CONTORTIONIST, MAGICIAN HEADED TO 'CANADA'S GOT TALENT'

Two Durham Region residents are among the dozens who will appear in the second season of "Canada's Got Talent."

Contortionist Toria Summerville, who performs under the name Flexy-T, is from Ajax, while magician Richard Forget is from Whitby.

The second season of the show premiered on Tuesday, March 21 at 8 p.m. on CityTV. The final episode of the season, hosted by singer Lindsay Ell, airs on Tuesday, May 16 at 8 p.m. from Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls.

The judges for the new episodes are Howie Mandel, Lilly Singh, Trish Stratus and Kardinal Offishall.

The 82 acts will compete for the top prize of $150,000 and the chance to work with a financial advisor from CIBC.

Summerville describes herself on her website as "a professional circus performer and a real life human pretzel from Ajax, Ont."

At a young age, she knew she had rare natural flexibility, while at 14, she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare disorder that affects the connective tissues in the body. Summerville began to undergo circus training to develop the strength she needed to control frequent

joint dislocations.

Summerville has performed across North America with such companies as A2D2 Aerial Dance Cirque Company, La Rouge Entertainment, Hit & Run Dance Productions, Zacada Circus, Trellis Entertainment, Zero Gravity Circus, Illuminair

Entertainment, Hercinia Arts Collective, and Articus Productions.

Forget has appeared around the world and even made an appearance on the "Penn and Teller: Fool Us" TV show.

Penn praised Forget's act, saying it was a "wonderful, wonderful routine."