OAK CREEK, Wis. — Oak Creek is represented in the America's Got Talent Live Finale.
Cindy Reid-Bluhm is a founding member of Royal Lasers. The group pairs dance with programmable LED suits and laser lighting.
"We had an idea that we wanted to incorporate the technology and the dancing together," Reid-Bluhm said.
She founded Royal Lasers with her husband Josh and their friend Nick. Reid-Bluhm said the three met while working on the AGT Superstars Live residency in Las Vegas. Cindy and Josh were working as backup dancers, and Nick was their choreographer.
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"We saw other acts perform on AGT and were super inspired by what they were doing and the fact that they took a risk on themselves. So, we decided to take a risk and put an act together ourselves," said Reid-Bluhm.
The group earned a golden buzzer during their audition.
"The first time that we danced together as a group was our audition," Reid-Bluhm said. "That experience was unlike anything I have ever felt before."
Reid-Bluhm's roots are in Oak Creek. She grew up in the city and graduated from Oak Creek High School.
"I was in student council. I was class president, and it’s funny because people joke that I never got to hang out because I was always at dance. I think now it's paying off," said Reid-Bluhm.
Reid-Bluhm said she has had some friends and former teachers reach out to her since the group's AGT audition.
"There have been a couple of people that I was close to at school that are still following along on the journey and super proud of what I’m doing," said Reid-Bluhm.
Growing up, Reid-Bluhm trained at Young Dance Academy in Oak Creek.
"It’s my home away from home," said Reid-Bluhm. "My parents always joke that I spent more time at the studio than I did my own house."
From a young age, she knew she wanted to pursue dance.
"I knew that I wanted dance to be part of my life, and so I was always there to be motivated for the next thing," said Reid-Bluhm
She said lessons she learned while at Young Dance Academy have carried her through the 'America's Got Talent' process.
"Sandy and my other teacher Lisa really instilled in me hard work ethic, and if you want something, you have to work for it. That is really proving to be true during this process," said Reid-Bluhm.
Sandy Young founded and owns the studio. She taught Reid-Bluhm and described her as family.
"She is like my second daughter, and it is great to see someone who you consider part of your family being so successful and following their dreams," Young said.
Young is proud of all Reid-Bluhm has accomplished as a dancer and personally.
"I’m most proud of her as a hard worker and finding a good person to share her life with," said Young. "I'm more proud of that than whether she became a dancer or whatever her avenue in life was. She is a really good, humble, kind, hard-working person."
Young's daughter Jenna Engen teaches at the studio. Reid-Bluhm and Engen both described each other as being 'like sisters.'
"She just spent a lot of time with our family, and she was really like a sister to me," said Engen. "She tells me stories of things I don’t even remember."
Engen said Reid-Bluhm's can serve as an inspiration to current students.
"I think it will be a cool thing for them to see someone who really grew up in this area, at this dance studio under this faculty, and get to see that she is now doing something that she loved; so making their dreams a reality too," Engen said.
Heading into the finals, Reid-Bluhm said the group is under significant pressure to prepare their act in a short timeframe.
"We've had days to put this act together when normally our content with the graphics and the lasers — that takes weeks. So the pressure is really on right now," Reid-Bluhm said.
Despite the pressure, Reid-Bluhm said the support from her hometown has meant a great deal.
"We have a whole army of people cheering us on. Perhaps the whole City of Oak Creek is cheering us on, and that feels cool to know that even though I don't get to come home very often, I'm still receiving that love and support from everyone," Reid-Bluhm said.
The Royal Lasers compete in the two-part America's Got Talent live finale Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC. You can vote for the team here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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