‘It’s all life lessons’: How Derek Hough, Emmy-winning choreographer, got his start at a Utah studio

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah native Derek Hough has made waves in the world of dance, captivating audiences and earning four Emmys for Outstanding Choreography. He’s also judged on hit TV dance shows and is the only six-time champion from Dancing with the Stars.

Before becoming a big name in the dance community, Derek spent his early days training at a studio in Orem. ABC4.com visited that dance studio and met with Derek to learn more about his story of success.

The inspiration behind his latest Emmy-winning piece

Derek Hough currently holds the title for most Emmy nominations with 13 to his name. Derek’s latest win was in 2023 for his work to the song “Higher” by Michael Bublé, performed on “Dancing with the Stars.”

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Michael Bublé,” Derek said. “I think that especially in the ballroom and Latin community — and I told him this when I first met him — ‘Thank you. You’ve given us so much music to work with,’ because usually a lot of times we’re listening to the classics because there’s no contemporary music that has that feel. But when he came on the scene, he gave us this modern, contemporary, music that we dance to. We love foxtrots and quicksteps and tangos and cha-chas. So, we just hit it off.”

Derek said he has directed a few videos for Bublé, and was excited to share the stage with him for the number, as well as Derek’s wife Hayley Erbert.

“[It] also was my first time dancing with all the pros from the show in, like, seven years, so it was really cool to share the stage with them again … And of course, having my beautiful wife, you know, star in it,” he said. “She is my muse. She’s just incredible. She’s such an amazing dancer, and she just elevates every performance so much. It was great to share that with her and with my good friend Michael Bublé.”

Derek explained to ABC4.com what it was like to put that piece together, detailing how he worked with Bublé to ensure the music was perfect for each hit.

“I worked with the music. I had Michael Bublé send me all the stems of the music, which is all the isolated parts of the music. Then I was able to, in certain moments, take out things, add things, add percussion, take out the strings, put in the strings, and rearrange it a little bit to help tell the story, the narrative of the dance more,” he said.

Derek explained that he also builds music from scratch to emphasize the performances for his tours.

“It’s not a track and push play. I really go with musicians, orchestras, singers and I really create the music to help suit the dance, so that went into that dance as well,” he said.

He said the DWTS stage had a new garage space just set in, which he also made sure to utilize in the piece, and that he would set up his camera in the studio to figure out how he wanted to direct each shot.

Derek shared that winning these awards is a huge honor, especially when he didn’t originally view himself as a choreographer.

“It’s amazing … I wasn’t at a school for choreography to teach you, ‘OK, this is how you choreograph,’ and go through sort of a lesson,” he said.

”You just start doing stuff and making it up. So, for the longest time on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ even for like five seasons, people were like, ‘Oh, I love your choreography,’ or they say, ‘Oh, you’re a great choreographer,” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m not a choreographer. I would never associate myself with being a choreographer.’ Because I just didn’t believe I was any good, honestly.”

He continued: “Then several seasons in, I was like, ‘Wait a minute, maybe I do have good instincts. Maybe I can trust my ability and maybe I do have good ideas. Maybe I am a choreographer.'”

Derek remarked that having an opportunity to create on a show like “Dancing with the Stars” is something he does not take lightly.

“There’s so many incredible choreographers out there and creatives who I only wish I had their brilliance and talent. Honestly, I’m such a big fan of theirs. But I also recognize I’m so fortunate that I have a platform to create on … I don’t ever want to take that for granted …” he said. “Whatever I do, I want to try to make sure that it’s good and not squander this gift that we’ve been given. It’s pretty wild to go from not associating myself as a choreographer to now having four Emmys as a choreographer.”

Derek said inspiration for him can come from anywhere, whether it be a specific song, or a big red dress he knows needs to be in a flamenco piece. When he starts choreographing, he said he works to ensure the movements help in showing a story to the audience.

When it comes to creating, his advice is just taking that first step, and letting the creativity unfold naturally.

“There’s different ways, different processes of how to get into it. But one of the things I need to constantly remind myself is to start messy, start imperfect, start without a plan,” Derek said. “Just go. Because you can sit there and plan and think. And I know I do. I get in my head a lot … but until you’re actually moving and you’re in the studio and you’re actually just moving and creating things, it’s never going to come.”

“Sometimes we put these projects or these ideas or these routines or an event or whatever it is that we might be doing — we put it on such a high pedestal,” he said. “That puts a lot of pressure, and that puts a lot of tension, and that tension restricts creativity. So, I think bringing it off the pedestal, just bringing it down and thinking, ‘Hey, we’re just creating here. It’s okay.’ I think it’s important.”

Early days at Center Stage

Everyone gets their start somewhere. For Derek and his professional dancer sister Julianne Hough, their early dance days were spent at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio in Orem before they moved to further their training in London in their early teens.

“I just remember this lovely boy that just filled up the room. He’s just loved by everyone,” said Kim DelGrosso, the co-owner and artistic director at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio. “Derek always stood out as one of the greatest talents I’ve ever seen — as did Julianne. He always had vision. He always was thinking. He is so phenomenal. I think he’ll go down in history, like Fred Astaire. Just that kind of talent.”

Kim explained that the award-winning studio has been around for more than 35 years and focuses on teaching a variety of dance styles with the best teachers possible.

“I always go back to dancing at Center Stage. I remember not wanting to go to dance. You know, my mom made me go. She pulled me into the studio kicking and screaming. And I was like, ‘This is for girls’. And I walked in and I was like, ‘Wait, there’s girls here. This is great,'” he said, laughing.

