Billy James Hawkains III

Billy James Hawkains III (Detroit, MI) is a performer, choreographer, and Lecturer of Dance at Kennesaw State University where he teaches Choreography, Improvisation, Safety Release Technique, Dance Entrepreneurship, and serves as Chair of the Dance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He holds an MFA in Dance Choreography from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Billy has trained under and performed works by Duane Cyrus (Theatre of Movement) and continues to serve as his Rehearsal Assistant for numerous works, including Colony of Desire, a commission for Charlotte Ballet in North Carolina. He’s currently assisting Cyrus with a new work choreographed to Maurice Ravel’s Boléro with dancers from the University of Arizona and the Tucson Symphony that will premiere January 2024.

Alongside his collaboration with Theatre of Movement, Billy has performed works by Marquita Sams, Juel D. Lane, Veronica Silk, Julio Medina, Elizabeth “B.J.” Sullivan, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and Doug Varone. Since moving to Georgia, Billy has taught at various studios including Atlanta Dance Connection & Center for Dance, Vincent Anthony Academy of Dance, and Fleet Studios to name a few, and served as the first Community Engagement Coordinator for DanceATL.

As a choreographer, Billy collaborates with creatives under the mantle of his collective, The Third Collective, and examines his own Blackness, Black Culture, and the Christian faith to generate transformative and provoking works of art. His dance creations have been presented at the Zuckerman Museum, Salvation Army Camp Keystone Florida, Chattanooga Dance Theatre, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dance Canvas’s Choreographer Career Development Initiative Showcase, and Underground Atlanta. Billy is also a two-time consecutive guest artist for DC Next, an audition-based summer choreographic intensive that gives students essential career building skills by immersing them in the world of professional dance, both onstage and backstage.

When he’s not dancing, choreographing, or teaching, Billy enjoys reading books, listening to podcasts, traveling with close friends and family, and creating faith-based videos with the sole purpose of healing and restoring joy back into the lives of others!