Your Company

Ben Douglas, founder and creative director of Fusion
Ben started out in showbusiness at the age of six, working in the theatre, on advertisements and as a television presenter. He won rave reviews playing the Butler Drake in 'Annie' and presented Owl TV with Michaela Strachan as well as acting in 'The Labours of Erica' with Brenda Blethyn. After training at Arts Educational and the Rambert School of Ballet he worked as a dancer before being snapped up by Granada to be their social commentator on Livetime and co-present Sixtalk with Esther Mcvey. He also presented Perfect Parenting with Sharon Davis. In 1999 Ben expanded into the printed media and is now a fixture on the international party circuit, reporting from such glittering events as the Oscars, the Venice Film Festival and the Baftas. He is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, OK! Magazine, Hello, the Sunday Times and many others. As a lifestyle commentator and friend of the stars he has been the subject of articles in numerous magazines including Elle, In Style and The Stage. Along with 'It Girl' Clare Beckwith he was an Ambassador for the British Luxury Council.
A passionate campaigner on youth issues, he was until recently a member of the London Appeals Board of the NSPCC.

Simon Downing, Head of Drama
Simon Downing has over 25 years experience in professional theatre.
Initially trained at the Guildford School of Acting, he then worked for various theatre companies including Pandemonium, Liquid Acrobat, Soapbox Theatre Co., The Phoenix Theatre, and touring Europe with the English Teaching Theatre.
He also has nine Shakespeare credits to his name, including the lead in 'Macbeth', Petruchio in 'The Taming of the Shrew', Edmund in 'King Lear', Mercutio in 'Romeo and Juliet', and Bassanio in 'The Merchant of Venice'.
As well an actor, Simon is an accomplished musician and spent three years touring for Bill Kenwright in 'Only the Lonely', playing Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and George Harrison.
Prior to joining the Fusion teaching staff, Simon has also worked as a mime teacher, a lecturer in body language and a guitar tutor.

Aimee Mcgoldrick
Aimee’s training began at the age of three when she joined The Ellis School of Ballet and Tap, since then she has been training for 18 years and recently achieved a 2:1 BA(hons) in Drama. Her theatre credits as an actor include: the lead in a Theatre in Education tour, Pam in ‘A day in the death of Joe Egg’, Elizabeth Farley in ‘Playhouse Creatures’, a site specific installation performance of ‘When a Man and a Woman Love Each Other Very Much and Sybil Bulington in ‘Daisy Pulls It Off’ (The Compass).
Her theatre credits as a singer include: ‘Support for Africa’ (The Albert Hall), ‘The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebration’ (Buckingham Palace),’ and ‘Blow’em Away the Musical’ (The Etcetera Theatre).
Her television and film credits include: ‘Missing’ (BBC), ‘Wolfman’ (Universal Films starring Anthony Hopkins), ‘McDonalds Californian Summer Burger’ (ad) and ‘Yes Adventure’s’ (book, voiceover and T.V series).

Indra Shepherd, Head of Dance
A professional dancer of huge experience, Indra trained at the School of American Ballet in New York before moving to the English National Ballet School. In a varied career she has worked with the likes of Wayne Sleep, Nanette Glushak and Derek Deane.
For several years she pursued an acclaimed ballet career in Germany, dancing in 'Swan Lake', 'The Nutcracker' and a musical adaptation of 'La Traviata'.
Since 2002 she has focused on musical theatre, touring in lavish productions of shows such as 'The Lion King' and 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
She is an experienced teacher of various dance styles, particularly ballet, jazz and tap.