Beyond dance, Derek remarked that his time at Center Stage also influenced how he lives his life.

“What was so special about it was that the teachers, the mentors — Rick Robinson and Kim DelGrosso — they were such wonderful people in my life, especially at a young age, not just to teach me about dance, but about life lessons,” he said.

“I was a young boy and I was, you know, mischievous and getting into trouble. They were very great people in my life to help guide me on the right path and what kind of person I wanted to be, as well as just learning about community and working together and teamwork and discipline,” he continued.

Derek said he appreciates how the many hours he’s put into dance training have also taught him lessons that he can apply in all areas of his life.

“I’m really thankful for dance because it’s helped me in so many different areas of life of just work ethic, getting things done, and working with people as well … I look back at lessons from when I was 12 years old and to even now, I’m still applying certain things. It’s all life lessons,” he said.

Center Stage has trained many dancers who have also reached fame, including Jenna Johnson, Chelsie Hightower, Brittany Cherry, Brandon Armstrong, Rylee Arnold, and Ezra Sosa who was just announced as a pro on “Dancing with the Stars.” Kim’s own daughter, Ashley DelGrosso, was also one of the first pros on “Dancing with the Stars.”

While it’s great to see the accomplishments of Center Stage students, Kim said it’s important that what they learn from the studio makes an impact on their lives beyond dance.

“Our job here is to train these people these dancers to dance, but also to be really good people and outstanding people. That’s what I look at,” she said. “I know they can dance. They better know how to dance, they dance five hours a day. If they don’t leave here knowing how to dance, we’re in trouble … But how are they in the community? How are they in the dance world?”

Today, Center Stage continues training the next generation of dancers. Rising dance couple Vladyslav Pohorilyi and Ceilidh Mcseveney just returned from taking second place in open amateur at the United States Dance Championships in Florida, where they competed in Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, and Jive.

17-year-old Ceilidh started dancing at Center Stage when she was in kindergarten, taking up ballroom at 11, and has been competing with Vladyslav, who moved from Ukraine three years ago.

“We have been traveling around the world. We just got back from Florida a few days ago. We placed second in worlds pretty much,” she said. “Growing up and dancing with so many amazing and talented people … It really pushes you to improve with them.”

The two said they find inspiration from those who trained at the studio before them, such as the Houghs, hoping to follow in their footsteps and be on “Dancing with the Stars” too.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I was like, ‘I want to be a pro. I want to be like Derek. I want to be Julianne.’ I just wanted to be a big part of that industry. So, I think that’s my goal in the future,” Ceilidh said. “It’s so inspiring, walking in the halls and seeing all their pictures, everything. It inspires you every single day to come be like, ‘Oh, I can have like that someday, too.'”

The couple said they will continue training hard to reach their goals, with more competitions on the horizon.

“We have competitions this weekend in Arizona,” Vladyslav said. “In two weeks, we go to one of the biggest competitions in England. It’s called the International Dance Championship. So, we will be performing at Albert Hall in London. You have to be qualified for this. You have to be in the top 50 couples in the world to qualify to perform there.”

How shows like DWTS opened the world to dance

Derek said shows focused on dance weren’t around when he started, but now they’ve opened the door for the ballroom to be recognized by a wider audience.

He had been putting in countless hours into his dance training when the call to be on a new show called “Dancing with the Stars” came — preparing him for a unique and unexpected opportunity.

“All of a sudden, this crazy dance show happens, which nobody thought was going to last one season, and now we’re going to our 33rd season, which is insane,” he said.

“It warms my heart because it just shows that through these television shows — like “Dancing with the Stars” and “World of Dance” and “So You Think You Can Dance” — it’s really educated and really made it accessible to so many people to where they don’t just look at dance as this niche art form,” he said.

He continued: “‘Dancing with the Stars’ has really showed that to where you have these amazing athletes — NBA champions, World Series football [players], boxing, I mean, all different walks of life and all sports, Olympic athletes — and they’re like, ‘Man, this is hard. This is really physically demanding.’ So, I think that it’s been great for us to see that sort of parallel and to really see the athleticism that it takes to be a dancer. Television has been an incredible vehicle to really spread the love and the artistry of dance.”

What’s next for Derek?

Derek is now getting ready to judge on the upcoming season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. In addition, he will be going on his “Dance for the Holidays” tour, with two shows set for Utah on December 18 and 19 at the Eccles Theater.

“We’re doing two shows in Salt Lake because the theater is just such a beautiful theater, but also the audiences have been so amazing,” he said.

Derek said a lot of preparation has gone into the show over the last few months to get every detail ready.

“It’s been 110 degrees here in Los Angeles, and I’m listening to like ‘Feliz Navidad,'” he said, smiling. “But it’s amazing. The music is incredible. So beautiful, so emotional as well, the tracks we’ve created.”

He said the tour will have an amazing cast of dancers, including some from Utah. He commented that the show will feature elaborate costumes, lighting, and production that emphasize the holiday spirit.

“One thing I [like] to do with all my shows, I sort of incorporate, fun, comedy, good times, energy, but also heart and emotion. The holidays for me call for that a lot. I think that this time of year, when we get to that time in November, December, it’s a joyful time,” he said. “It’s a wonderful time. But also it can be a difficult time. So, I think it’s important for me that my mission is to bring a lot of joy and a lot of levity to that time of year. I’m excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun I always love the audience interaction. It’s just the best feeling.”

Learn more and find tickets for the “Dance for the Holidays” tour on Derek Hough’s website. “Dancing with the Stars” premieres on Sept. 17 on ABC4 and Disney+. The next day, new episodes will also be streaming on Hulu.

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