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 and teaching at Stars Dance Company.

As a performer, he was a principal dancer in the Bridge To Artists productions of Carmen and The Maid. He has also performed in the Paul Mitchell Fashion Show, City Moguls Charity Event, Revlon Hair Show and MOVE the World Charity Event.

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 launched his newest project, Intrepid Dance Company, which had its first performance entitled “HER” that he directed and choreographed. Derek also 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, Derek Hough and Neyo.

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”. Also in 2019, Derek directed and choreographed his second professional show “Tempus” which starred dancers Michael Dameski & Jaimie Goodwin. Alongside his partner Mitchell Jackson, they choreographed two 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, Step Up 2 Dance, Twilight Dance Convention and 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 and assists 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.

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 instill in them his enthusiasm for dance and inspire them to become the best they can be. 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.