Gavin Besteman is from Vancouver, WA, but has been living in Seattle for the last five years. Gavin recently graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, having pursued a BA in Dance with Honors and a minor in Environmental Studies. He was awarded the Evelyn H. Green endowed scholarship for artistic promise by the dance department and the Barbara and George Akers Scholarship through the College of Arts and Sciences. During his time at UW, he experienced life-changing performing processes, classes, peers, and mentors. He was a part of over a dozen original dance works across various genres and styles, and did extra work as an Anatomy Teaching Assistant. While still in school and following graduation, Gavin freelanced within the greater Seattle movement community, dancing in the Bridge Project, Boost Dance Festival, Full Tilt, Men in Dance, and Seattle International Dance Festival. Stylistically, Gavin converges social, classical, street, and club dance forms. He’s worked with dance legends near and far: Ronald K. Brown, DarVejon Jones, Rachael Lincoln, Hannah Wiley, Annie Franklin, Abdiel, Dani Tirrell, Madeline Maxine Roman, Heather Jackson, Sarah Slipper, Alana Isiguen, and Lavinia Vago, to name a few. Recently, Gavin moved back to the Portland area to join the BodyVox Dance company for the 26-27’ season! In his free time, Gavin runs a hobby goat farm, enjoys gardening, reading, bird-watching, and is a disco and house music lover! His purpose in life, no matter the medium, is community formation, engagement, and vitality. He urges you to find your inner groove and share it with a friend! He’d like to thank special mentors, peers, friends, and family who’ve surrounded him with love, conversation, and collaboration.

CJ Burroughs (Raleigh, NC) received her BFA from University of Michigan and graduated high school from University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Her career began with Ron De Jesus, Marc Macaranas, Thodos Dance Chicago, and Saint Louis Dance Theatre’s trainee program. CJ then joined SLDT for seven seasons, performing lead roles under both Brian Enos and Kirven Douthit-Boyd and working with choreographers including Norbert De La Cruz III, Stephanie Martinez, Robyn Mineko Williams, Dexandro Montalvo, Joshua Peugh, Gabrielle Lamb, and more. CJ later performed with LA Dance Project in Benjamin Millepied’s Romeo and Juliet, touring to the Dubai Opera House in 2024, and as a guest artist with Tandem Dance in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her choreography was commissioned by SLDT, Columbus Modern Dance Company, and the Modern American Dance Company, as well as Tree9’s Emmy-winning film, Raising Spirits. CJ is thrilled for her first season at Bodyvox.

Mia Crider (Holly Springs, North Carolina) trained at Holly Springs School of Dance (HSSOD) and Holly Springs High School. In May 2024, Mia earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a minor in Business, graduating summa cum laude from Montclair State University.  She has performed in works by Tommie-Waheed Evans, Jesse Factor,  Jason Herbert, Christian Von Howard, Morgan Holton, Caroline Lewis-Jones,  Jesse Zaritt/Sara Shelton Mann/Niall Jones, Stephan Koplowitz, Gaspard Louis, Michelle Manzanales, Jenna Riegel, Brandin Steffensen, Maxine Steinman, Abdel R. Salaam, Doug Varone, Shen Wei, and Ching Ching Wong. Mia has returned to HSSOD since 2022 as a teacher and choreographer to set work for the Senior Springs Company dancers. Crider has been a Summer Dance Intensive student, performer, artist-in-residence, and teacher with the American Dance Festival since 2022. She has also attended Intensives such as the University of the Arts Pre-Professional Summer Intensive in 2019 and Open Space Space Camp Pro in 2026.  Mia had the pleasure of being a company dancer for Durham, North Carolina-based contemporary dance company Gaspard & Dancers from 2024-2025. With G&D, she has toured to Yerevan, Armenia; Tbilisi, Georgia; New York City, NY; Asheville, NC; Durham, NC; and Wilmington, NC. For the summer of 2025, Mia worked with the contemporary-jazz company, Unbound Dance Company, based in Columbia, SC, led by Caroline Lewis-Jones and Morgan Holton. Crider has also performed with Jason Herbert Dance, based in NYC, performing in Queens, NY (2025), and New Hope, PA (2026). Mia joined BodyVox’s main company in January 2026. She made her West Coast debut in the world premiere of Drawings on the Walls in April 2026. Mia is very excited to be joining BodyVox for a second season and is looking forward to performing in Creepy Cupcakes and touring to Japan.

Daniel Kirk has extensive performance experience both nationally and internationally. His technique ranges from classical ballet to contemporary to innovative theatrical and aerial work.

After nine years with Oregon Ballet Theatre, he has performed many ballets by director James Canfield and the late Dennis Spaight. Considered to be one of the finest partners, Lewis Segal of the L.A. Times has called him a classically gifted artist as well as a paragon of dance. Daniel and Eric Skinner are co-founders of the skinner/kirk DANCE ENSEMBLE, a contemporary dance company in Portland. Daniel is a founding member of BodyVox.

