Experimental results from nonlinear parametric identification and control of balance in a minimum phase Acrobot is presented. The Acrobot's balancing mechanism comprises a concave downward-swinging body whose center of gravity lies below the hip joint. An optimal body angle that renders the linearized system dynamics minimum phase, hence theoretically energy conservative, is interpolated from estimated system parameters and a linear quadratic regulator with integral action is synthesized to achieve desired control objectives