Derek Hough

Derek Hough is a dancer. He moves to a happy beat. He can dance in many ways. He also plays music. He can play the drums and the piano. Derek was on a show called Dancing with the Stars. He won that show six times. He also helps teach others how to dance. He can even act in movies. He loves to share his skill with the world.

Derek Hough is a talented dancer and performer. He can do many things. He is a ballroom dancer and a singer. He also acts in movies and on stage.

Derek grew up in Utah. His parents met on a dance team. This love for dance stayed in his family. When he was 12, he moved to London. He lived there for ten years to study. He learned jazz, ballet, and tap dance. He also learned to sing and do gymnastics.

Derek is famous for the show Dancing with the Stars. He was a professional dancer on the show for many years. He won the Mirror Ball trophy six times. That is a record for the show. He later became a judge on the series.

He has won four Emmy Awards for choreography. Choreography is the art of making dance moves. He also helped ice dancers win gold at the Olympics. Derek can play many instruments. He plays the piano, guitar, drums, and bass. He loves to share his skills through dance and music.

Derek Hough is a talented performer who shares his skills through dance, music, and acting. He is a professional ballroom and Latin dancer, but he also sings and acts. Many people know him from his work on television and on big stages. He has even worked as a judge for dance competitions. His life is filled with movement and creativity.

Derek's journey with dance started very early in his life. He grew up in Sandy, Utah, in a family that loved dance. His parents actually met while they were on a ballroom dancing team in college. When he was 12 years old, he moved to London to study. He lived there for ten years to train with expert coaches. At a school called the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, he learned many styles. He practiced jazz, ballet, tap, gymnastics, and singing.

He became a very successful professional dancer and choreographer. In 2002, he won the IDSF World Latin U-21 Championship. He also won the Blackpool U-21 Latin title in 2003. Derek is very good at choreography, which is the art of creating dance moves. Because of this skill, he has won four Emmy Awards. These are special awards for excellence in television. He has also been nominated for the award 14 times.

Derek is most famous for his time on the show Dancing with the Stars. He was a professional dancer on the series from 2007 to 2016. During those years, he won the Mirror Ball trophy a record six times. He won with many different celebrity partners. For example, he won with Brooke Burke in season seven. He also won with Nicole Scherzinger in season ten. Later, he won with Jennifer Grey in season eleven. He even won again with Kellie Pickler in season sixteen.

Beyond television, Derek has worked on many other exciting projects. He helped ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White with their routine for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Their dance helped them win a gold medal for the United States. He also went on tour with his sister, Julianne Hough. Their tour was called "Move Live on Tour" and visited many cities. Derek is also a musician who can play the piano, guitar, drums, and bass.

Derek Bruce Hough is a multi-talented American performer. He is a professional ballroom and Latin dancer, a choreographer, and an actor. He also works as a singer and a television personality. Hough has made a significant impact on the world of dance and entertainment. His career spans many different platforms, including television, film, stage, and live tours. He is widely recognized for his technical skill and his ability to create movement.

Hough's professional journey began with intense training in London. When he was 12 years old, he moved to England to study. He lived there for ten years under the guidance of coaches Corky and Shirley Ballas. During this time, he attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. He received comprehensive training in many disciplines. These included jazz, ballet, tap, gymnastics, and theater. He also learned to sing and became a musician. He can play the piano, guitar, drums, and bass.

As a competitive dancer, Hough achieved high honors early in his career. In 2002, he won the IDSF World Latin U-21 Championship. He followed this by winning the Blackpool U-21 Latin title in 2003. He also earned the LA Outstanding Dancer of the Year award. Beyond performing, he is a highly skilled choreographer. Choreography is the art of designing and arranging dance movements. His skill in this area has earned him 14 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography four times.

Hough is perhaps most famous for his work on the ABC series Dancing with the Stars. He served as a professional dancer on the show from 2007 to 2016. During this period, he set a record by winning the Mirror Ball trophy six times. He achieved these victories with various celebrity partners. He won his first title with Brooke Burke in season seven. He won again with Nicole Scherzinger in season ten. He won a third time with Jennifer Grey in season eleven. He won a fourth time with Kellie Pickler in season sixteen. He won a fifth time with Amber Riley in season seventeen. Finally, he won his sixth title with Bindi Irwin in season twenty-one.

His influence extends to major international sporting events and large-scale productions. In 2013, Hough collaborated with ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White. He worked on their short dance program for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The routine required specific quickstep and foxtrot rhythms. Davis and White won the gold medal, marking the first Olympic title in this event for the United States. Hough also co-starred in the film Make Your Move. He appeared in the musical-drama series Nashville and the live production Hairspray Live!.

Hough has also found great success as a live touring artist. In 2014, he and his sister, Julianne Hough, launched the "Move Live on Tour." This tour visited over 40 cities across the United States and Canada. The show featured both dancing and singing. Due to high demand and sold-out venues, they returned with a second tour in 2015. This second tour also visited more than 40 cities and used larger venues. They collaborated with choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo, known as Nappytabs. In 2016, they also hosted "Move Interactive," a free fitness pop-up event in Los Angeles.

Today, Hough continues to be a major figure in dance media. He transitioned from a professional dancer to a judge on several programs. He served as a judge on the NBC series World of Dance from 2017 to 2020. He also became a judge on Dancing with the Stars starting in its 29th season. He replaced Len Goodman as a judge on the show. In September 2025, Hough began hosting the program Extra for its 32nd season. His career demonstrates how dance skills can lead to diverse roles in television and music.