Remembering Ian Spink
We were deeply saddened at the recent death of Ian Spink, just a few days after his 76th birthday. Many in the dance community in Scotland met Ian when he moved to Aberdeen in 2005 to take up the role of Artistic Director at Citymoves Dance Agency, with some encouragement from Morag Deyes. He was, however, a ‘name’ in dance – an established choreographer at the vanguard of contemporary dance; an Australian ballet dancer, who moved to London and co-founded the ground-breaking Second Stride dance company with Siobhan Davies & Richard Alston.
At heart, Ian was a collaborator – never approaching dance in isolation, but as a creative endeavour to be explored in conversation with composers, writers, designers, visual artists and, of course, audiences. This passion is at the core of Fast and Dirty, a multidisciplinary workshop approach that Ian created in the 1980s and that he brought with him to Scotland. A playground for a groups of artists to explore and create, challenging typical responses to push themselves to try something new in creative tasks. Many artists have stories to tell about their Fast & Dirty experiences, and countless collaborations and artistic work had their creative beginnings in one of Ian’s workshops.
During his time at Citymoves, Ian established the DanceLive festival and instigated a partnership with the Sound festival of new music. The influence of his time in Aberdeen is significant, with the 18th edition of Dance Live taking place this weekend, and the partnership with Sound still going strong.
While Ian’s CV includes commissions for many major ballet, dance, opera and theatre companies, his creative legacy is much more expansive than this. Many artists as they mature, tend to lean into a confidence of established practices and approaches. Ian, however, seemed to take a different path – as he aged, he seemed to grow bolder in his creative experimentation, with AIRFIELD, set up with composer Bill Thompson, as the creative vehicle some of this work.
Despite his illness, Ian’s hunger for creativity didn’t wain. He was a trusted and greatly valued collaborator and ‘outside eye’ for many, encouraging them to go further in their artistic practice. Recently, he directed The Bacchae with Ewan Downie (Company of Wolves) and collaborated in the development of Nichola Scrutton’s Night Vision, which will be performed as part of the SOUND festival in Aberdeen later this month.
Ian will be greatly missed by many in the dance community in Scotland, throughout the UK and internationally. At The Work Room, we will greatly miss his presence in our studio and at sharings where he generously & gently offered encouragement and feedback to other dance makers – holding his vast experience lightly.
We send our love and deepest condolences to his partner Selina and his daughters Stella, Rosa and Ruby.
Image by The Camera Quines