iLuminate ready to light up Englert Theatre stage

Well before Teah Bell dreamed of becoming a professional dancer, the future entertainer was transfixed in 2011 while witnessing the emerging act iLuminate perform on “America’s Got Talent.”

“I remember being quite young watching this unusual act and I just loved it,” Bell said while calling from Branson, Mo. “What iLuminate did was amazing.”

iLuminate is a theatrical and technology group, which placed third during the sixth season of “America’s Got Talent.” Bell was watching the televised competition with her family in New Hampshire.

Dancers turned heads while performing in black in the dark. They were clad in a mixture of electroluminescent wire and LEDs. The flashing lights the dancers sported were synchronized to display various effects.

“It was so cool,” Bell said. “I was amazed. What I saw back then really stuck with me. It was obvious what I saw on ‘America's Got Talent’ was special.”

The predictable story would be Bell spending countless hours training as a dancer and one day joining the iLuminate cast. However, three years after catching iLuminate on AGT, Bell's family relocated to Australia.

Bell embraced her new life in Sydney so much that she has an Aussie accent despite spending her entire pre-pubescence in America.

“I was just young enough to pick up the Australian accent,” Bell said. “I was in eighth grade and I just wanted to fit in. So I have the Australian accent.”

Bell proved that she fit in with iLuminate when she auditioned in New York in July.

“I happened to be in the city when I saw there was an audition,” she said. “I went for it and found out that I passed the audition when I was on my way back to Sydney. I was so excited being part of a show that had such an impact on me as a child.”

Within a few days after receiving the news that she was part of the troupe, Bell flew back to Las Vegas for rehearsals. iLuminate, which has had a residency at the Strat in Vegas since 2021, offers a unique blend of music, dance, technology and art driven by dancers.

“There is no other show like iLuminate,” Bell said. “It’s a great show for everyone, especially families. I love being part of this, since we create pure magic onstage.”

The dancers disappear onstage.

“You can’t see where we’re going to appear,” she said. “We end up in different places and then you see where we are since we show up in different places on the stage. It’s trippy at times. It looks like I’m levitating during one part of the show.”

And then there’s the music, which is so diverse.

“The range is from Michael Jackson to Willie Wonka,” Bell said. “I think we have something for everyone with iLuminate.”

iLuminate, performing Sunday at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, is much more than dancing. There's singing and the dancers act their way through the show.

“I love a challenge,” Bell said. “I enjoy acting. I love the fact that I get to flex so many of my favorite entertainment muscles with this show. I love to sing, dance and act.”

Even though Bell still is based in Sydney, she’s enjoying dancing her way across America.

“I love it here,” she said of being back on U.S. soil. “So much of it feels like home, but then again I grew up in America. To be able to be part of something so amazing at this point in my career is incredible. This show is fantastic. People who come out to see iLuminate will be surprised and so glad they experienced what we present.”