University senior Joe Bell@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Joseph+bell@@ has a unique style. Not necessarily in the way he looks but the way he dances.
“A lot of people have said that I have a very unique, dynamic style,” he said. “Maybe a little spastic. I tend to freestyle in a high-energy way.”
It’s not uncommon to see Bell dancing. For one, he does it every day so he never loses his touch. But secondly, the University doesn’t have many spaces dedicated to dance practice, so Bell works with what he’s got. He dances on the roof of the Fishbowl, outside of the Fir Room, on the turf field or wherever he finds the space.
Bell’s fascination with dance isn’t recent. Even when he was a child, he enjoyed the simple act of hitting the beats with the right moves. “I’ve always thought music is super powerful,” he said. “It just makes me want to move.”
Joe Bell usually practices dancing in front of the windows outside the EMU window in order to watch his reflection and critique his moves. When it’s raining Bell moves inside to the open area outside the EMU ballroom. (Tess Freeman/Oregon Daily Emerald)
His first legitimate dance experience didn’t reach him until his sophomore year. Bell was at a house party when he saw a girl displaying some exceptional hip-hop dance skills. One of his friends goaded him into challenging her to a dance battle, and afterward she introduced him to the dance group she was a part of, Phenomenon.@@https://www.facebook.com/pages/Phenomenon-Hip-Hop-Dance-Company/68524932861?sk=info@@
His timing was right, as Phenomenon was staging tryouts just a couple weeks later. When he finally auditioned, he was embarrassed at his lack of formal knowledge, but Phenomenon thought differently; he made the cut and joined the company.
Phenomenon eventually closed down when the director moved out-of-state. This wasn’t a problem for Bell at the time, as he was going to study abroad in Japan. Nature had other plans, though. The 2011 tsunami struck, forcing him to cancel his plans only a week before he was supposed to leave.
He’d lost his term abroad and all the opportunities it would have given him and was left moored in Eugene, unable to register for classes. Add to all of that the absence of his chief creative outlet, and it’s easy to see how he could have been despondent.
It didn’t last long. “I only spent a full day being super upset before I said, ‘Screw this, I’ll go find somewhere else,’” he said.
Almost immediately, Bell discovered Unity School of Dance’s R&B and Hip-hop dance courses,@@http://www.unityschoolofdance.com/Unity_School_of_Dance/Course_Descriptions.html@@ which welcomed drop-ins. He set to work improving his fundamentals under the tutelage of Eileen King (Unity’s founder),@@http://www.unityschoolofdance.com/Unity_School_of_Dance/Contact_us.html@@ focusing on jazz technique and the like.
When it came time to join a new dance group, Bell set his sights on King’s Krew, Unity’s own dance company.@@http://www.unityschoolofdance.com/Unity_School_of_Dance/Kings_Krew/Kings_Krew.html@@
His audition was unsuccessful, but with the group’s rigorously technique-based approach, Bell could tell why he wasn’t a shoe-in. There was no time for the disappointment to settle; he was on the move again, taking classes and practicing relentlessly.
“I think I spent most of my paycheck on dance classes,” he said, without a hint of regret.
It worked out for him. King recognized his talent and asked him to join King’s Krew. He recalls his answer very clearly: “Hell yes, more than anything.”
Despite his passion, this term is Bell’s last at the University, which means that his primary focus is on beginning a career. Balancing dance with that is a difficult task, especially considering the costs associated with dance classes. Though Bell is concerned, he shows no signs of wavering.
