Ian Spencer Bell was born in Washington, DC. He grew up in a white colonial farmhouse with black shutters in Middleburg, Virginia—an hour car ride from the city—with his older brother, Locke, and mother, Linda. Here, Ian began choreographing, first on his stuffed animals and then later—when he was given a Playskool record player—he began making solos.

Ian took his first ballet class in the attic of the Middleburg Community Center with Judy Lieberman. He continued training with her in her own space, a middle school cafeteria with chunky, orange tile flooring and a chrome service rail for a barre. Eventually, Judy suggested he train with her teacher, Robin Sturm, a former principal dancer with Washington Ballet. Ian began classes with Robin two days a week in her basement studio with five other young dancers.  

By the time Ian was 12, he had determined he would dance professionally and moved to Lynchburg to study at Virginia School of the Arts—two years after his sister Hannah was born. He was there for a year before he began as freshman at North Carolina School of the Arts. At NCSA, he studied with former ballet stars Melissa Hayden, Duncan Noble, and Irina Baronova and with early Martha Graham dancers Richard Kuch and Richard Gain. In the summers, he trained on scholarship at School of American Ballet with Stanley Williams and Andre Kramerevsky. Ian recalls the hours he spent watching the dancers of New York City Ballet in class and, back at NCSA, the older modern dancers in rehearsal and performance.

After graduation, Ian moved to Seattle where he’d been awarded a full scholarship to train at Pacific Northwest Ballet School with Truman Finney. He was there for two years, often performing with the company.

Following the spring performances at PNB, Ian returned home to Virginia to spend time with his family. He stayed in the area for nearly two years—moving to Philadelphia once, to finish dancing a season with Pennsylvania Ballet. 

Ian began choreographing, again at home and outside in the grass. He founded Piedmont Dance Ensemble, named for the region, with a mission to educate local audiences. His first ballet, Ferdinand the Bull, premiered at the Marriott Ranch in Hume. Ian was awarded a project grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts for his choreography and a drive-in performance.

He moved to New York in 2001 and began producing his work in nightclub venues and studio spaces around town. He has shown his work at Avalon (the former Limelight), Slipper Room, Joe’s Pub, Triskelion Arts, the Field Studio, WAX, and City Center Studios. He was selected to mentor under David Parsons as associate artist at Atlantic Center for the Arts, in New Smyrna, Florida. And when Ian returned to New York, the National Arts Club presented his work in the grand gallery. His work has also been presented by the 92^nd Street Y, Connecticut Ballet, Movement Research (Open Performance), New Chamber Ballet, and University Settlement (Live Arts Collaboration).

Ian began working as a teaching artist for American Ballet Theatre, and also taught at a performing arts magnet high school in Connecticut. He served as artistic associate for educational outreach at ABT. Ian has led residencies, workshops, and master classes for ABT in the tri-state area, Washington, DC, Chicago, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. He attends Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City with his partner, choreographer Ben Munisteri, and makes dances whenever he can.

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