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SANDY — If you’re a fan of NBC’s obstacle-course competition show “American Ninja Warrior”, you have something in common with Alyssa Larson. Except she, a 13-year-old acrobat and Sandy resident, had the chance to compete on “American Ninja Warrior Junior.”
Larson said she has been doing aerial acrobatics since she was 7 years old. Her current focuses include hand balancing and contortion.
“It’s very fun,” she said. “There’s many different things you can explore and try (with aerial acrobatics). There’s always something new. You’re never going to get bored.”
The eighth-grader had never really thought about competing on “American Ninja Warrior Junior” until some producers reached out to her and her parents on Instagram, where she posts a lot of her routines.
[View this post on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BpONRpKg0gx/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading) ["A vampire on straps"🦇😉😁 Here are some parts of my Halloween performance at @aerobaticsperformingarts. 🎶: Night Attack by John Carpenter. • • • #bendygirl #aerialstraps #straps #trapeze #JuniorNinja #stronggirl #contortionist #contortion #aerialist #cirque #circus #aerialistofig #strenght #circuslife #ninjalife #halloweenshow #aerobaticsperformingarts](https://www.instagram.com/p/BpONRpKg0gx/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading) A post shared by [ Aerialist.Owl 🤸🦉](https://www.instagram.com/aerialist_owl/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading) (@aerialist\_owl) on
Larson sent in an audition video and was accepted to compete on the show. To prepare for the obstacle course, she trained with a former competitor on “American Ninja Warrior” and she also took ninja classes at [Obstacle Warrior Kids](https://owksandy.com/) in Sandy.
“I trained with Brett Steffensen, he was my ninja coach,” she said. “He teaches me a bunch of cool new tricks and all the techniques that are needed for doing the obstacle course.”
Larson said she enjoyed competing on “American Ninja Warrior Junior” and that she was grateful to meet so many amazing “ninjas.” Watch a preview of the obstacle course and see a glimpse of Larson in the video below.
Competing on “American Ninja Warrior Junior” isn’t the only exciting thing to happen for Larson lately. Some of her recent accomplishments include performing in “Thriller” with Odyssey Dance at the Utah Film Festival and at the Stadium of Fire Fourth of July show.
Larson’s parents, Maritza and Martin Larson, said they are extremely proud of her.
“We feel really grateful,” Maritza Larson said. “She’s a hard worker. She’s very mature, too. People see that when she performs. She works very hard.”
Martin Larson said that the family is learning to adapt to the requests they get for his daughter to perform at various events.
“It used to be just taking her to classes a couple times a week,” he said. “But now, this year has really sort of taken off. She’s getting requests (to perform).”
The show kicked off Oct. 3, but Larson is unsure when her episode of “American Ninja Warrior Junior” will air. Regardless, she said she’s very excited. You can watch the show on Universal Kids every Saturday at 7/6 Central.
As for what’s next for Larson, she said she’ll continue to train as a ninja. She hopes to one day perform for Cirque du Soleil and maybe even be a real American Ninja Warrior on the side.
