Just before Cirque du Soleil aerialist Yann Arnaud took to the stage in what would be his final performance, the married father of two shared a heartfelt Instagram post about the difficulty of the stunt that later led to his death.
“After so much work and training and staging, our straps duo act is finally in the show tonight,” Arnaud wrote alongside a black and white shot of himself practicing the stunt. “It’s time to go for it.”
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During the Saturday performance in Tampa, Florida, Arnaud lost his grip on an aerial ring, dropping some 20 feet to the stage just before 10 p.m., according to the Tampa Bay Times. Emergency protocols were activated and Yann was transported to a local hospital where he died early Sunday.
Cirque du Soleil officials called the incident a “tragic accident” and noted that Arnaud had been with the organization for more than 15 years.
Arnaud, who was from Champigny-sur-Marne, France, and living in Miami, performed the act along with fellow aerialist Pawel Walczewski, who also posted about the difficult act on Instagram before the show. “After a long road ready to perform tonight a straps act with @yannarnophoto,” he captioned his photo.
Arnaud is survived by his wife, Inna Gorelova, and two young daughters. Along with photos of his performances, Arnaud’s social media accounts are full of shots of his Gorelova, their 2-year-old Lilia and Arnaud’s older daughter.
Arnaud’s friends and fellow performers have mourned his passing in a series of social media messages. In a Facebook post on Sunday, Erica Madrid recalled working with him, calling him a “strong role model for many.”
“My heart aches for you, those who were around you and close to you, and most of all for your loving, beautiful family, so I feel the need to say something,” Madrid wrote. “You were such a respectable, hard-working, talented individual. I am honored to have worked with you from when we were first beginning training to figuring out the name of the show and eventually to its premiere.”
Performer Simon Ata shared a pair of Facebook photos that featured Arnaud, describing him as “an amazing friend, performer, photographer and human being.”
In Sunday’s statement, Cirque du Soleil wrote that its focus would be on “supporting Yann’s family and our employees, especially the VOLTA team, as we go through these difficult times together.”
The group canceled the final two shows of VOLTA, which were both scheduled for Sunday, March 18, at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. They were also meant to be in Tampa.
In an interview with Florida’s WFLA, an audience member said Arnaud was “visibly straining to hold onto the rope.”
“I saw the two acrobats exchanging glances beforehand and I don’t know if one was trying to see if the other was OK,” Julian Martinez told the outlet. “It was awful, you heard all the cries of the audience. There were children there and they were freaking out.”
Photo credit: Instagram / @yannarnophoto
