Derek Hough Shares His Wish List for 'Dancing with the Stars' 2024 Cast
If Derek Hough, who is confirmed to return as a judge for Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars, knows any of the celebrity contestants for the new season of the long-running dance competition series, he is excellent at keeping the secret. That said, Parade was able to wheedle out a few names on his wish list of who he would like to see doing the cha-cha-cha on the ballroom floor.
“I would love to see Anya Taylor-Joy,” he says. “She’s a great actress but I’ve also heard that she’s a great dancer, too, so I would love to see her dance. She’d be fantastic. And I always talk about Celine Dion, because every time I see her, we end up dancing, and so I’d love to see her. But, of course, in the reality star world, I was really into The Traitors this past year, I loved it because I love playing Mafia, it’s such a fun game. I thought Phaedra, she’s a character, I think she would be fantastic on the show.”
Of course, no season of DWTS would be complete without a member of Bachelor nation, and Derek suggests that The Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner probably has some moves, but he also thinks Clayton Echard is a possibility.
“I don’t know why but he keeps popping up in my algorithm and I keep seeing him going to dance classes,” Derek says. “So, I’m like, ‘Is he preparing for something?’ I don’t know.”
What he does know is that Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik, the pommel horse silver medal winner, who is the only confirmed celebrity to date, is a great bit of casting, one he thought of himself.
“It’s so funny, I actually called it,” he continues. “I saw Stephen on TV with the glasses and I texted Deena [Katz], the casting director, I said, ‘Deena, are you already making a call?’ She’s like, “I’m on it.” She was already ahead of the game. Of course, she’s incredible.”
Related: Dancing with the Stars Casts a Very Controversial Celeb for Season 33
Dancing with the Stars will premiere its new season on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and Derek is looking forward to being back in the ballroom because the energy is always electric and exciting.
“I’m looking forward to the new cast because that always plays a huge part in how the season’s going to unfold,” he says.
In addition, the four-time Emmy-winning choreographer, most recently for the “Higher” routine that he, wife Hayley Erbert and the cast performed with Michael Bublé on the show in 2023, has something special in the works for the upcoming season.
“We’re not sure just yet what it’s going to be, but yeah, there’s definitely something in the works for this season for sure.”
Related: Dancing with the Stars Alum Lindsay Arnold Cusick Shares Her Wish List for the 2024 Cast
Parade also spoke to Derek more about DWTS, the importance diet plays in keeping in shape for dancing, his support of the 'Flex with StarKist' campaign, and his upcoming holiday special Derek Hough: Dance for the Holidays.
With dancing, it seems like you would get enough of a workout to be in great shape, but do you do other things as well?
I do. I do so many different modalities, everything from yoga to strength and heavy weight training. Also, I love going on walks and hikes and being outdoors, anything that keeps my body moving, but there’s nothing that quite gets you dance ready like dancing. But I do try to stay in shape by moving every single day, you know? It was recently my anniversary and we walked about six miles, so still getting in the movement even on special days.
Courtesy MOVI Inc.
Diet also plays an important part in fitness. You’ve recently incorporated StarKist protein, which is salmon and chicken in addition to tuna.
What’s so great about it is the convenience. The StarKist protein pouches have chicken, salmon, beef, and of course tuna, but what’s so fantastic about it is that they’re very, very convenient. They’re in the pouches, boom, ready to go. And, for me, who is quite a creature of habit, what’s so fantastic about this is it offers you a variety of flavors. I love the Hot Buffalo Chicken and the Lemon Pepper Tuna.
I posted about working with StarKist and these pouches, and my dad, he’s 70 years old and he just climbed the Teton mountains, and he texted me, he’s like, “Hey, what did you think I used on those big hikes?” He literally took all these little pouches on the hike, and I had no idea. I’m talking about how convenient they are to take on hikes and my dad actually did.
So, it’s a great partnership for me because I’m obviously always on the move, I’m always doing something or busy, and so it’s very convenient, very easy to get that very important protein source in each day.
In addition to the different flavors, it looks like they’re low calorie but high protein?
Exactly. They’re a great companion for anybody who is trying to stay on a meal program or have something that is convenient. A lot of the times what happens when people want to eat healthier or get protein in, sometimes the inconvenience can get in the way. But this really, really helps that so it’s a perfect companion for anybody who’s wanting to get that good protein in each day.
When we think of StarKist, we do think of Charlie Tuna, do you have a favorite way to eat tuna other than these pouches? A tuna melt, tuna burgers, tuna noodle casserole?
