Billy Bell's LUNGE

Remember Billy Bell from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE last season? He was the kid that got elbowed in the nose and gushed blood, then after an amazing comeback left the show due to illness. Meanwhile he’s been dancing up a storm, attending Juilliard and forming his own dance company, LUNGE, which made its debut this week at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater on 9th Avenue and 55th Street. The 20 year old choreographer created a program of diverse pieces danced by a company of young dancers most likely born between 1990 and 1993––why its enough to make one feel ancient! This company came in many shapes, sizes and colors, but worked as a unified whole. Occasionally the ensemble broke up to show off individual dancers, but their mass effort was the most impressive. The amazing soloist of the evening was Mr. Bell himself, who didn’t dance nearly enough, but we’ll give him a break since he choreographed the entire five piece program. Mr. Bell’s ability is astounding––it is more than mere technical know-how––no, this dancer is somehow magical. He is like a mythical being: part Puck and part Peter Pan, with an evident joy and happiness that emanates from him even though he constantly tries to explore more serious emotions. His body contorts and bends into unlikely shapes with a light and fluid motion––then sharp, angular as if his joints were popping in and out of place. It is a cliché to say that he is poetry in motion, but that might be the closest and most accurate description of this person, who undoubtedly will emerge as one of the foremost talents this country will come to prize.