Ashley Swan, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, trained with Lisa A. Toups and Kathryn McBeth at Ruth Mitchell Dance Theatre (now Georgia Metropolitan Dance Theatre). While performing with RMDT, Ashley enjoyed dancing many different roles including Arabian and Dew Drop in The Nutcracker, Wendy in Peter Pan, soloist roles in Tom Pazik’s By George! and Great Scott, and was a featured soloist in many original contemporary works.

While attending Kennesaw State University, Ashley taught ballet, tap, and jazz for Georgia Dance Conservatory as well as performed with Young Audiences of the Woodruff Arts Center. Upon graduating from KSU with a B.S. in Exercise and Health Science, Ashley danced with Charleston Ballet Theatre (CBT) in Charleston, South Carolina. While there, she performed George Balanchine’s Serenade and Rubies, Salvatore Aiello’s Notturno, and was featured in many original choreographic works. Additionally, Ashley was on faculty at the Charleston Ballet Center for Dance. 

In 2011, Ashley assumed the role of Co-Artistic Director of Covington Regional Ballet located in Covington, Georgia. Over the course of their eight-year tenure, she and husband, Peter Swan, facilitated the integration of contemporary dance programming, choreographed seven full-length ballets, directed The School of Covington Regional Ballet, launched a professional company, assisted with the design of a state-of-the-art dance and administrative facility, and birthed three children! Ashley enjoys training and inspiring dance’s future generation of artists and is thrilled to return home to Georgia Dance Conservatory!