10 Facts About Alan Silva, The Death-Defying Aerialist On ‘America’s Got Talent’
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One of the early standouts on this season of America’s Got Talent is Alan Silva. The 38-year-old Brazilian aerialist wowed the judges with his first audition where he literally defied gravity and flew through the air. Plus he already had a connection to the ‘AGT’ world so why not delve a little deeper into his life and find out 10 facts about him.
1. ‘America’s Got Talent’ Star Alan Silva Comes From A Circus Family
Alan is a sixth-generation circus performer. He started performing when he was just four years old and had the best teachers, his family members, around to show him the ropes. Alan has worked with trampolines, trapeze, Russian bar and tumbling but he really found that his first love was being in the air on the silks. At the age of 16 he began focusing on silks and traveling Brazil to perfect his craft. His father and grandfather were two of his biggest influences and they helped him become the superstar that he is today.
SEE ALSO: WHO SHOULD GO THROUGH TO THE SEMI-FINALS ON ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’?
2. His Brother Is Alfredo From Deadly Games
Alan is the brother of Alfredo Silva who competed with the America’s Got Talent act Deadly Games. The duo Deadly Games competed on season 11 of America’s Got Talent in one of the most dangerous acts ever. Whether it was shooting arrows or throwing knives, they always knew how to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. They returned for America’s Got Talent: The Champions and got Heidi Klum’s Golden Buzzer. When Alan came to ‘AGT’ Simon immediately knew that he was Alfredo’s brother because of their strong resemblance. He also said that Deadly Games was one of his favorite acts of all time so he had high hopes for Alan.
3. Alan Silva Uses His Height To His Advantage
Alan shared his story on America’s Got Talent about his height. He’s 3’10” and said that just because he’s short doesn’t mean he can’t perform. Alan recognizes that it’s not common to see someone of his size doing aerial silks. He uses his height as his advantage while some may see it as a disadvantage. For him, being small means that he can work the silks with more control. It takes a lot of power to hold up your body weight and his rock hard abs are definitely something to show for that.
SEE ALSO: THIS CRAZY ‘AGT’ ACT MADE SOFIA VERGARA LITERALLY FALL OVER
4. He Opened Up About His Bullying Story On ‘America’s Got Talent’
He said on a podcast with the Las Vegas Sun “I just want to tell everyone my goal is to see myself without the adversity I had in my life because of my size. I’ve been judged a lot my entire life and bullied a lot because of it.” He wants to show other people that were bullied to not let it define who they are. His message was very clear when he came to America’s Got Talent and he is spreading positivity through his art form.
5. Alan Suffered A Serious Injury
In 2002 Alan was asked to perform with Cirque de Soleil. During a rehearsal, he fell and broke both of his hips. It was a really serious injury that put him out of commission for a while. Luckily he was able to recover and rejoin the group again in 2003. He had to go through six more months of training before being able to finally perform with them live.
SEE ALSO: MEET ALAN J. SILVA: THE ‘AGT’ STAR OUT TO PROVE SIZE DO NOT MATTER
6. He Got His Big Break With The Show Zumanity
Zumanity is a cabaret-style show in Las Vegas that featured Alan as one of their star performers. He flew through the air in an aerial act unlike anyone has ever seen before featuring very narrow silks. The show is very sensual and romantic and Alan really embodied that with his character. Alan performed 10 shows a week with Zumanity.
7. Alan Has A Wife And Two Kids That We Saw During His ‘America’s Got Talent’ Audition
Alan met his wife Bethany while working on the show Zumanity. She worked for the wardrobe department when the two met and hit it off. They were always interacting a lot and they ended up falling in love. The pair have two children together that we saw support their dad during his America’s Got Talent audition. After Alan’s performance, his son ran onto the stage to hug him in a moment that made us say “aw” out loud. They clearly are such huge supporters of their dad. This is the first time Alan’s kids have ever seen him perform live. Bethany is a working mother who still works on a ton of other projects like operas and plays but she always makes time for Alan. The pair are constantly posting pictures of vacations they have gone on.
8. Alan Is A TikTok Star
Alan currently has over 233,000 TikTok followers and 1.8 million likes. He posts a variety of videos including dancing with his kids and dangerous tricks with his brother Alfredo from Deadly Games. Alan is keen on posting videos of himself juggling. But the coolest part of it is that he posts his intense workout routines including doing one-handed push-ups.
9. He Hopes To Be An Aeriliast For The Rest Of His Life
Alan said that he never wants to leave the circus life. It’s pretty clear by his appearance on America’s Got Talent that Alan is extremely good at his craft. This is the career that he has always envisioned for himself since he was a young boy. Simon said that Alan was “born a performer.”
10. Alan Has A Goal On ‘America’s Got Talent’
Alan said that he has a very specific goal on the show. “My goal is to perform with my heart and my soul for the audience but also, I’m competing, not just performing. I was nervous because… the stakes were high,” he said after his ‘AGT’ audition. “And since that was the first time my kids were able to watch me perform live, that was the cherry on top on the nervous side for me.”
SEE ALSO: WATCH ALAN SILVA DEFY GRAVITY ON ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’ AND LEAVES JUDGES SHOCKED
Do you think Alan has what it takes to win America’s Got Talent?