Professional Dancers 2023
Alaina Cardiges
Alaina has been dancing for more than 19 years. She has trained in various styles, including hip hop, ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary. She has also taught dance for over 8 years for ages 6 and older. She is grateful to be able to perform around the Atlanta area and is excited to be back for another year at Dancing for a Cause! She had so much fun at this event in 2022 and loves being able to share her passion for dance with the people in our community.Derrick Smith
Derrick is a graduate of Brenau University, where he received his B.F.A. in Dance. He has received additional dance training through Florida School of the Arts, The Ailey School Summer Intensive Program, Orlando Ballet School, Merce Cunningham Intensive and Atlanta Ballet. He served as a principal dancer with Gainesville Ballet Company for 8 years under Artistic Director Diane Callahan. Derrick was a member of Encore! under the direction of Allyne Gartrell before joining Dallas Black Dance Theatre as a first company member in 2010. Since leaving DBDT, Derrick has danced for Celebrity Cruises and Holland America Cruise Lines. There he served as dance captain and held many lead roles in the cast performances. Derrick Smith is also the founder of the Shiloh Dance Company at Shiloh High School, in Snellville GA. He continues to guest perform, teach master classes, choreograph, and judge competitions. Derrick’s heart and soul is always filled with the love of dance, and he continues to live out his passion for the performing arts.
Avery Gillham
Avery Gillham has been dancing since he was 7 years old, training at Great Gig Dance company. He attended Kennesaw State University where he received a BA in Dance and studied abroad in Israel with the Batsheva dance company. Throughout college, Avery performed in professional theater shows with the Atlanta Lyric and City Springs Theatre. In 2021 he started performing in commercials, TV shows, movies, and live performances. Some of his performances include CMT Awards with Walker Hayes, Disney Plus’ Hawkeye (Rogers The Musical as Hawkeye), and Netflix’s Senior Year.Aaron James
Aaron James, a creative director, choreographer, dancer, and actor, has been active in the professional entertainment industry for just over 16 years. He got his big break as he was a participant on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew in 2010 with his crew Royal Flush that he created along with his younger brother Jared James. Exposure from placing in the Top 8 on America’s Best Dance Crew propelled him into a full-fledged professional dancing career that gradually led to many other opportunities in the entertainment world. Aaron has graced the stage with many big names such as Pharrell, Little Big Town, Baby Keem, T- Pain, Jacob Latimore and more. Aaron has choreographed for many artists such as Jack Harlow and Lecrae just to name a few, as well as balancing an emerging acting career. You can find Aaron in many movies, television series & commercials currently airing on many major networks and streaming platforms. Aaron continues to expand his career as an emerging leader in Atlanta’s quickly expanding entertainment industry and loves being able to share what he learns with many young performers who wish to follow in similar footsteps.
Danielle Aikens-Holland
Danielle Aikens-Holland has been dancing for 40 years and has performed numerous leading roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, La Bayadere, The Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast. In 2002, she turned her love for dance to teaching, and founded Elevate Performing Arts Center (previously Northeast Georgia School of Music and Dance), which has allowed her to share her passion for music and dance and have a positive impact on hundreds of students over the last 17 years. She is proud that Elevate is the charter member of More Than Just Great Dancing affiliated studios for the state of Georgia. Danielle is thrilled to be taking part in Dancing for a Cause again this year!
Erin Burch
Erin is a native of Durham, North Carolina and has been dancing professionally in Atlanta, Georgia since 2013. She has trained in Atlanta, Denver, and Rochester under the tutelage of Southern Ballet Theatre, Anthony Burrell Center for Dance, Garth Fagan Dance, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and more. Erin’s training has consisted of jazz, hip hop, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, Horton, West African, and Latin social dancing. She has had the pleasure to be a part of companies such as Advocate Arts Contemporary, City Gate Dance Theater, Gotta Dance Contemporary, Komanse Dance Theater and Notnebia.Darvensky Louis
Darvensky Louis, a professional dancer, choreographer, photographer and videographer, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He holds a B.A. in Dance from Kennesaw State University, where he was awarded the Outstanding Senior of his class. He is also signed to Xcel Talent Agency. His professional dance career includes dancing for The BET hip-hop awards, HBO Max, Showtime, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, staibdance, Annalee Traylor and Omar Román De Jesús from New York City, Dr. Ivan Pulinkala, Lisa K. Lock, and more. Darvensky teaches around Atlanta and is also a freelance videographer and photographer. He currently serves as Director of SequenceOne, a college alumni dance company, and with this leadership, hopes to inspire future undergraduate creatives by bringing concert dance internationally through the collaboration of college alumni. This past year, he was named in Dance Magazine’s one of “25 to Watch.”Hannah Hicks
Hannah Hicks is a Gainesville native, a Samford University School of the Arts alumni, and soon-to-be graduate student at Oklahoma University pursuing a degree in Arts Management. She has been dancing for 15 years and specializes in Musical Theatre, Swing, and Jazz. Hannah has been a volunteer for Center Point for 8 years and is honored to be a part of an event that benefits an organization so near and dear to her heart. She is so excited to be back in her hometown and hit the DFC stage for the second time!Joshua Lubeck
Joshua Lubeck was born in Glendale Heights, Illinois and began dancing at the age of 8. During his years as a dancer, Joshua trained in many styles including Ballet, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, and Ballroom. Growing up in a ballet studio, he got an early start knowing dance would play a large role in his life. He later branched out into hip hop, ballroom, and musical theatre as forms of performance and self-expression. Joshua participated in “Dancing with The Stars of Augusta,” which similarly to “Dancing for a Cause,” was a charity benefit with dance as the forefront. He and his partner placed 2nd the first year and took 1st the second year. He’s looking forward to showing everything Betty has learned to the audience and judges and is ready for that 1st place position once again!Hannah Dalton
Hannah Dalton has been dancing for 7 years. She started her training at Elevate Performing Arts Center, and recently graduated with a minor in dance from Kennesaw State University. Her training includes Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, and Latin Ballroom. She has performed in numerous shows including The Nutcracker. Hannah was the winner of Nicole Kirkland’s Puma Sponsored Dance Competition and was recently in a dance film with 4Sight Productions. She is excited to be working with Dancing for a Cause and bringing her flair to the dance floor.
