Local acrobats hope to soar on ‘America’s Got Talent’
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IDAHO FALLS –- A local acrobatic troupe has been perfecting its wild circus acts for many years and now it’s paying off.
Stasia Acrobats recently celebrated their four-year anniversary and earlier this month they performed at preliminary tryouts for NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ in Los Angeles. America’s Got Talent is a popular T.V. series featuring acts from all over the nation.
The acrobatic troupe is made up of 14 members from different parts of east Idaho. They range in age from eight to 21.
Owner and coach Aric Nelson is an experienced acrobat, circus performer and coach. Nelson has 18 years of training and has performed in more than 20 act types including flying trapeze, ground acrobatics, teeter board and Russian swing.
Nelson said producers of America’s Got Talent have before approached the team but the group wasn’t quite ready.
“We got donations from so many different groups and so many different people that it was just a great thing,” Nelson said. “Everything just started falling into place – like now it was the right time to actually go an audition.”
Stasia had a goal of to raise $3,500 to fund their trip to L.A. Thanks to the community, and WIN Certified Auto Sales, they were able to meet their goal.
Nelson said going to California allowed Stasia to network and learn from other circus troupes plus show off some talented people from the Gem State.
“What people don’t realize is in Idaho, there is a lot of talent. There are a lot of very talented people here, whether it’s in acrobatics or sports…but that (often) gets missed,” Nelson said.
The team should find out soon if they will appear on the America’s Got Talent official on-air stage.
“We hope that we did good enough. Even if we didn’t make it we’re going to continue doing what we do,” Team captain Alyxandra Rhead said.
Rhead said Stasia is different than other acrobatic troupes because a majority of their members are female. Currently the group has 12 members, and performs with people of all shapes, ages, and sizes.
Nelson said a lot of them have little to no experience in acrobatics. He said they are always looking for new members of any age and any skill level. As long as they have a drive and good work ethic, they can climb and soar at Stasia Heights.
“We’re circus performers and we’re circus freaks. We do aerial acts, we have a single trapeze, we have a lira, which is an aerial hoop, and we have silks,” Nelson said. “We build human pyramids and we tell stories.”