the beat goes on

Life can be very unpredictable. Such is the story of G’bari “GQ” Gilliam ʼ16, a hip-hop dancer/choreographer at the height of professional success when a health trauma earlier this year derailed his career and nearly ended his life. His mother, Tuseda, initially reached out to us to bring awareness of her son’s journey, one filled with lessons about preparation, resilience and support.

From a very young age, Gilliam has been inspired to dance. In kindergarten he attended an Alvin Ailey show, and by the end he said, “Mom, I want to do that!”

He officially started taking dance classes in the 8^th grade at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, California, where he was introduced to different styles, like hip-hop, West African dance, ballet, contemporary, modern and Mexican folklorico. With inspirations like Alvin Ailey and the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance,” he gravitated to hip-hop and West African dance, which has shaped his dance evolution over the years.

In Gilliam’s junior year in high school, he attended the UCLA Summer Dance Intensive that was hosted by the UCLA World Arts and Cultures Department. It introduced him to exceptional teachers and exposed him to different dance forms, where he took a deeper dive into freestyle dance. He said, “After meeting Jackie Lopez, aka Ms. Funk, and Leigh Foaad, aka Breezelee, in that department, and they showed me that there were so many different pathways that I could take with dance, that really put UCLA on the map for me.”

Gilliam applied and was accepted to UCLA as a dance major, where he found a thriving dance community. He served on the leadership team of NSU Modern (Nikkei Student Union), one of the premier hip-hop dance groups on campus, which performed at Spring Sing and also won the Battle Royale, a major hip-hop dance competition held at UCLA. He was both choreographer and dancer, and would later become artistic director.

He also became a junior member of Versa-Style Street Dance Company, founded by Lopez and Foaad, which launched his career post-graduation. After receiving training from them, he worked his way up to the main company, which included more performances and more opportunities to teach. The nonprofit would have dancers teach in different elementary, middle and high schools, as well as adult classes within the community.

After seven years with Versa, GQ, as he was known in the dance community, went on his own to pursue other projects in entertainment, doing movies, TV shows and music videos. He’s appeared in Tyler Perry’s “A Jazzman’s Blues” on Netflix, performed with Ciara on “America’s Got Talent,” and choreographed dance sequences in “The Santa Clauses” series on Disney Plus. He’s also performed at the Super Bowl, in “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and with Bad Bunny.

Gilliam’s career was really taking off as a performer and dance instructor when unexpected tragedy hit. On March 27, 2026, GQ was rehearsing for a performance with one of the members of the boy band NSYNC, when he went into cardiac arrest. He didn’t remember much from that day, but told what happened based other peoples’ accounts, “There were no signs of anything, there was no heavy breathing or anything. We were finishing up one of the numbers, and we’re about to go off to the side, and then I collapsed. One of the dancers that was next to me immediately started CPR but I still wasn’t regaining consciousness, so other members went out to find somebody else that could help with CPR and try to find a defibrillator.

“They ended up finding another person on the street who had actually just finished her CPR training the week before, and she came in and finished CPR until the ambulance had gotten there to take me. They also had found a defibrillator machine at a nearby dentist’s office and they were able to resuscitate me.” (More about this stranger later.)

While at the hospital unconscious, Gilliam went into cardiac arrent three more times and had to be put on a system called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which is essentially life support. It was determined that he had a genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is the thickening of the heart valves, making it difficult to pump blood. Due to all his physical exertion as a dancer, he had developed a severe case and the only option was to get a heart transplant.

After this diagnosis, other family members got tested for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and they subsequently discovered both his mother and aunt also had the heart condition. However, they were less at risk due to their less active lifestyles.

After a little delay due to contracting pneumonia, Gilliam got a new heart on April 7. He said, “I don’t have much information about the new heart, but I do know that it was someone that was around the age of 16.”

Throughout the ordeal, there has been an outpouring of support. Family and friends were always by his side, NBC News and several media outlets covered his story, and the gofundme page set up to help with medical expenses raised over $280,000 from a community of more than 4,000 donors. Two people especially stood out for Gilliam. “My mom has been here [Los Angeles], even though she lives in the Bay Area. She’s been here taking care of me, helping out with whatever she can, making sure that I’m taken care of.

“My fiancé, Shantel, has been my primary caregiver. She’s been the one that’s been by my side, taking care of me through everything. I actually proposed to her in the hospital the day before my heart transplant.”

As an interesting aside, even GIliam’s ICU nurse taking care of him turned out to be a fellow Bruin, Adela Lopez ʼ17, who attended UCLA around the same time he did, participated in the same organizations and events, and yet, they never crossed paths…until that moment.

Gilliam is in the middle of the recovery period, which was estimated to take up to a year. He takes a lot of different medications to make sure his body doesn’t reject the new heart, among other things. Every three months, he goes to the hospital for a biopsy of his heart, during which they insert a small camera through his veins and take samples of his heart. He also attends cardiac rehab three times a week, which monitors his heart rate as he exercises. He’s scheduled to graduate from this program at the end of September.

Outside of rehab and hospital visits, he spends a lot of time at home. Due to some of his meds, he isn’t supposed to be in the sun too long. He’s also immunocompromised, so he’s limiting activities to smaller groups and close friends. He rates his recovery at about 60-70% and continues to challenge himself to build up his stamina and strength so he can return to dance at the same level as before, if not a higher one. He said, “They haven’t put any limitations on me. My only limitations are what I’m capable of.”

Gilliam has spent a lot of time reflecting on what happened. He said, “One thing I have learned is not to take anything — any moment — for granted. You can be healthy as a horse one day and in the ICU the next.

“Also, the people around you — your community — are really important. The people that you hold dear, the people that you hold as your family are really important, too. Not just in small ways; they can literally be the people that save your life.”

Additional life lessons for him were monitoring his health and learning CPR. He emphasized the importance of hospital tests and learning about your family’s medical history. Now his aunt and mother are aware of their heart conditions and can monitor it for their peace of mind.

The CPR administered to Gilliam those first few minutes saved his life. Had that stranger off the street not continued the CPR on him in the proper way, he said, “I would not be here.” Her name was Aviva. Before he left the hospital, he actually got to meet and thank her. He said, “She got to see me not in that position, but outside of the hospital, alive and doing well. So that was a really beautiful moment.”

One of his physicians, Dr. Evan Kransdorf, agrees, “The key to G’bari surviving sudden cardiac arrest was the fast-acting individuals who provided CPR and facilitated the use of an AED, and the Cedars-Sinai Emergency Department and cardiothoracic surgery teams who began ECMO within the hospital.”

Today, GQ is getting his career back on track and dancing through his recovery. His story — his message — is about living life to its fullest. “Any opportunity you have to try something new, to experience life, to have fun, to enjoy it, take it. Because you never know how long you have. Learn that skill. Meet that person. Do that thing that might make you feel a little bit uncomfortable because it’s new. Try it. Because you never know where it’ll take you. And lastly, learn CPR.”

To stay up to date with Gilliam’s journey, as well as watch some cool dance videos, follow @gbaridenzel on Instagram.

connect articles

View All

Connect Newsletter

the beat goes on

The Beat Goes On

Why Not Westwood?

Alumni Mentors Make a Difference