From the start of this interview, David Hough’s enthusiasm for his Symphony of Dance tour fairly bursts out of him, as when he says, “It’s the show I’m probably the proudest of!” And that’s going some for this dancer who gained prominence as one of the cast of professionals teamed with celebrities in the competition series Dancing With the Stars, now in its 32nd season of bringing the art of dance to new heights.
Hough, that high-energy, wide-eyed dynamo quickly rose up the ranks and captured our attention with his visually gorgeous storytelling routines as he glided across the dance floor with elegance and finesse reminiscent of Gene Kelly. His inspirational numbers earned six celebrity team partners the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. He has segued from the dance floor to the judges panel with this season marking the fourth time in that role.
Hough’s brilliant choreography has been recognized with 13 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three wins, making him the most nominated male choreographer in Television Academy history. His book, Taking the Lead: Lessons from a Life in Motion (Aug. 5, 2014), is a New York Times best seller.
Today, Hough’s dance card is full. In addition to judging on DWTS, he is zooming off to destinations around the country with his first national tour in four years, Symphony of Dance. Starting Sept. 5, 2023, his wife, professional dancer Ebert, was accompanying him in the show.
Hough took a breather from his whirlwind tour to talk everything dance and more.
What should audiences expect when they come to Symphony of Dance?
The cast of dancers is extraordinary. You feel the live music aspect with a cello player, saxophone, percussion. The light design is incredible, the set design, it’s like a full Broadway show with singing, dancing and comedy. We’re rocking out nonstop but one thing people have told me when I talk to them afterwards is, they weren’t expecting to feel emotional. There are heartfelt and vulnerable moments connecting with the audience and that’s what I wanted to create.
How do you manage your packed schedule between touring and judging on Dancing With the Stars?
I guess I’m a glutton for punishment! I did a show at Radio City Music Hall, 13 shows a week, and I was a pro on Dancing With the Stars. After that I thought I could do anything. This tour is so demanding, it feels a lot more elevated than anything I’ve ever done before. It’s wonderful to go out there every night to share this with everybody. The audiences respond in a fantastic way and that gives me so much energy. And of course, judging is such a pleasure on Dancing With the Stars. When you love what you do, you have the energy, I guess.
Does all the audience response when you’re on DWTS affect you?
Last week, I wanted to give some constructive criticism now that everybody’s improving. I was surprised when they booed me. But that’s what’s so fantastic about the show. What I hope that shows the contestant is that the audience is rooting for them. The only way it throws me a bit is because we have a clock in front of us where it says you have 20 seconds to say something profound to help these people and with the audience reaction, I see we just wasted 6 seconds. I’m not going to get out what I want to say.
Your wife, Haley Ebert, is a professional dancer who is accompanying you on this tour. Are there any risks to working so closely with your spouse?
I would say that maybe in the early relationship [there were] but we’ve been together for eight years. We’ve been through so many different things, so we’re pretty solid. We get to share each night with each other, doing something that we love. It’s a unique experience.
Are you involved in every aspect of the show?
Yeah, I’m wearing a lot of hats, from the concept to the writing, but I also had a wonderful team of mostly women. All of a sudden I realized my entire team is all women and I love it. Maybe that’s because I was the only boy growing up around four sisters. They showed up for me in a beautiful way.
Why the title A Symphony of Dance?
This idea of symphony, to me, is not necessarily music. It’s the idea of collaboration. I think as individuals we each have our gifts, our talents, we each play our instrument, if you will. As a dancer, the body is our instrument. We sound beautiful as individuals but when we come together we really become something so much greater than the sum of our parts: We become a magnificent symphony and that’s what this show is.
How did you choose the music for this show?
It took me several months to put the music together because I did go in the recording studio. I worked with musicians, orchestras, and singers to build this music. I was fortunate enough to reach out to Michael Bublé and other great artists. They graciously sent me their music so I was able to play with the sound. The opening song is from an artist named Cody Fry. It’s so beautiful, he really is bringing in that Golden Age of film and orchestras into the now. It’s different than anything I’ve ever done before. The music component of this show is very important.
How do you stay so fit?
It’s a lot of recovery. Eating healthy, staying super hydrated, lots of supplements — and the most important thing is ice baths every single day. I have been doing ice baths for about 15 years. After every show I get in there for about 15 minutes to get my legs all frozen. For me, that’s the key to keeping the inflammation down. There’s a lot of injury and chronic pain, so if you get that under control you can have a much longer career … By the way, it’s funny I’ve been told that the shelf life for a dancer is early 20s: I’m 38 and I’m dancing harder than I’ve ever danced before. For me, it’s a challenge — game on, let’s do this!
What would you like to say about your fellow judge and mentor Len Goodman, who died in April?
I’ve known Len since I was a 13-year-old boy living in London. He was always so charming and gracious. He always said what he thought. Whether or not you disagreed with him, you always respected him. For me, in this show I honor Len with a beautiful, simple, clean waltz that I hope he would like, and so it’s a special moment that we get to share each night with the audience. And for the audience as well, they’re fans of the show and they also grew to love him.
This interview was conducted a few months after Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert were married in August 2023 and just prior to Erbert undergoing an emergency brain surgery on Dec. 7 after being diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel. Elbert is recovering after a second skull surgery. On Instagram Dec. 21, Hough wrote, “With immense relief, gratitude and overwhelming joy I’d like to share that Hayley’s cranioplasty surgery has been successfully completed as planned.” Hough’s Symphony of Dance has been put on hold. We at Long Island Press wish Erbert a speedy recovery and look forward to the couple resuming their show and dancing together again.
