Biography
Derek Crescenti is a performing artist and educator originally from Michigan. From 2011 to 2014, he was a member of Donald Byrd's Spectrum Dance Theater. As a freelance artist, Derek has performed with dance companies such as Keigwin + Company, The Bang Group, Megan Williams Dance Projects, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, The Chase Brock Experience, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. With the New York City-based company 10 Hairy Legs, he performed repertory works by choreographers including Randy James, David Parker, Manuel Vignoulle, Doug Elkins, Stephen Petronio, Heidi Latsky, and Christopher Williams, and premiered new creations by Doug Varone, Al Blackstone, Raja Feather Kelly, Yin Yue, Larry Keigwin, Megan Williams, and Adam Barruch. His theater credits include Seattle Theatre Group's Black Nativity, the 5th Avenue Theatre's Oklahoma!, and The Public Theater's Hercules.
In addition to performing, Derek has acted as a rehearsal director and assistant, collaborating with Donald Byrd on his commission Greenwood for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He teaches Byrd Contemporary technique and has staged Mr. Byrd's works at Barnard College and DeSales University. At Spectrum Dance Theater, he leads company classes and reconstructs Mr. Byrd's works on the current ensemble. Derek has also assisted Larry Keigwin on his commissions Drum Circle for the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Rhapsody for the Vail Dance Festival, and has staged Mr. Keigwin's choreography on Ormao Dance Company in Colorado Springs, CO.
Derek's choreographic works have been presented at the Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange's SpringUP Dance Festival, Ten Tiny Dances at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, PA, the Seattle International Dance Festival, UW's Chamber Dance Company and in collaboration with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. He regularly teaches and adjudicates at arts festivals and competitions, including the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival, Youth America Grand Prix, and Edge National Talent Competition, and is a member of Impact Dance Adjudicators. Derek previously taught in the master class series at The Taylor School of Paul Taylor's American Modern Dance in NYC and was full-time faculty in the Dance Department at DeSales University for the 2022–2023 academic year.