AJ Juarez thought the email was a scam.
Barrio Dance Factory, the pre-professional dance crew attached to the studio he founded in Madison, had just competed at the World of Dance regional event in Chicago, where they qualified for the international competition this summer in LA.
Now, he had an email from someone claiming to be a producer from the competition show America’s Got Talent, who said they’d seen Barrio’s World of Dance performance on YouTube, and thought they’d be a good fit for America’s Got Talent. They wondered if Juarez would like to bring the company out to LA to audition for AGT judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell.
Surely, a scam.
But just to be safe, Juarez responded, and a week or so later, he and assistant director Nicole Nelson were on a Zoom call with a bunch of TV producers.
Not a scam after all.
That email came in November 2025. In March 2026, after a lot of back and forth, submitting videos, cutting their piece from six minutes to down to two, and a few more Zoom calls, Juarez and the 28 members of the troupe were on their way to LA. They performed the shortened version of their piece, set to music of the rock band Queen, in front of those judges and a live audience.
They can’t say how it worked out – you’ll have to watch their audition on the premier episode of AGT’s 21st season on Tuesday, June 2, to find out whether they got the requisite three “yes” votes to move to the next round. It’ll air on NBC (Channel 15 in Madison) at 7 pm Central Time.
Here’s the video that caught the AGT producers’ attention:
Locked in
Juarez began training in Latin ballroom dance in his native Buenos Aires, Argentina, but quickly discovered a love for lyrical jazz, musical theatre, hip hop, and modern contemporary styles. He studied dance at the Julio Bocca School of Musical Theatre and opened Barrio Dance on Madison’s east side in 2019, offering everything from dance classes for beginners to the 2024 World of Dance international champion dance crew Barrio Dance Factory. He opened a second studio in Verona this summer as one of the founding artistic companies at Art House 360.
Barrio Dance Factory has performed around Madison and Wisconsin, and competed at a national and international level. But this will be its first appearance on national television. In fact, it may be the first national television appearance for any Wisconsin dance company.
“They mentioned that they were specifically looking for more dance groups,” Nelson said in an interview. “They mentioned in the 20th season, they did have a lot of dance groups, but they were international groups. This particular talent scout was really on the hunt to find an American dance team that could represent on the show.”
The team rehearsed incessantly at home and had a day in LA to rehearse on the stage as well.
“That was one of the first times I’ve been on stage where I wasn’t nervous,” said Nelson, who also dances in the company. “Usually, it’s a mix of excitement and nerves, but we were so well prepared. I was lying in bed visualizing myself on the stage, because it was such a huge opportunity. I feel like everyone on the team was the same, just focused, locked in.”
“I remember being there on the wings, and then the dancers, they were excited to get in. They were confident,” Juarez said.
And then in just a few minutes, it was over.
“I think most of us cried the second we got off stage,” Nelson said. “It was all this anticipation, all that buildup of emotion, and you finally just let it go like we knew we had done it. We had checked that off of our list of amazing bucket list things to do that we didn’t even know were on our bucket list … I spoke to most of the members of the team, all 28 and every individual felt like they had an amazing run. Every person was proud of what they did. No one felt like they made a mistake or regretted anything, or felt like they held back.”
What happened in those few minutes will be revealed on June 2. Whatever the result, Nelson said the whole experience is a lesson for artists of all kinds: you never know who’s watching.
“We really try to represent no matter what stage we’re on,” she said. “We owe it to our community and the local people to provide excellence in Madison. We’re not going to downplay that, and then also, because you never know who’s at that high school watching. … This is why we work so hard … because you never know who’s watching, and it paid off.”
