Cirque du Soleil acrobat hospitalized after fall during Portland performance

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — A Cirque du Soleil performer is in the hospital after sustaining injuries from a fall during a performance at the Expo Center Saturday night.

The incident happened at Kooza, one of the traveling shows of Cirque du Soleil which began its residency in Portland last Wednesday.

People who attended the performance reported that Russian aerialist Mariia Konfektova fell from the aerial hoop in the first act and was injured. The apparatus was like a sturdy hula hoop suspended by a wire over the stage.

Benjamin Goldstein, 10, was at the performance with his 9-year-old sister Samantha and their father. Benjamin was taking a video of the aerial performance when she fell.

“At first, I thought it was part of the show, like, it looked like it was purposefully,” Benjamin told KOIN 6 News. “But then we’re, like, people were acting weird. I was like, oh, this isn’t part of the show. Something’s up.”

Samantha said she “got really, really, really scared when she fell. Yeah, yeah. I also thought it was part of the show, but I saw she was actually really hurt. And it’s all really scary.”

Following the incident, a spokesperson with Kooza released a statement, stating in part:

“ In accordance with our emergency procedures, we stopped the show briefly and the artist was immediately assisted by the tour intervention team and transported to the hospital for examination.

The health and safety of our employees is always our top priority. As always, in the case of an accident, the artist will continue to be monitored by the KOOZA medical and coaching team to determine when she can return to the show. “

The spokesperson added that, as of Sunday afternoon, the performer was “conscious, stable and being cared for by medical specialists and [their] team.”

Portland Tribune editor Dana Haynes profiled the troupe in the days before the show opened in Portland. Haynes told KOIN 6 News the coach said moving from city to city can impact the props.

“Everything from the altitude of Portland to the humidity in the heat to the setting of all of the mechanisms, the apparatus, all of that can be off slightly,” Haynes said. “And each place they go, they were rehearsing, rehearse and rehearse. The coach in this case, the Australian head coach, told me that the hoop mechanism is off by a centimeter. Because of that, they were adjusting. Maria’s twirling, because of that centimeter, while not visible to the coach, affected her spin.”

Cirque du Soleil has not issued a statement on the cause of Konfektova’s fall, nor confirmed that it was Konfektova who fell. However, she was the only aerialist to use the aerial hoop apparatus during the rehearsal and opening night.

Several people in the Saturday audience went on Reddit over the weekend to describe her fall, with several concerned about her condition.

On Instagram, the person with Konfektova’s account replied to another concerned fan, “thank you luckily I’m okay.”

The Portland Tribune contributed to this report.

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