Ashley Dougan.
Artistic associate for dance.
Image by Simone Ruggiero
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I started dancing when I was 15 after taking on a dance gig for The Arafura Games as a bit of fun. I realised whilst working on the project that I really enjoyed moving, and so enrolled in a dance elective the next semester. Here we are, 11 years and a degree later!
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My favourite Forest Collective project that I've been in has to be Orpheus - there's nothing quite like your first project with a company, and I'm a sucker for a thrust staging.
My favourite one that I've watched would have been their collaboration with my pal Max Lawrence - it was a celebration of all the things I love about chamber music and pop music - chamber pop, if you will!
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I've worked in a zoo, a fish farm, taught kids how to swim for a number of years - and now I'm aiming to study medicine - I guess I'm going for some sort of weird triple threat?
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I'm tied between Grand Finale by Hofesh Schecter, or Fangirls by Yve Blake - both incredible works with excellent staging and intricate moving sets.
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If you know me, you'd be keenly aware that I love ABBA - and that "Mamma Mia" is my pump up song for exams, performances, and group presentations.
Ashley Dougan is a dancer and choreographer based in Naarm, Australia. Having completed his BFA (Dance) at the Victorian College of the Arts, and undertaking supplemental study at the CND in Paris, he is now focusing on his personal body of work.
With a strong classical and contemporary background, and experience in physical theatre and aerial choreography, he has worked with choreographers such as Adam Wheeler, Kate Denborough, and Stuart Shugg. Ashley has performed at Darwin Festival, Melbourne Festival and Sydney Festival, and has been involved with shows in both Melbourne and Sydney Fringe Festivals. He has also worked with Tracks Dance Company, Stalker Theatre, Opera Australia. He choreographed and performed in Forest Collective's sold-out ballet-opera Orpheus, and most recently presented his full-length work Seeing Red. Amongst this, he maintains a keen interest in youth dance and dance on film.
Labyrinth, Pierrot & Orpheus.
Ashley Dougan provided both choreography and dance for our digital artwork Pierrot premiered online in February 2022 and is available to stream now for free, and also for Evan J Lawson’s dance-opera’s Orpheus and Labyrinth.