Former KG student is part of black light dance troupe
King George County has had its share of homegrown talent:Anthony Campbell successfully competed in the Today Show talent contest, and Colette Wolfe appeared in the summer movie Hot Tub Time Machine. Now, a new star has risen: King George High graduate Brian Lusher.
Lusher is part of the performing group Fighting Gravity,which has made it to the semifinal round on the show America’s Got Talent. The act is one part dance troupe and one part optical illusion: Members use black lights and dark costumes to make it appear as if they are floating in the air to the beat of pulsing techno music. The costumes make it appear as if the contestants glow in the dark, and the synergy of music, dance and visual trick screate an unforgettable experience.
The performances don’t involve digital effects, wiring or flight harnesses, and the members choreograph and design the dances and costumes themselves.
Fighting Gravity is comprised of brothers from the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Virginia Tech. Lusher, a junior mechanical engineering major, and his fraternity brothers formed the group in order to participate in a university talent show, the proceeds from which benefitted Service for Sight,an organization assisting the visually impaired.
The pull of Fighting Gravity extended beyond the Virginia Tech community when videos of their electrifying performances hit YouTube.Though the group was only formed in 2009, it has garnered a large following of online — and now TV — audiences.
The group has generated more than 14,000 “likes” on Facebook, and updates fans via Twitter. The group, if it stays on the show until the end, will be included in the America’s Got Talent live tour beginning Oct. 1.
Now, the brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha are competing for the $1million cash prize that goes to the winner — chosen by vote — of America’s Got Talent. The show, which operates similarly to American Idol, allows ordinary people to audition before a panel of judges including Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel. After watching the acts, viewers can vote for their favorite performance by phone, text or online.
With continued mind-blowing performances and support from both home-based and nationwide fans, Fighting Gravity will be on their way to well-deserved success.
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9 p.m.on NBC. The winner of the $1 million prize will be announced Sept. 15.
