Edmonton's Acro Canine Crew Just Got a Golden Buzzer on America's Got Talent — And Terry Crews Sprinted Across the Stage to Give It to Them
Twenty dancers aged 7 to 21 and six performing dogs from Supernova Acro Studio stopped the AGT Season 21 premiere cold. Choreographer Jill Ford says the Golden Buzzer is just the beginning.
June 12, 2026 · By Justin Plosz · Edmonton, Alberta · Entertainment · 7 min read
The Moment Terry Crews Left the Stage
The Season 21 premiere of America's Got Talent had already been a night of surprises. Then Acro Canine Crew walked out.
Twenty dancers in matching red — ages 7 to 21, some of them sisters and cousins who have trained together for years at Supernova Acro Studio in south Edmonton — took their positions on the Pasadena Civic Auditorium stage. The routine started as a high-energy acrobatic and dance performance. Then the dogs entered.
Six dogs of all sizes wove through formations, leaped over performers, spun mid-air, and moved through the choreography with a fluency that drew audible reactions from the crowd. By the time the performance ended, the judges were on their feet.
Host Terry Crews did not wait for a discussion. He sprinted from his position at the stage, ran down into the auditorium behind the judges' table, and slammed the Golden Buzzer.
Golden confetti exploded overhead. Dancers cried. Dogs were hugged. Simon Cowell reached down and kissed one of the dogs. It was the kind of television moment that clips loop on social media for days.
"Yo, Acro Crew — I have never, ever seen anything like this in my life," Crews said from the stage. "You are now Acro Crews."
Sofía Vergara was equally effusive: "This is my two favourite acts: dancing and dog acts. Together? I really wasn't expecting this. It was too much for me."
Howie Mandel added: "I love the dogs. I love the way they are even dressed. I love everything about you."
An Edmonton Studio, a Dog Trainer, and an Idea That Took Years to Stage
Acro Canine Crew did not emerge from a single audition idea. It is the result of a collaboration between two world-class professionals who each spent decades becoming exceptional at something very specific — and then figured out what happened when their disciplines shared a stage.
Supernova Acro Studio operates in south Edmonton and has built a reputation for competitive-level acrobatic training for students as young as two years old through to competitive teenagers. The studio was the human side of this equation.
Jennifer Fraser is the canine side. The founder of Paws Fur Fun and Creative Canine Productions, Fraser has worked professionally with dogs for more than 40 years. Her animals hold 18 Guinness World Records. Her acts have previously appeared on Canada's Got Talent, Romania's Got Talent, Good Morning America, and Crufts — the world's largest dog show.
The dogs in Acro Canine Crew range in age from one to twelve years old. The dancers range from seven to twenty-one. The Guinness records and the dance certifications, combined on one stage, produced something that stopped a network television audience.
Jill Ford: The Choreographer at the Centre of It All
The human choreography for Acro Canine Crew was created by Jill Ford and Zoe Gervais of Supernova, with Ford leading the overall creative vision for the collaboration.
Ford has been teaching and choreographing dance for approximately 25 years. She holds multiple Acrobatic Arts certifications — including as a teacher, examiner, and course conductor, the highest level in the Acrobatic Arts certification system.
In a conversation following the Golden Buzzer, Ford described the creative process as genuinely collaborative at every level.
"The choreography for Acro Canine Crew is a collaborative effort between myself and Jennifer Fraser," Ford said. "Jennifer has been choreographing dogs for approximately six years, building on more than 40 years of professional dog training experience. Together, we combine human choreography and canine choreography to create the routines seen on stage."
The logistics of that combination — syncing acrobatic formations with animal movement in real time on a live stage — are considerably more complex than they appear. Fraser's canine routines are not improvised. They are the product of months of training that creates genuine stage presence in the animals: understanding cues, reading spatial formations, and performing original choreography rather than simply executing tricks.
The group flew to Los Angeles in March to film the audition. The performance that aired on the Season 21 premiere represents months of preparation between two studios and six dogs.
Jennifer Fraser and the Dogs With 18 World Records
Jennifer Fraser's credentials are not incidental to the Acro Canine Crew story. They are the reason the collaboration was possible at all.
Fraser founded Paws Fur Fun and subsequently Creative Canine Productions as vehicles for a specific vision: that dogs, given the right training and the right partnership with their handlers, can be genuine live entertainment performers — not background props or novelty acts, but co-stars.
The 18 Guinness World Records her dogs hold are a measure of training precision at an elite level. The appearances on multiple international Got Talent franchises demonstrate that the act has been tested in competitive televised contexts before. The Crufts performance places Fraser's work at the centre of the global dog performance community.
For the Acro Canine Crew collaboration, Fraser created original canine choreography designed specifically to integrate with human acrobatic formations — a different challenge than solo dog performance. The dogs needed to read and respond to moving human performers, not just handlers, in a fast-changing spatial environment.
Fraser's company Creative Canine Productions serves as the production home for the broader vision the group is now developing. More information is available at creativecanineproductions.com.
