By Beth Slovic |From The Oregonian/OregonLive

Performers in Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza rehearse the day before opening night on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2024.Allison Barr | The Oregonian/OregonLive

A Cirque du Soleil acrobat was injured in Portland during the 7 p.m. Saturday performance of “Kooza” at the Portland Expo Center.

A person in the audience wrote on social media that a female performer fell and hit the ground. On Sunday, a spokesperson for Cirque du Soleil confirmed the injured performer was an aerial hoop artist.

“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,” a spokesperson for the artistic performance troupe wrote. “The health and safety of our employees is always our top priority.”

Cirque du Soleil added in a second statement: “The artist is conscious, stable, and being cared for by medical specialists and our team.”

Described as gravity-defying, “Kooza” opened last week in Portland and runs through Oct. 6.

— Beth Slovic is a deputy editor on the public safety and breaking news team.

For more on this story go to: The Oregonian/Oregon