Derek Piquette

Dancer, Director, Choreographer and Teacher Derek Piquette began dancing at the young age of 10 in his hometown of Chicopee, MA. From there his dance career accelerated quickly. By the age of 16, he received full scholarships for several ballet intensives and won several National Titles. Derek then moved to Miami to follow his dreams of becoming a professional dancer, training over 50 hours a week.

One of the most exciting experiences in his young career took place in 2015, when he competed on Season 12 of So You Think You Can Dance, finishing among the top 4 “Stage” dancers and performing for over 37 million viewers. He followed up his appearance on the show with the So You Think You Can Dance Live Tour, performing in 70 cities across USA and Canada.

In early 2017, Derek performed the lead role in Cirque Du Soleil’s KOOZA as the “Trickster” traveling under Big Top in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Singapore and China. One of Derek’s most recent endeavors included competing as a finalist on NBC’s World Of Dance Season 3 featuring Jennifer Lopez.

In 2019, Derek choreographed and was featured as a principle dancer in a new Netflix film “Work It” produced by Alicia Keys, as well as, worked as a principle dancer on another Netflix series directed by Kenny Ortega “Julie and the Phantoms”. Alongside his partner Mitchell Jackson, they choreographed solos on Briar Nolet for Jennifer Lopez’s “Its My Party” Tour.

As a teacher and choreographer, Derek has worked for various dance organizations including On the Floor, Hit the Floor, CLI Studios, Mather Dance Company Online, Acrobatic Arts, Top Ten Dance Challenge where he has judged, taught, and assisted top choreographers in the industry.

His career has taken him to destinations throughout the United States, Canada, England, Central America, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, China and Singapore where he has taught at over 200 competitive and professional dance studios/companies. Since 2014, Derek choreographed more than 450 award winning pieces, including pieces for stars on Dance Moms, Disney Channel’s Backstage, World of Dance, Netflix and So You Think You Can Dance.

Derek currently teaches for On the Floor: The Ultimate Dance Experience, working with young dancers all over North America. He has also been a Co-Director as well as a choreographer and a principal dancer in On the Floor’s Gala for SickKids Hospital in Toronto for 6 years and has helped raise over $350,000 for the ChildLife Program.

In 2019 Derek launched the Intrepid Dance Company’s Post Secondary Training Program, which is a 1-year intensive program to help dancers on the path to a successful dance/dance related career. Derek has now Directed and Choreographed two professional shows for Intrepid Dance Company entitled “Her” & “Tempus”. Derek has achieved many professional and artistic goals and helped other dancers do the same.  Derek is especially focused on working with young dancers around the world, hoping to instil in them his enthusiasm for dance and inspire them to become the best they can be.