Bios

Ashley Roland is a true American original. With an unparalleled imagination and an acuity in both choreography and theatrical effect, she creates work that is unbridled, ebullient, and unabashed, resonating deeply with audiences around the world. A native New Yorker, Ashley began her dance training at age 3.

Brian is thrilled to be joining the BodyVox family. Originally from Tridell Utah, Brian graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA in Ballet (Most Outstanding Senior) and a minor in Modern Dance. Other companies include: Tuacahn, Satl 2, The Municipal Ballet Company, Now-ID, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Pioneer Theater Company, and Utah Festival Opera. Personal motto: “Always be battement ready”.

Originally from Muncie, Indiana, Eric Skinner has been working on the West Coast as both a performer and choreographer for the past twenty years.



Eric received his B.A. in Dance from Butler University's Jordan School of Fine Arts in Indianapolis. He has danced professionally with the Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Oregon, Pacific Ballet Theatre, Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, and was a founding member of Oregon Ballet Theatre. 



Alicia Cutaia earned her BFA with honors from Point Park University with a double major in Ballet and Jazz. She previously worked as Rehearsal Director, Costume Manager and Dancer with Eisenhower Dance, Dancer with Hubbard Street Dance 2 and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. She is currently in her 3rd season with BodyVox performing nationally and internationally. Ms.

Originally from Montana, Anna completed her BFA from the University of Utah’s Department of Ballet. Upon moving to Portland, she completed training in the STOTT PILATES® Method and is a fully certified instructor at Pacific Northwest Pilates and Studio Blue. Anna currently dances with BodyVox, Éowyn Emerald & Dancers, and Muddy Feet Contemporary Dance.

Jeff George trained with Ballet Arts of Minnesota and Broadway Dance Center in New York. He performed on the East Coast Tour of Sesame Street Live and then moved on to travel the world for the next six years performing on various Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line ships.

Olivia Ancona was born in San Francisco, however grew up in Berkeley, London, and predominately Portland, Oregon. She trained with the Northwest Dance Project, Jefferson Dancers, and the Portland Ballet, and is an alumnus of the Juilliard School.

Paris studied dance in Santa Cruz, California with small local studios and trained with the Santa Cruz and San Jose Ballet. By junior and high school, she was varsity captain of the cheer team and a competition dancer. Training continued with the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance until moving to Portland in 2010 where she continued her training at BodyVox and Northwest Dance Project.

Ashley Roland is a true American original. With an unparalleled imagination and an acuity in both choreography and theatrical effect, she creates work that is unbridled, ebullient, and unabashed, resonating deeply with audiences around the world. A native New Yorker, Ashley began her dance training at age 3.

Katie Scherman is an artist, choreographer, teacher, and movement researcher based in Portland, OR. Originally from California, Scherman has performed with Houston Ballet, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, Washington Ballet, Hubbard Street 2, Zhukov Dance Theatre, Terpsicorps Dance Theatre, Bodyvox, and in numerous festivals and galas around the world. In 2009, she was honored with a Princess Grace Award in Dance.

Lisa Buchmiller began dancing at an early age at Tri-Cities Academy of Ballet in Richland, WA. Classically trained in ballet, tap and jazz she performed with Mid-Columbia Ballet under the artistic direction of Debra Pearse Rogo. In college, Lisa discovered her true passion - teaching movement.

Alicia Cutaia earned her BFA with honors from Point Park University with a double major in Ballet and Jazz. She previously worked as Rehearsal Director, Costume Manager and Dancer with Eisenhower Dance, Dancer with Hubbard Street Dance 2 and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. She is currently in her 3rd season with BodyVox performing nationally and internationally. Ms.

Jeff George trained with Ballet Arts of Minnesota and Broadway Dance Center in New York. He performed on the East Coast Tour of Sesame Street Live and then moved on to travel the world for the next six years performing on various Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line ships.

Maria has been performing, teaching, collaborating, and creating for more than 20 years. She received scholarships to Gus Giordano Dance Chicago and the University of Arizona School of Dance. In addition to the Giordano technique, she has studied the styles of jazz dance greats such as Luigi, Joe Tremaine, Frank Hatchett and Patsy Swayze.

Laura Haney attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA, where she studied dance and music. She was a member of River North Dance Company and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, toured nationally as a featured performer in the Broadway show “Fosse” and was a cast member of the Broadway musical ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Madison Square Garden for two seasons.

Dar Vejon holds a B.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography as well as a Minor degree in Japanese Language from San Francisco State University. While achieving his degrees, he concurrently received scholarships from the SFSU dance department that allowed him to continue his studies at Alonzo King Lines Ballet (San Francisco Dance Center).

Sara Parker holds an MFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City (2015) where she was a Graduate Teaching Assistant and a recipient of the Dee Winterton Award (2015). Additionally, she holds a B.S. in Dance from the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR (2009). Sara has most recently performed in works with artists such as Tere Mathern (PDX), Netta Yerushalmy (NYC), Pamela Geber-Handman (SLC), and Sharee Lane (SLC).

Heather trained on scholarship at Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet and at 14 became a Ballet Major at the University of Utah where she earned her BFA. Heather has danced with Utah Ballet and Ballet West performing classic ballets as well as works by George Balanchine and Paul Taylor. Before leaving Salt Lake, Heather was an administrator and instructor at the School of Ballet West.

Vanessa Thiessen is originally from Portland, OR, and trained at The School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. She has danced for ODC Dance, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Smuin Ballet, Skinner/Kirk Dance Ensemble, Amy Seiwert¹s Imagery, Tanya Bello's Project b. and Opera Parallele. She has most recently taught repertory for ODC Dance, Imagery and Smuin Ballet, and has frequently been Choreographic Collaborator for KT Nelson.

Sarah Fuhrman is originally from Portland, OR, and trained with The School of Oregon Ballet Theatre under Haydee Gutierrez and James Canfield. She spent time in St. Petersburg, RU for additional training with the Mussogrsky Opera and Ballet Theatre. Sarah joined Oregon Ballet Theatre as a company member and danced corps and principle roles.

 Zachary began his training with the legendary dancer George Zoritch in his native Tucson, Arizona. He continued his training as a full scholarship student with The National Ballet School in Toronto, Ontario. He has performed a wide variety of principal roles as a dancer in Oregon Ballet Theater, Minnesota Dance Theater, and Ballet West. His repertoire includes works by Balanchine, Taylor, Van Manen, Tudor, and many others.

Tracey Durbin - After studying years of piano, theater and ballet at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, Tracey moved to Los Angeles. In LA, Tracey studied ballet with Stanely Holden, jazz with Luigi (the innovator of the worlds first jazz technique), and assisted Hama, Luigi's protege.