"Just a Small Glimpse of What Is Possible"
The Golden Buzzer earns Acro Canine Crew a direct pass to the AGT Live Shows, bypassing the standard judge voting rounds. Live Shows are expected to begin in August 2026, where acts compete for audience votes with a $1 million prize at stake.
But when Fraser talks about what comes next, the AGT competition is almost a footnote to a much larger ambition.
"We see this production as just a small glimpse of what is possible," Fraser said. "Our long-term vision is to expand the concept into a large-scale theatrical production that combines dogs with dancers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, acrobats, actors, and other performers. We believe this style of entertainment has the potential to become something the world has never seen before — creating a truly unique family experience for audiences of all ages."
On the question of performing live in the near term, the answer is both local and global.
"We hope to do both," Fraser said. "We are currently exploring opportunities for local performances while also developing the production for touring opportunities in the future. Acro Canine Crew was created to showcase what is possible when highly trained dogs and talented human performers share the stage as equal partners."
The statement that closes every conversation about the group's future is the same one Fraser returned to unprompted: "Receiving a Golden Buzzer on America's Got Talent was an incredible milestone — but we view it as just the beginning. Our goal is to continue developing this concept into a world-class production that inspires audiences and redefines what people think is possible with dogs and live entertainment."
For those interested in future large-scale theatrical productions, Jill Ford of Supernova is the lead on that side of the vision — she can be reached through Supernova Acro Studio at supernovaacro.com.
Key takeaways
- Acro Canine Crew — 20 dancers from Supernova Acro Studio in Edmonton combined with six trained performance dogs from Jennifer Fraser's Creative Canine Productions — earned a Golden Buzzer on the America's Got Talent Season 21 premiere on June 2, 2026
- Host Terry Crews gave the Golden Buzzer by sprinting from the stage into the auditorium to press the button — one of three Golden Buzzers awarded in the Season 21 opening episode
- The human choreography was created by Supernova instructors Jill Ford and Zoe Gervais; canine choreography by Jennifer Fraser of Paws Fur Fun and Creative Canine Productions
- Jennifer Fraser has more than 40 years of professional dog training experience and her dogs hold 18 Guinness World Records
- The group advances directly to the AGT Live Shows (expected August 2026), where audience votes determine who reaches the finale and a $1 million prize
- Jennifer Fraser says the Golden Buzzer performance is "just a small glimpse of what is possible" — her long-term vision is a large-scale theatrical production combining dogs with dancers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, acrobats, and actors; Jill Ford of Supernova leads the theatrical production side
Frequently asked questions
- Who are Acro Canine Crew?
- Acro Canine Crew is a performance group from Edmonton, Alberta that combines 20 acrobatic dancers from Supernova Acro Studio with six professionally trained performance dogs. The dancers range in age from 7 to 21 years old; the dogs from 1 to 12. The act is choreographed by Supernova instructors Jill Ford and Zoe Gervais alongside canine choreographer Jennifer Fraser of Paws Fur Fun.
- What happened on America's Got Talent?
- Acro Canine Crew performed on the Season 21 premiere of America's Got Talent on June 2, 2026 and received a Golden Buzzer from host Terry Crews, who sprinted from the stage into the auditorium to press the button himself. It was one of three Golden Buzzers awarded in the season opener. The act advances directly to the AGT Live Shows.
- Who is Jill Ford?
- Jill Ford is a dance and acrobatic choreographer at Supernova Acro Studio in south Edmonton with approximately 25 years of teaching experience. She holds multiple Acrobatic Arts certifications including teacher, examiner, and course conductor — the highest level in the Acrobatic Arts certification system. She co-created the Acro Canine Crew concept and choreographed the human performance component.
- Who is Jennifer Fraser?
- Jennifer Fraser is the founder of Paws Fur Fun and Creative Canine Productions, a Strathmore-based professional dog trainer and canine choreographer with more than 40 years of experience. Her dogs hold 18 Guinness World Records and have appeared on Canada's Got Talent, Romania's Got Talent, Good Morning America, and Crufts — the world's largest dog show. She choreographed the canine performance component of Acro Canine Crew.
- What is Supernova Acro Studio?
- Supernova Acro Studio is an acrobatic dance studio in south Edmonton, Alberta offering classes from students as young as two years old through to competitive-level teenagers. The studio is led by Jill Ford, who has taught and choreographed dance for approximately 25 years.
- What are Acro Canine Crew's plans after AGT?
- Acro Canine Crew advances to the AGT Live Shows, expected in August 2026, competing for a $1 million prize. Beyond AGT, canine choreographer Jennifer Fraser describes a long-term vision to expand the concept into a large-scale theatrical production combining dogs with dancers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, acrobats, actors, and other performers — something she calls "a truly unique family experience for audiences of all ages." For future theatrical productions and touring, Jill Ford of Supernova Acro Studio is the lead contact and can be reached at supernovaacro.com.
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