Billy J. Hawkains
Billy J. Hawkains III is a choreographer, educator and arts leader from Detroit, Michigan. He is the Founder and Director of The III Collective and one of four Master Teachers of Safety Release, a comprehensive approach to dance technique developed by B.J. Sullivan. With over eight years of teaching and training in Safety Release, he is certified through Sullivan Safety Release Inc.
Hawkains has worked extensively in rehearsal direction, research and repertory preservation through his more than fifteen-year association with Theatre of Movement. His contributions include assisting in the creative process and restaging numerous works for collegiate and professional companies, including Colony, a reimagining of Colony of Desire, originally created for Charlotte Ballet, at the University of Arizona. He is also a founding board member and Secretary of the Community Advisory Board for The Black Artist Dance Collective based in Atlanta, GA.
Previously, Hawkains served as a Lecturer of Dance at Kennesaw State University and as an Adjunct Professor of Dance at the University of Arizona. His choreography has been presented at universities, festivals, residencies, and on screen throughout the Southeast. 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.