You know what? I actually had a tuna melt yesterday, and I don’t think I’ve had a tuna melt in so long and it was unbelievable. It was so delicious, so I would have to say that. But I like a good old tuna casserole as well.
You mentioned being in motion. Five years ago, you talked about yourself in terms of life in motion. Would you still describe your life that way? And what does that mean in addition to exercise?
I think for me it’s about momentum, you know? I think momentum is such a powerful thing. We’ve all experienced that feeling of when you start to do something, and it can be quite difficult at the beginning. Whether or not it’s the first time you’re going to the gym or it’s the first time you’re tackling a project, that very first part can be quite difficult. But once a couple days pass, you start to get that momentum, it becomes easy, and then it becomes more enjoyable, then it becomes more second nature.
So, for me the idea of life in motion is the idea of staying in momentum, staying in this place of momentum, forward momentum. I don’t know, it’s just helpful for things to unravel naturally and more effortlessly. But also too, I’ve always said, for me, it’s the idea of not just physically moving but also just emotionally, you know? What’s emotionally moving me and how can I make an impact on others in some way? So movement isn’t just necessarily physical, it’s also emotional, and that’s something I try to implement as much as I can.
ABC/Eric McCandless
Having been a DWTS competitor, how do you think you best serve the contestants as a judge?
I genuinely try to give proper advice and critiques. For me, it’s not just about saying, “I didn’t like that; I did like that,” I try as best as I can to implement a task, “I need you to work on this for next week.” Because sometimes in the past, if I recall, I would do a jive that week and they’d say, “OK, I need you to work on your kicks and flips.” I’m like, “Well, they’re not going to do a jive ever again, or at least not next week,” so I try to say what to work on for the next week depending on what dance they get.
So, that’s my goal. I genuinely understand what they’re going through, and I understand the difficulty and how hard it is, but I also know what it takes. I know when somebody’s putting in the work and when somebody’s not putting in the work, and it’s evident, you can see. It’s not whether or not they’re good or bad, you can just see, “Oh, they’re not putting in that effort,” or “They’re not really taking this competitively, they’re just here to enjoy themselves.” So, I try to instill a little bit of that experience into them, but I also want them to enjoy it, too, because at the end of the day it should be an enjoyable experience.
No one has come close to your six Mirrorball Trophy wins. Do you think it’s choreography? Or do you think it’s your ability to teach people and to work with people and to give them what they need for them to learn?
I don’t know. For me, I look back at my experience and I feel very thankful because I think there’s a lot of different things. Having the right partner is important, but also, it’s important to maximize the partner that you have. I think there’s been lots of people who’ve had incredible talent and are great partners but unfortunately fell short. So, to really know, “OK, I have somebody that has the ability to go all the way,” and to really believe that and to really see it, to really see the whole journey.
For me, I’m always trying to work on myself with hearing things, learning things, listening to podcasts or reading books, and I think during that time, I was learning a lot about myself and I sometimes would pass that onto my partner. I would almost experiment with things with them as far as learning how to handle nerves or how to take control of our mental state to go out there and perform.
So, I don’t know, but I think that I will say one thing about myself as far as when I’m a competitor, I become quite obsessive, I never stop thinking about it. I’m lying in bed and I’m thinking about routines, I’m thinking about song choices, I’m thinking about the costumes. When I’m in it, I’m in it until the end, you know?
Derek Hough: Dance for the Holidays is a 38-city tour. What can we look forward to?
Oh man, yeah, super excited. I’m working on all the music right now. Actually, today they have about 12 musicians in the studio working, laying down all the trumpets and the brass and the drums, the bass and the guitars, all the music. It’s going to be great. It’s going to have all the classics and some new things. Some songs that you’re familiar with but you’re going to hear different versions of them, which I’m very excited about that we’ve created. There might be a Grinch tango, just saying.
It’s really cool, the track that we’ve created, but of course, the costumes, the lighting, the energy. And what I love, too, is that the holiday season is about love and joy and giving, and the secret to living is giving, and so for me to be able to implement that into the show and bring a lot of joy to the audience across the country, I’m super excited about it. We have a great, great cast of dancers, there’ll be singing and dancing and music. The usual suspects but in a completely different format, so I’m excited to bring the show to the people.
It sounds like that’s the way you keep your interest in music going as well.
Absolutely. In fact, there’s a version of “Drummer Boy” that we’re doing, every time I play it for somebody they grin, they’re like, “Whoa, this is cool.” It’s very rock and roll and who would have thought that “Drummer Boy” could be so cool, you know?
Dancing with the Stars will be returning to ABC and Disney+ on Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Next, Everything to Know About Dancing with the Stars Season 33
