Bios

For over four decades, Jamey Hampton has had a storied career in dance theater that is as varied as it is accomplished. He was born in Portland, Oregon, where he began his dance training in the burgeoning modern dance scene of the early 1970's. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1976 with a BFA degree in Drama, receiving the Marcus Hieman Award for Artistic Excellence.

A native of Southeastern Virginia, Jessica holds a BFA in Dance and a minor in Psychology from NYU. Throughout her career, she has performed contemporary, opera, and dance theater works by Florian Bilbao, Reut Shemesh, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, and Zoe Scofield, among others. Training includes Elbert Watson, The School of Richmond Ballet, The Ailey School, Strictly Seattle and NYC Gaga Intensive.

Javan Mngrezzo is a company dancer at Bodyvox, a local dance teacher, and certified instructor of The Ellové Technique®. His dance journey began during his first year of college at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon. He graduated in three years, magna cum laude, with a B.S. in Dance and Sociology.

Brent fell in love with dance at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics in Vancouver, Washington, and worked with BodyVox for a year before he went on to attend Point Park University, where he graduated with a BFA in Modern Dance. While in college, Brent performed in works which include “Minus 16” by Ohad Naharin and “The Constant Shift of Pulse” by Doug Varone, among many other pieces and performances.

Casey Hess is a Portland native who trained with Metro Dancers, Columbia Dance, Portland Festival Ballet, and Jefferson Dancers. Hess received his BFA from The Juilliard School in 2017 and was awarded the Martha Hill Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Dance and Leadership. Hess was dancing with Peridance Contemporary Dance Company in New York City pre-Covid.

Originally from Portland, OR, Amelia trained at The Portland Ballet and completed summer programs at Ballet West. She continued studying dance at The University of Oregon. Throughout her training she has performed works by George Balanchine, August Bournonville and Bella Lewitzky. Amelia had the opportunity to perform with Éowyn Emerald & Dancers at J.A.W. at Portland Center Stage.

 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.

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.

Javan Mngrezzo is a company dancer at Bodyvox, a local dance teacher, and certified instructor of The Ellové Technique®. His dance journey began during his first year of college at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon. He graduated in three years, magna cum laude, with a B.S. in Dance and Sociology.

Bio coming soon!

Elizabeth trained at the Princeton Ballet School and in New York at the School of American Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet and with Maggie Black and David Howard. She was one of the first recipients to win the Presidential Scholar in the Arts awards in 1980, going on to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC as part of the awards ceremony.

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).

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.