14-year-old Darius Mabda has a remarkable dancing talent that made him last year’s winner of Romania’s Got Talent. But his story doesn’t end there, as this year he made an emotional appearance on America’s Got Talent: All-Stars that took his amazing talent to the world. The teen only managed to squeak out a “hi” before he teared up during his audition on the American show however.
After some supportive words from the judges, Darius said he was very nervous to appear on America’s Got Talent because “it’s the biggest stage in the world”. The crowd was already on his side at this point, but they were about to get a real show when Darius began his performance of Shawn Mendes’ “In My Blood”. You can watch the dance below.
Darius displayed an acrobatic and technical style that mixed ballet moves with contemporary dance. As host Terry Crews remarked, all his nerves were forgotten as he showed off a variety of jumps, flips and spins that showcased his remarkable physical abilities as a performer and kept the audience on the edge of their seats.
Judge Heidi Klum was really drawn in by his performance and she gave a standing ovation to the teen along with the audience. After the dance she told him “you really are incredible. It was absolutely amazing and breathtaking to watch. You’re borderline a contortionist also while you’re dancing.” You can watch Darius’s golden buzzer performance on Romania’s Got Talent the previous year below.
https://youtu.be/en27pUayQ_g?si=2tgZ4CHkx_0hA1Uf
Klum asked Darius how many years he had been dancing, to which he shocked her by saying six years. In response to Klum’s follow up question, the teen revealed that he got into dancing because “I watched America’s Got Talent when I was little.” At this point Klum said to Simon Cowell “look what you’ve done”, as Cowell looked on like a proud dad.
Judge Howie Mandel then weighed in, giving young Darius the highest praise by saying “I think you’re a cross between Nadia Comaneci and [Mikhail] Baryshnikov,” referring to the Romanian five-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast and legendary Latvian classical dancer respectively. Mandel also told Darius that “you’re an amazing dancer, you’re an acrobat and athlete. You just delivered some of the biggest talent in the world and I’d imagine the superfans are blown away by what they just saw.”
Cowell was also impressed by Darius’s dance, commenting “you were so nervous Darius and your act started and I was thinking ‘I’ve kinda seen this before’, and then it all changed. I have a lot of respect for you. You’re 14 years old and after winning the show you’ve come all the way over here and you’re competing with some of the very best. I think after that you’ve given yourself a shot.” Darius received enough votes on the night to place third on his night of All-Stars performances, although unfortunately this was not enough for him to progress to the next round. If you would like to see more from Darius Mabda, you can follow him on Facebook or Instagram.