Sammi Lopresti was born and raised in Tigard, OR. She graduated with her B.A. in Dance Performance from Grand Canyon University in Spring of 2025. During her time with GCU, she performed in and choreographed works presented in 13 Student Spotlight Shows and 10 Faculty Concerts. She was awarded first place and honorable mention at the AzDEO student choreography contest for two years. Over the past 20 years of her training, Sammi has worked and trained with dancers from BODYTRAFFIC, Limon Dance, Jacob Jonas Company, The Royal Ballet, Parsons, Alvin Ailey, NW Dance Project, SALT, and Wasatch Contemporary Company. She has attended three American College Dance Association festivals where she has performed and taken original works to represent her school. She has performed with the Phoenix-based companies The Nhan Ho Project and BODIES Contemporary Company, and was a guest artist in "(Precept)itation" in Eugene, OR, choreographed by Hannah Victoria Thomas. Sammi has presented original works in festivals including her self-choreographed solo, Tom, at the Oklahoma International Dance Festival, as well as her dance film "Wide Open", which was screened at the Arizona Drive-In Festival in 2024 and the 2026 CineVox Dance Film Festival. She also was awarded the opportunity to choreograph for Wasatch's Movers and Makers residency June of 2026. Currently, she is a dance teacher at Innovative Dance, guest choreographer for CA Dance Academy, and a dancer for the BodyVox company. She is most excited about creating her first original work with BodyVox for the "Creepy Cupcakes" show. 

Brent was born in Portland and raised in the area. He started dancing with Bodyvox as an apprentice for the 07-08 season before attending university. Graduating from Point Park University in 2012 with a BFA in Dance. He has danced with The Pillow Project, Attack Theatre, Eowyn Emerald and Dancers, Skinner|Kirk Dance Ensemble, and Bodyvox. Brent rejoined Bodyvox in 2015 and was elevated to Co-Artistic Director in 2026. 

Ramon started his training in dance at age 17. He immediately excelled in tumbling and contemporary dance. Ramon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Western Oregon University where he worked with a host of guest artists such as Lauren Edson of Juilliard and Brian Eno of Chicago. At WOU he developed and strengthened his technical and ballet skills as well as began to hone a keen eye and mind for choreography.

In recent years, Ramon has performed with Disney’s Broadway caliber productions of Aladdin, Frozen and Believe. He has also toured Internationally with Rainbow Dance Theatre lead by Directors/Choreographers Valerie Bergman and Darryl Thomas whose productions combine traditional dance movement and body integrated multi-media equipment. Ramon has had the opportunity to Dance for and work with a number of notable Choreographers and Dance companies over the years, including Directors Dina Castelluccio & Karen Nerkowski of the New England Ballet Academy, and Danial  Shapiro & Joanie Smith whose Company focuses on breathtaking physicality embedded in story-driven performances.

Jillian St.Germain is a multidisciplinary movement artist whose work lives at the intersection of dance, circus & cinematic performance. Raised in Northern MI, she began her formal training at Interlochen Arts Academy before expanding her movement vocabulary in NYC, studying Circus Arts with Cirque du Soleil’s Ivo Gueorgieuv & Bboying with renowned NYC Tranzformerz Breakdance Crew. Jillian’s diverse career has included performing with companies such as Aerial Artistry, AntiGravity Ent., Boston Ballet, BodyVox, Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre, Quixotic & Urban Ballet Theatre amongst others. Her film & television credits include dancer/aerialist on NBC’s Smash and CBS’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, as well as featured roles in Vincent Laforet’s short film MōVI and Fuchsia Lin’s Future Cosmos Flow. In addition to performing, Jillian is passionate about choreographing, artistic collaboration and teaching. Her works have been presented around the U.S., highlights: the Hanover Theatre, MA, Lincoln Center NYC, NY City Center, State Theatre PA, SummerStage NY & Waterfire Festival, RI.
Jillian is looking forward to returning to BodyVox to perform this Spring.

Haiou Wang is a traditional Chinese-Korean dancer and educator specializing in East Asian dance and history. Born in Jilin, China, he began formal training at age 11 at Minzu University in Beijing, where he focused on Chinese ethnic dance. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Dance Education from Minzu University in 2008 and a master’s in Korean Traditional Dance from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul in 2012.

Haiou has performed with the Korea National Dance Company and choreographed for the renowned ChangMu Dance Company under Kim Mae-ja. His work honors cultural heritage while carrying traditional forms into the future.

In 2013, he returned to China as associate professor and department head of East Asian Art History at Hangzhou University, combining academic leadership with artistic mentorship. Internationally recognized, he has received numerous awards and performed across Asia, Europe, and the United States, where he continues to enrich cultural life through performances and workshops.

Beyond dance, Haiou is a visual artist who holds a profound appreciation for the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Through his multifaceted artistry, he bridges movement, cultural history, and holistic wellness.