Ashley Chen

Ashley Chen trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris. After a project with Thomas Duchâtelet, he joined the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in New York in 2000. Four years later he became a member of the Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon, where he danced in works by William Forsythe, Trisha Brown, Philippe Decouflé, Christian Rizzo, Mathilde Monnier, Russel Maliphant and Ohad Naharin. The decision to work freelance led to collaborations with various choreographers throughout Europe since 2006, including John Scott and Liz Roche in Ireland, Michael Clark in the UK, Michele Ann de Mey and Jean-Luc Ducourt in Belgium, Philippe Decouflé and Boris Charmatz in France. He has also worked with Robert Swinston as a performer and assistant on works by Merce Cunningham pieces. In 2012, Ashley Chen founded the Caen-based Compagnie Kashyl, for which he also creates his own choreographies. In the 2024/25 season, he will be responsible for the restaging of Merce Cunningham’s Summerspace at the Vienna State Ballet.