Known for his work on AppleTV+ Schmigadoon, So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), NBC’s World of Dance, Cirque du Soleil, Jennifer Lopez’s It’s My Party Tour, Radio City Christmas Spectacular and more, Derek Piquette has graced his way through the dance industry as a performer, choreographer, director and teacher. Between his busy schedule traveling around the world teaching and starting a new dance convention, Piquette found time to chat with us at Dance Informa about his career and exciting plans for empowering the next generation of dancers.
Piquette has always been one with determination, achieving his career goals of performing with Cirque du Soleil and dancing on SYTYCD at a young age. “By the time I was 21, I’d done both the things I wanted to do,” he reveals. “So now what?” Even with such accomplishment, he felt like he was missing something — the weight of a mentor.
Now, a decade later and a long list of credits under his name, he has set out to be that mentor for younger dancers. He goes on to say, “I didn’t really have any guidance, which is kind of what led me to teaching and to touch every aspect of our industry.” His experience working on over 35 television shows, movies, music videos and world tours as either a choreographer, a dancer or an assistant choreographer has expanded his knowledge to help dancers no matter the avenue they want to take as a professional.
The transition from performer to mentor, teacher and choreographer has been in the works for awhile, although even after taking a year off of performing, Piquette still managed to film two movies last year. The advice that he has said since he was 18 is “always be true to yourself and don’t try and fit a mold. That’s what’s going to shine through in an audition or any setting.”
Keeping true to himself and his desire to help others, he has sponsored international performers to make their way to the United States to dance. “I just know how hard the visa process can be,” Piquette says. “And there are so many talented performers that I’m always helping in some way.” The shift to being a leader is in full force, and Piquette has spent a few years using his connections and doing research to create the next big thing.
One of the trends that Piquette has noticed in the next generation of dancers is their desire to be on a college dance team. Realizing there wasn’t much to directly help with this, Piquette started Prodigy: The Dance Team Convention. Through the connections that he has made in the industry, Piquette has compiled a team of working choreographers and dance team experts to give dancers looking to join a college dance team what they need to be successful. “It has been my passion project for the last two years because it’s just something I’m genuinely so invested in,” he explains. “I work with a lot of the colleges, either as a choreographer or as a technique teacher or a master class instructor. It’s really cool to be a part of these kids’ journeys in some way. And getting them where they want to go, that’s truly what it’s about.”
After his first year of running this convention, Prodigy was able to give away $350,000 in scholarships to prospective collegiate dancers. This coming year, Prodigy hopes to offer one million dollars in scholarships during the dance team recruitment events. Paired with over 50 of the top college programs attending to recruit dancers, Prodigy has lots of attention on social media and through the dance community. He believes there is space for everyone on a college dance team and with spreading the right knowledge and showing dancers their options, dancers will be able to make the best choice for them.
The statistics of dancers getting recruited has been promising after the first year, and Piquette predicts it will keep gaining traction to other collegiate dance teams. “I feel like I’m so passionate about it because I didn’t have that. And I feel like that’s why it gets me so excited and it gets me so inspired to continue doing what we’re doing because we’re seeing the results, which is incredible.”
You can follow Derek Piquette on Instagram: @derekpiquette. For more on Prodigy Dance Convention, head to www.prodigydanceconvention.com.
By Abby DeReamer of Dance Informa.
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