Colette King, who has died at the age of 84, was a teacher of drama whose breadth of vision transformed education in contemporary arts. Whatever their goal, the same students at Dartington College of Arts in Devon learned acting, writing and movement (which she refused to call dance). With this imaginative grounding, they went on to become, among other things, writers, choreographers and lighting designers. Two of the writers, Deborah Levy and Mick Jackson, were Man Booker prize finalists; the choreographers included Laurie Booth, a seminal influence on the current generation of dancers; and one of the lighting designers was the Olivier award-winning Michael Hulls.
Colette also mentored innovative academics such as Mine Kaylan in cross-cultural performance and visual arts, as well as actors, including Josie Lawrence, and film-makers, notably the award-winning Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy. It was this ability to stimulate different forms of creativity that characterised all Colettes work.
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