Stony Brook Couple Reflects On 'America's Got Talent' Experience

Ward Melville's Class of 1986 may remember the name Donovan Jones. But now millions of people know of Donovan along with his wife and professional partner Rebecca Peache as the theatrical acrobats who made it to the semifinals of "America's Got Talent" this past season.

What you may not have known is Donovan and Rebecca are actually self-taught acrobats who had to make the transition from being a singer and a dancer to be able to perform what they describe as "a musical theater approach to 'Cirque du Soleil.'"

Based in both Stony Brook and London, the couple holds a few Guinness world records: fastest web spin (2007), longest one-arm hold (2008), and longest acrobatic double-neck hang (2011), the latest of which is featured in the recently published 2013 edition of The Guinness Book of World Records.

Before their run on "America's Got Talent," Donovan and Rebecca were frequently seen performing on cruise ships; now, they've got aspirations to do much more. Recently, the couple sat down to chat with Three Village Patch to reflect on the experience of the show and the development of their act.

Patch: What was it like being on the show?

Rebecca: It was really exciting to work with all those professionals ... Everything is so slick. You get your hair and makeup done. You collaborate with them and they give you exactly what you want.

Donovan: It was so great to have a wonderful professional team at your disposal, so to speak.

Rebecca: They’re there to help you, to advise you. They really want to present your act in the best way possible.

Patch: What was the competition like?

Rebecca: We never saw it for the Vegas round – we just saw encouragement backstage. All the other acts would cheer.

Donovan: There was a real camaraderie. It was an honor to share the stage with some of [them].

Patch: What, if anything, would you change about the experience of being on the show?

Donovan: In hindsight, I would have changed 80 percent of the choices we made but I think the overall experience was phenomenal. ... Looking back at it, sure there were many compromises we had to make along the way based on both input and technical limitations. What we thought we were going to do was very different from what we ended up doing. I think we came away with enough of the essence of what we wanted to portray. We feel proud of what we accomplished.

Rebecca: We set out what acts we’d do as we progressed to give a variety. We were very disappointed that we didn’t get to do the act where Donovan sings. Our basic thing is we’re not acrobats, we’re self-taught acrobats. We’re singers and dancers. ... We took a huge risk on "America’s Got Talent" not showcasing that part of our act. One of the choices we would have made differently was to showcase that. We were looking to find a musical theater approach to "Cirque du Soleil." You want a story and a performance rather than just trick, trick, trick.

Patch: What were the challenges of performing on the show?

Donovan: I think the challenge was to perform for such a wide audience

Rebecca: To try and condense our act to 90 seconds, that was a challenge each time. At first it was terrifying to condense down, but we found new elements, new transitions. New ways to get right to the point.

Patch: What about the challenges of developing your act in general?

Donovan: It was getting the conditioning.

Rebecca: In the beginning we had to make the transition from being a singer and a dancer. Our bodies had to change, but that happened when we did the work.

Donovan: It was at least six months before we were able to perform our first act. Four to five hours a day of frustrating toil. It took us six months to come up with five minutes and now we have an hour and fifteen.

Rebecca: It took years to build up the stamina. As a dancer I couldn’t climb the rope. I had no upper body strength. I had to use my legs, use my stomach. The same way I lift Donovan, I don’t have to lift him. I can use my whole body. It was frustrating in the beginning and then I had to figure out to use what I had.

Donovan: There are women who partner men. I weigh 200 pounds. She’s a woman and she lifts me. One of the interesting things about the show is that Arnold Schwarzenegger saw us and handpicked us to be part of the lineup to be in one of his fitness symposiums.

Rebecca: He’s had a wonderful career and we admire the work he’s done. He’s very motivated, very dedicated.

Donovan: That kind of motivation is what we aspire to do. From the show, we’re now being contacted [by] fitness organizations to perform for them in situations where they showcase strength.

Rebecca: That might open up a whole new career for us.

Patch: What's next for you?

Donovan: We’re already being approached to put on a major events and we’re hoping to produce bigger shows on the scale of William Close, one of the finalists on AGT.

Rebecca: We have a show that is completely open to live musicians, extra dancers.

Donovan: Any number of production elements, easily expandable. Our plan is to now launch our own tour help produce a larger version of our show and create our own Vegas-style touring show. The idea would be to start small by using local talents wherever we go. We would love to put on a show in the Stony Brook area. ... It’s very hard as a non-known act to get in to those larger places. Now that we have more notoriety, they have the chance to know what they’d be buying.

Rebecca: Now people are actually coming to us saying would you be able to produce a show here and what would it cost. Which is a wonderful position to be in.

Donovan: And we can’t wait to start a family, to be able to settle down in the [when] we don’t have to travel so much. It would be wonderful to have a show somewhere and we can establish roots. Get a dog.

For more information about the couple and to catch up on some of their performances, visit Donovan and Rebecca on the web here.