Maybe you’ve taken up a dance class with her, watched her in a TV show or a music video, picked up one of her modeling ads, or bumped into her somewhere along your life in Kuwait. If not, this is a great opportunity to discover her journey. Arriving in Kuwait without a single contact, Ashley Ostendorf is a huge testament to her success living abroad away from family in the States, earning a wide network of friends, work colleagues, and a huge support network she now calls her second family and home by dedicating herself to her passion of teaching…just sitting here in a quiet coffee place doing this interview with her, five incidences of existing or ex-colleagues/clients came up to us to say hello to Ashley. Her tenacious, dynamic versatility has as helped her navigate the perplexities of the teaching and arts world in Kuwait.
Ashley’s multi-talented and successful nature started from an early age. Born the eldest, into a family of five she grew up in northern Virginia in the U.S., just 30 minutes out of Washington D.C., which influenced her family dynamics and achievements. Ashley’s mother worked at NASA for seven years; her grandfather, Dr. John Cox left behind a huge legacy for her mother, as one of the original flight directors for the Space Shuttle Program.
Ashley graduated with a master’s degree in Education. Quipped with a sense of curiosity about the other side of the world and a thirst for seeking adventure, the Middle East was an attractive choice to satisfy her love, from an early age, to see a different part of the world.
It was when one of her revered University teachers, Professor Almarode at James Madison University, taught her the hallmarks and essence of teaching and education. He saw something in her that “could change the world”, he said. Through her well-equipped degree in education, her great talent with people, and her charisma, he inspired her to seek career options abroad, in the Middle East, in countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait, and in Europe. Almost every job she applied for replied with “When can you start working with us”. But she wanted a taste of the Arab culture. Ashley’s dad helped her narrow down her overwhelming career offers with the fact that Kuwait was one of the safest countries to work in, as a young postgraduate. Marked by low crime rates and ease of living and transportation he convinced her it was a safe country for young career prospect seekers. It was the final reason why she decided to come to Kuwait. Now looking back at her career in academia and teaching she reflects on how quickly her teaching touched the lives of nine generations of children in Kuwait.
Besides being dedicated to her first-ever teaching job at ASK, Ashley started playing Galic football, and represented the Kuwait team, and competed and won in regional tournaments. To those who are unfamiliar, it’s an Irish rugby sport. She traveled around the GCC, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Al Ain which, were her main travel destinations during her first two years in Kuwait. She took advantage of her teaching breaks like summer or spring breaks to pursue her love for sports. As she recalls, traveling for those regional competitions made her settle more into the Middle Eastern culture by exposing herself to other GCC Countries and shaped her first formative two years in the region. Growing up Ashley was an avid athlete. “Sports was significant to me. It cultivates your character, it teaches you valuable lessons like teamwork, discipline, and responsibility.”
After two years of life in Kuwait, and fuelled by her never-ending curiosity in education and academia, Ashley applied for a teaching job in Seoul to explore a different part of the world. She was accepted to teach at an American School in the heart of Seoul. She was to teach a class of 20 Korean kindergarten kids who didn’t speak any English. Because of her love for adventure, she sought and welcomed the challenge of navigating the barriers of language in education.
It was a blessing in disguise because Asia marked the beginning of Ashley’s teaching dance chapter of her life. One night she decided to take up K POP dance classes to serve as an escape from her job challenges in Soeul. K POP, short for Korean Pop Music is a music genre originating in South Korea.
After she came back to Kuwait from South Korea, colleagues who owned local businesses started recognizing more of her talent and asked her to advertise for their brands. This got her recognition from advertising agencies like A1, Senyar, CBS Models and proposals to feature in local Kuwaiti music videos.”
“I was featured in a music video “ Habib Kan” by Abdullah AL Rowaished. It was one of the starts of my being featured in music videos. I was very grateful for this beautiful experience to work alongside the iconic Kuwaiti Singer and Actor. I have also had the pleasure of meeting his daughter Moothy Al Rowaished whom I’m indebted to because she connected me with and recommended me to the owner of Omni Studios at the time, Sara Merza.
When Ashley met Sara Merza, then owner of Omni, she started taking up teaching dance alongside her teaching job at ASK. “I wanted to teach more than academia and curriculum. I wanted to teach expression through dance.” Ashley teaches Hip hop, burlesque, and floor (LA-inspired dance genres) for women, and Ballet for kids. Ashley’s classes served as a haven and helped many women shying away from expressing themselves or struggling with self-esteem. In a way, she was promoting a women’s empowerment environment through dance.
