High-Flying Feat
By Jill Cousins
The year was 2004, and the television in Karen and Steve Franzel’s home in Nairobi, Kenya was tuned to the Summer Olympics. While thousands of athletes competed in dozens of sports in Athens, Greece, Karen noticed an even more impressive feat in her own living room.
Her usually hyperactive two-year-old son Danny was mesmerized by what he saw on the TV whenever the coverage featured gymnastics or diving competitions.
“He was fixated,” says Karen, who had moved to Africa in 1998 after marrying Steve, who worked there as an agricultural economist for the United Nations. “He just stared at them, like I’ve never seen a young child do before. Then he tried to imitate everything he saw on the living room sofa!”
That’s when Karen and Steve realized their son had unique acrobatic abilities, even as they were also coming to terms with his equally challenging struggles.
a life-changing diagnosis
When he was about 18 months old, Danny had suddenly stopped talking and responding to his parents’ voices. Doctors thought Danny was either losing his hearing or had a mystery disease that they didn’t understand.
“He was meeting all his milestones up until about two years old,” says Karen, “and then he started acting like he was going deaf. It was like he was in his own world. He wouldn’t answer you; he wouldn’t make eye contact.”
That mystery disease was actually autism, and doctors recommended that the Franzels return to the United States for further evaluation and treatment. Danny had been born in San Antonio, Texas and had spent the first few weeks of his life there.
While back in the United States – first in Venice, Florida and in Maitland since 2006 – Danny began getting speech and behavior therapy, and he also continued to wow his parents with his athletic ability.
Danny practices his acrobatic routines on aerial silks at Orlando Circus School once or twice a week.
Karen, remembering Danny’s antics while watching the 2004 Olympics, installed a big trampoline surrounded by a net in the backyard so he could practice his acrobatic tricks in a safe environment. His parents also enrolled him in gymnastics classes, along with younger brother Jason, and they took the boys to playgrounds, where Danny proved to be an expert tree climber. When Danny proclaimed one day, “I am an acrobat!” – after nearly five years of not talking – Karen and Steve took his statement seriously.
taking center stage
Around age 11, Danny started weekly training sessions with Csaba Szilagyi, a former Ringling Bros. and Disney performer who was teaching circus performing arts in Davenport. Now 23 years old, Danny has been performing his aerial routines at events across the country, entertaining children of all ages and promoting neurodiversity.
Danny now has professional-level skills. Because of his autism, he may not be able to work with a troupe of performers like most acrobats, but Danny has found a way to showcase his individual skills at various events, such as the recent IMMERSE festival in downtown Orlando. He has also partnered with New York Live Arts to help expand neurodiversity inclusion in the circus arts.
Danny’s first public performance was in 2023 at the American Youth Circus Festival in Seattle, Washington, where he presented his high-flying act before 300 enthusiastic spectators.
Karen was asked to introduce her son, and she decided to be honest about his condition – even though it’s not evident when Danny is demonstrating his acrobatic skills, which include aerial silks, trapeze, and floor acrobatics.
Acrobat Danny Franzel’s parents, Steve and Karen, have been his biggest supporters.
a passion that inspires others
“I decided I should just promote him as someone with autism who’s doing something he loves,” says Karen, who answers questions from interested spectators after some of Danny’s performances. “Just because someone has a diagnosis, it doesn’t mean they can’t be successful. If they have a passion for something, they just need to get proper training and have someone to support them.”
“It was wonderful to see him find something that he loves to do and is passionate about.”
When he’s not practicing his skills at Csaba’s home or at Orlando Circus School, Danny also enjoys working out twice a week with his father at The Roth Family JCC and attending services with his parents at Congregation Ohev Shalom. In 2016, Danny and Jason, who is 11 months younger than Danny, celebrated their bar mitzvah together at Congregation Beth Am.
Despite his challenges, Danny has also made great strides academically. He graduated from Edgewater High School and completed three additional years of post-high school learning at Magnolia School’s Bridges program in Orlando, which provides community-based vocational training for young adults with disabilities.
Although his parents don’t think Danny will be able to work at traditional jobs in the future, they know he will continue to find joy performing acrobatics and inspiring others with his talents.
“We knew he was challenged in so many ways,” says Steve, “so it was wonderful to see him find something that he loves to do and is passionate about. He just absolutely loves it.”
To learn more about Danny, search for Danny the Acrobat on Instagram and YouTube.