Cirque du Soleil: Why Do You Think They Call It ‘The Wheel of Death,’ Anyway?

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OK, for purposes of truth in advertising, maybe they should call it “The Wheel of Hospitalized in Stable Condition“:

LAS VEGAS — A Cirque du Soleil performer remains hospitalized after a fall during a show Friday night at the Aria resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
The performance company issued a statement Saturday saying the male artist was appearing in the “Wheel of Death” act during the 7 p.m. performance of “Zarkana” when he slipped and fell off the wheel.
The act features two people who perform high-risk feats atop and inside a pair of spinning wheels rotating high above the stage, including rope skipping and jumps.
The company says the show was halted and the performer was taken to University Medical Center, where he was in stable condition and expected to be discharged in the next few days.

In terms of career paths, this is one you probably want to avoid. I mean, it’s not like you’re going to retire and get a gold watch after 30 years of doing “The Wheel of Death.” Yeah, sure, it might be a cool thing for a while. Imagine going back to your 10th high school reunion:

“Oh, hi, Jennifer. What have you been up to?”
“Working in IT at an insurance agency. How about you, Sean?”
“I’m doing The Wheel of Death in Cirque du Soleil.”

Impressive in the near-term, sure. But there’s no future in it.

 

26 comments

  1. Impressive in the near-term, sure. But there’s no future in it.

    Yeah really. Especially if you slip. Takes that whole, “Watch that first step, it’s a lou-lou!” to a whole new….um, altitude?

  2. Hey Everybody: This commentator up above has gone by many names – Charles Patrick Adkins, aka: Patrick, “Paleo Pat”, Chuck Adkins, Detroit Right, Old Right Blogger, k8cpa, RantMan, [and now] Thinking Americanist.

    He is an Anti-Semite and true rascist who has threatened people such as Stacy in the past. For background on Chuckie, please see Zilla’s post here:

    http://marezilla.com/2012/02/bloggers-beware-a-cautionary-tale/trackback/

    Every number of months, Chuckie tries to sneak back in under a new name.

  7. Shades of the old Charles Addams cartoon: “Death ray, fiddlesticks! Why, it doesn’t even slow them up!”

  8. That was my take also. “Wheel of Death” == FAIL.

    I’d want my money back because of false advertising.

    Now the Flying Wallendas. THEY performed without nets (or they used to) and a few DIED.

    THAT’S what I go to the circus for; the chance to see someone bite the big one. Same with Car races and hot dog eating contests.

  10. I used to make fun of Cirque du Soeil, until I started to see the shows. They are amazing performers. Future? Compared to what? A boxer? A NFL player? It is probably safer than some sport careers, pays okay in the short term. You are probably not going to make a salary you can retire on, but I suspect they do okay (it is not exactly like the life depicted on Carnivale either).

  11. Like George Carlin used to say about NASCAR: “Where else can you see a 23-car accident and not be in the son of a b*tch?”

  13. I wish I’d seen this yesterday. It was only a year ago that an experienced Cirque performer lost her life during a ‘KA’ performance at the MGM Vegas gaming property. In that light, the recent injury is slightly less humorous. Better than getting chomped on by a performing tiger, I guess.

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