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LOS ANGELES — The Utah couple whose trapeze act, Duo Transcend, made it to the finals on "America's Got Talent" will now perform in a Las Vegas show with the winner, magician Shin Lim.
The season finale of “America’s Got Talent” aired Wednesday, and it was an exciting night for Salt Lake residents Mary Ellen Wolfe and Tyce Nielsen who were finalists.
Wolfe was raised in West Virginia and started doing musical theatre and dance from a young age, according to the couple's website. Nielsen was raised in Salt Lake City and grew up in the world of acrobatics since his father performed as a professional magician and acrobat.
The couple met while they were performing as cliff divers, and they told NBC that they decided to switch to trapeze and rollerskating performances after Wolfe suffered a diving injury to her foot. Thus, Duo Transcend was born.
Even before getting to the finals on “America’s Got Talent”, Wolfe and Nielsen had a pretty impressive list of accomplishments. According to their website, they’ve performed with Cirque du Soleil, The Great American Variety Act, Cirque De La Mer, and Circus Flic Flac. Duo Transcend also won Best Overall Performance at the Aerial Acrobatic Arts Festival in 2013.
Wolfe and Nielsen shared their story in their “America’s Got Talent” audition. Nielsen confessed that he has poor eyesight, due to a progressive eye disease, which only adds to the risk factor in their act. Their audition received a standing ovation from both the judges and the audience.
“I think people are going to relate to you and they’re going to root for you,” famous “America’s Got Talent” judge Simon Cowell said following the audition. “I think this is the first act of its kind I could see going into the finals of ‘America’s Got Talent.’"
Cowell’s prediction came true. Duo Transcend made it to the top 10 performers and competed in the finals for a chance at $1 million and a headlining show at the Paris Theater in Las Vegas. The couple did not end up winning the show, they but gave a memorable final performance alongside violinists Lindsey Stirling and Brian King Joseph.
In an earlier performance on"America's Got Talent" in July, they had a slight mishap when the couple decided to up the ante by performing their act with Nielsen blindfolded. During the final trick, Nielsen lost his grip on Wolfe's ankles and she ended up falling on a mat below.
Read more:
Utah trapeze act does not go as planned on ‘America’s Got Talent’
It was not the ending husband and wife, Tyce Nielsen and Mary Ellen Wolfe, planned during their performance on Tuesday night’s episode of “America’s Got Talent.”When they asked the judges to try the trick again, guest-judge Ken Jeong said, “This is not ‘America’s Got Perfection.’ It’s ‘America’s Got Talent.’ Nobody can do this.”
Even though they didn’t win first place, Duo Transcend has a lot to look forward to. Caeser’s Entertainment reports that the couple will be joining magician and winner Shin Lim at the Paris Theater in Las Vegas. The show will run from Nov. 2-4.