Through the recognition Ashley received from within the dance community and her Omni classes, she began receiving interest and recognition from VO, a Kuwaiti platform focused on supporting and developing young talents. VO cast her in the live performance “Wasalna” by Bader Al Shuaibi, and with fellow choreographer and friend Doss in 2021. She loved the challenge of dancing in a live performance. Taking the sense of sight and mirrors away from her usual dance routines at Omni and relying on music cues was hard, but she practiced relentlessly. Following VO Ashley got recognized as a rising leader and was cast as a choreographer by Sony Music for a music Video by Bashar AL Shatti “Ya Tair”, featuring Daffy which was a huge success and garnered more than a million views. Word traveled far about her good reputation on set after that, which got her her Debut TV Career in “Qafas Mekhmali”-“The Velvet Cage” a Ramadan TV Show on Abu Dhabi Television alongside Bader Al Shuaibi whom she worked previously with at VO. Though her Arabic was limited on set which made it challenging to connect with the crew on a deeper level, Ashley sought and thrived in the out-of-comfort experience.
After the closing of Omni Studios, Ashley taught at Club 7, Harmony, the Workout Boutique, and at Institute of Performance Arts in Kuwait. Today her latest project is full-time supervision of Red Town, the launch of the latest Concept in dining on Kuwait’s seaside, a seasonal Pop-up collab between TEC and BBT for an immersive fear experience together with dining, a first of its kind in Kuwait. Ashley continues her passion for dance through an online App Ashleyohhhhhhh Project on Passion. io. which clients can download to book private or group classes with her or download prerecorded dance instructional videos of a song and learn it step by step. Stay tuned this year for Ashley’s appearance in the renewal of a Kuwaiti show on Netflix this year and a modeling workshop by her to coach new models in the industry by collaborating with peers, make-up artists, and photographers. Stay tuned for other fitness-related projects and her new upcoming space, due to open up this year, promoting movement and fitness.
TRUTH OR DARE QUESTIONNAIRE
How would your mother describe you in one word?
Charismatic.
How would you describe your mother in one word?
Nurturer.
What is the most ridiculous question you’ve ever been asked?
Why are you here in Kuwait and why are you here for so long? Why do you speak Arabic?
What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
Sky diving unplanned. Spontaneous Maldives trip.
What is your theme song?
English: Too stylish by Jack Harlow. Arabic: Wasalna by Bader Al Shuaibi.
What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented?
“SARA7A’=HONESTLY.. 7EEEEL. LETS GOOOO
Where would you like to live?
Istanbul, Turkey.
What is your dream retirement location?
Bali, Indonesia.
What is the first famous quote that comes to your mind?
“You’d be surprised who’s being inspired by your journey. Don’t quit.”
Which animal best describes your perfect partner, be it in business or in life?
Lionness. I’m a LEO.
Do you miss anything from your childhood, and if so, what is it?
Yes. I miss Mom’s Peanut butter sandwiches and the ease of having my family all around, they’re the most supportive people in my life.
If you could change your name, to what would you change it?
“Ashooool” Ashley+ooool.
How would you describe your handshake in one word?
Fist bump sometimes if they don’t shake hands or in the case of a handshake; firm and confident.
What is the toughest part of your character?
I’m very stubborn.
What is your favorite historical figure?
Madonna. She’s tenacious, fierce and bold. She brought a new angle or light to the music industry.
What in the world do you least desire?
A typical 9-5 job/workplace. I’ve defied it with my successes today. It felt like a prison to me with lots of constraints.
What do you think is lacking in the world, which if there were more of it would make the world a better place?
Empathy. If people put others first before them there would be a lot more understanding and happiness and harmony between peoples’ countries and cultures.
Why do you think most people, who do, like you?
For my positivity and my bubbly demeanor. In terms of the workplace, for my professionalism and efficiency…I get things done.
Finish this sentence..Happiness is…
Happiness is knowing exactly what you want because once you do know, you can start creating it.
Follow Ashley on Instagram @ashleyohhhhhhh, and to book her dance classes check out Ashleyohhhhhhh Project on Passion.io.
