Born in Melbourne, Douglas was named after Sir Douglas Nicholls from the Yorta Yorta people, who was a very close friend of his father.

Douglas Amar is a dance graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts. He has worked for some of Australia’s leading performing arts companies including Bangarra Dance Theatre, Opera Australia, Australian Dance Theatre, Queensland Arts Council, Darc Swan, Ausdance and the Australian Council for the Arts. Working with these companies has offered him an enriched and diverse artistic and cultural experience. In recent years his life has been full of teaching, learning and exploring.