Champion) called "the best I have ever seen" (1991-Hungary).

After her retirement from gymnastics, Natasha went on to join Le Cirque du Soleil (1993). She started out as the "Red Bird" in MYSTERE (Las Vegas, USA), a part she played for many many years and she now resides in Florida, where she plays the part of the Green Bird (Main Character) in "La Nouba". Natasha is married and lives in Orlando, Florida.

 

[cdunbar]

O this awful, this poor woman! I will keep her as well as her friends in my thoughts. If someone did not place the safety gear on this woman properly do you tend to think there will be an investigation to check all safety equipment?

 

[Sumshine 904]

NATASHA HALLETT- Senior National Team Member; 1992 Canadian Olympic Team, Barcelona (Spain); 1990 Goodwill Games, Seattle (USA); 1988 Pacific Alliance, Chengdu (China); Represented Canada internationally many times between 1988 and 1992. She was coached by Michel Arsenault & Valerie Oudin from 1985 to 1993.

Natasha was a spectacular gymnast, reputed for the amplitude of her release skills on bars and for her vault & floor power. Natasha was particularly known for the amazing amplitude of her Tkatchev on uneven Bars (see picture), which Tatiana Gutsu's coach (1992 All-Around Olympic Champion) called "the best I have ever seen" (1991-Hungary).

After her retirement from gymnastics, Natasha went on to join Le Cirque du Soleil (1993). She started out as the "Red Bird" in MYSTERE (Las Vegas, USA), a part she played for many many years and she now resides in Florida, where she plays the part of the Green Bird (Main Character) in "La Nouba". Natasha is married and lives in Orlando, Florida.

Oh dear..this makes me want to go over to my bed and pray for an hour, knowing how much she loves what she does.

Word from some cirque insiders is that there was a human error putting on her harness and that she has ankle and pelvis injuries but that she is in stable condition. Let's all wish her the absolute best and hopefully she will make a speedy recovery.

Make that two hours... Maybe they'll fire the person who put the harness on wrong? And I agree, I hope she makes a speedy recovery aswell.

O this awful, this poor woman! I will keep her as well as her friends in my thoughts. If someone did not place the safety gear on this woman properly do you tend to think there will be an investigation to check all safety equipment?

I'm sure they'll double check the safety equipment now..lets hope nothing like this happens again anytime soon.

 

[Clark Griswold]

Ouch!! That really blows! I hope the performer is alright and makes a full recovery.

"4,8,15,16,23,42"

 

[DznyGrlSD]

If I'm not mistaken, the bird shown in the original press photos and posters (the picture posted earlier in this thread) is no longer the girl who performs this part. One of the girls who used to do Power Track, which is the last act of the show with the trampolines, ended up taking over the part for whatever reason. In the La Nouba DVD, the girl in the press pictures talks about her character, "The Bird." Then in a more recent special about Cirque, the new girl talked about her part as "The Bird," whilst they showed clips of the old girl playing the part.

Both girls seemed very passionate about it, and both played they role very well. Either way, as everyone else has said, thoughts and prayers for all. Get well soon.

You are correct, Elena Day played the original "Green Bird" in the show since concept (she is the one in most publicity photos) and she went on to future Cirque shows a couple years ago. The "Green Bird" is now played by Natasha Hallett and she would be the one that fell.

My prayers and well wishes go out to Natasha and her family.

 

[RREngineer]

You are correct, Elena Day played the original "Green Bird" in the show since concept (she is the one in most publicity photos) and she went on to future Cirque shows a couple years ago. The "Green Bird" is now played by Natasha Hallett and she would be the one that fell.

All the current promotional information actually has Natasha on it. The two pictures that are in previous posts on this thread showing the bird are Natasha. You are correct, Elena Day was the original "Green Bird", she actually left Cirque when she left La Nouba, to pursue other ventures.

My prayers to Tash and her family!

 

[GenerationX]

This is awful news. I wish the performer a speedy (and full) recovery.

