Dance troupe led by Cedar Rapids native wows 'America's Got Talent' judges

America is discovering what Cedar Rapids audiences have known for years. Lynne (Waggoner) Patton has talent.

Now a choreographer who owns a dance studio in the Denver metro area, her dance troupe, The Silhouettes, wowed the judges last Wednesday on NBC's "America's Got Talent." The episode highlighted the Minneapolis auditions for the popular talent search, and was repeated Sunday.

Piers Morgan, the toughest of the three celebrity judges, called Patton out to the stage and showered her large group with praise.

"That is one of the most brilliant things I've seen in a long time," he said. "I think I've seen everything, and then this kind of act comes out of nowhere. We all just sat back and I could hear us go 'Wow.' "

The young dancers, ages 9 to 18, hail from Patton's studio, A Rocky Mountain School of Dance and Performing Arts in Arvada, Colo. They performed in silhouette behind a large screen to Kirk Franklin's inspirational song, "Imagine Me."

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"What an amazing, original concept," judge Howie Mandel said. "It was beautiful and it was a story."

Patton is a 1983 graduate of Kennedy High School and attended Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. A singer/dancer/actress, she starred as Mary Magdalene in "Jesus Christ Superstar" at Theatre Cedar Rapids in the 1980s. She also directed the children's Summer Performing Arts Camp for Kirkwood College and TCR, before moving to the Denver area in 1987.

For more on her career, go to

?www.rmsdance.com/instructors.htm