 

[Alztybrn]

Alrighty, just got off the phone

The bird was sitting on a high ledge, leaning forwards and pretending to fly. She lost her balance and fell off. She apparently didn't have the chance to let out a full fledged screamed, but just kind of yelped before she hit the ground. Once she was on the ground, she was just lying there, not moving. Most of the audience had no idea what had happened, figuring it was a part of the show. I don't see how someone falling 30 feet without a harness and thumping onto the stage can looked planned, but hey, I guess Cirque is known for showcasing the incredible...Anyways, a ballerina was on the stage and she kind of danced over and tried to act like it was part of the show. She got down and was talking to the Bird and seeing if she was ok, but she was in shock and wasn't able to speak. Someone gave the Clowns a stretcher, and they took her off the stage.

I was told the condition of the Bird, but my friend doesn't feel comfortable with me revealing something that couldn't have been seen by being in the audience. However, it seems to me that it will probably be months to years before she would be able to perform again, if ever, which is really sad

And if anyone was wondering, yes, there is an understudy who took over the role today.

My prayers and sincerest wishes of quick healing go out to performer, I can't even imagine what she must be going through right now

OK...I have a serious problem with this. As somebody who deals with these types of injuries, I think there is a fine line here that may have been crossed between "what is best for the health and well being of this girl", and "the show must go on" There is NO WAY you should send out clowns with a stretcher to remove this poor girl from the stage without a qualified individual making sure there were no serious/life threatening situations that could be exacerbated by moving this girl!

Sorry...I understand that there are a significant amount of people in the crowd that may have their experience "ruined" by realizing this girl actually fell, and it was not part of the show. But shouldn't the health of this girl be put first?

I hope I am wrong, and something was actually done first before the clowns moved this girl, but if not, Cirque needs to analyze their protocol for handling situations like this.

My prayers are definately with this girl!

 

[Main Street USA]

All the current promotional information actually has Natasha on it. The two pictures that are in previous posts on this thread showing the bird are Natasha. You are correct, Elena Day was the original "Green Bird", she actually left Cirque when she left La Nouba, to pursue other ventures.

My prayers to Tash and her family!

The picture of the Green Bird in this thread is from the original poster that they came out with for La Nouba, and I can't tell if it's Natasha.

 

[gcurling]

Elena Day, former Green Bird:

Natasha Hallet, current Green Bird:

Yes, it was Natasha that got injured. However, thirty feet is an exagerration. The accident occured during aerial silks. As others have mentioned, it is the part of the show where she stands on the platform attached to the stage right tower and leans out in an effort to fly. She is attached by cable to the tower, with the other end of the cable attached to a harness belt. The platform is closer to 15 feet above the stage.

 

[unkadug]

Perhaps the clowns are trained EMT's ?!

 

[Alztybrn]

Perhaps the clowns are trained EMT's ?!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Giraffe Lounge]

The platform is closer to 15 feet above the stage.

Hopefully this is the case, it would certainly make more sense to have the clowns move her if she fell from that height instead of 30ft. I saw the show quite a few years ago and don't really remember this act.

 

[sweetale]

Hopefully this is the case, it would certainly make more sense to have the clowns move her if she fell from that height instead of 30ft. I saw the show quite a few years ago and don't really remember this act.

I'm not sure that it matters too much whether it was 15 versus 30 ft since both can result in serious spinal injury. I'm sure, though, that whomever moved her did so with great caution. There are ways to stabilize the spine and perhaps the clowns that carried her out were trained in how to do so. Either way I hope that she makes a full recovery, she is certainly a highlight of the show.

 

[Spot]

Performer falling 30 feet

It's true I was there on Friday night. Has anyone heard about her condition? It continues to bother me and I contine to pray for her but I haven't seen anything on the web to tell me of her condition.

 

[Giraffe Lounge]

It's true I was there on Friday night. Has anyone heard about her condition? It continues to bother me and I continue to pray for her but I haven't seen anything on the web to tell me of her condition.

At the cirquetribune.com forums someone is reporting that she is in the hospital doing well and in good spirits.

They are also reporting that the part of the rigging that failed was the belt, which is attached by the performer as part of the costume.

I can't confirm either of these, other than there was a human error with the rigging, but most of the people on that site are extremely knowledgeable.

 

[Nicole]

As to the clowns carrying her out on a stretcher, and the ballerina dancing around trying to cover things up, I would imagine that everyone involved in La Nouba knows that every night there is potential for accident or injury, and they probably have established emergency procedures in case of something like this. Maybe the clowns aren't EMTs but maybe they have been trained in transporting people who have been injured in a fall. There are four of them, and it does make sense to have some emergency training not just for them, but for many performers in the show.