Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Derek Hough reflects on bringing show home to Las Vegas as residency ends

Derek Hough

Derek Hough (Patrick Grey / Erik Kabik Photo / Courtesy)

Visiting Las Vegas and seeing the faces of celebrities on billboards promoting their residencies and shows can be awe-inspiring for any child.

For Derek Hough, those young dreams turned into reality. Hough will finish his second Las Vegas residency, “Derek Hough: No Limit” in the Venetian’s Summit Showroom 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Sun sat down with Hough to talk about his residency, visiting his mother in Las Vegas as a child, and what’s next for the professional dancer. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Here is some of what was discussed:

To start us off, how has it been being back in Las Vegas, especially now that things are returning to a sort of pre-pandemic normal?

You know, it’s wild. It’s been so special. And you know, we were actually one of the first shows to come to Vegas even during the pandemic. It was last year – the fall; the audience still had to wear masks. Even then, it was crazy to see that we were selling out shows and to see people coming back and this hunger for live entertainment, which really encouraged me to come back this year to do even more shows. It’s just been, again, really beautiful reception and the energy and electric audiences, and it’s been great to see the hotels packed full. Filled with life. It’s been wonderful, it’s been a beautiful experience for us.

That’s great to hear, and I’m gonna ask you a little bit more about that later. But before that, I did hear that you actually spent some time in Vegas when you were younger, so what was it like growing up here during that time?

I didn’t live here, [but] my mom did. She lived here for 20 years and even my sister, Julianne, she went to a theater arts school here for – I think – a couple years too. But I would come here, and I would visit here all the time, you know. I’d be walking down the Strip, see all the shows and look at the lights and think maybe one day I’ll have my own show here. So it’s kinda crazy to think that I did it and I was here. And it’s all because of this thing called dance, which is wild. It’s really wild to think that dance has given me all these amazing opportunities. And Vegas being somewhere I came frequently, to now be here and look at places like wow, I was a kid and I used to come look at this place, and now here I am and now my face is on the billboards and the videos. There’s definitely moments where I have to stop and take stock and just be in the moment – feel really grateful, like wow, it’s amazing. Look where dance has taken me, it’s really cool.

Was there anything here in Las Vegas that really inspired you in your journey to becoming a professional dancer?

I think for me it was just the ability to dream big. You know, looking at these shows and how elaborate they are and the lighting, the effects, the spectacle. It was sort of like, this is a place [that] anywhere in the world, when you look at the shows here, they’re so big and elaborate. You’re like: wow, anything’s possible. If you dream it up, you can absolutely do it and it's absolutely possible. So it instilled a sense of nothing’s off limits, you know? You can dream it, you can do it. And that’s part of the reason I called the show “No Limit,” … there’s really no limits to Las Vegas.

And so, speaking of your residency, you planned to do one at the Flamingo back in 2020 that was unfortunately canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, two years later, you’re close to finishing your second residency at the Venetian. What has this experience been like for you?

Well, one, the Venetian is just incredible. It was funny because I was here, and I didn’t realize that it’s the second-largest hotel in the world. I was like, wow, what an incredible thing to be a part of and have a show in something so iconic like that. Also, it’s just so beautiful.

By the way, it was so funny. There’s a guy named Al who worked in our theater, and he’s been there for twenty-something years. He was watching our rehearsals and he said, “Derek, I gotta be honest with you. When I heard you were coming here, I was like ‘What? What kind of – what does that mean? Is there comedy? Is it stand-up? Is there magic involved, like, what is this?’ And I have to tell you – hand on my heart – this is the best show I’ve ever seen in this room in 20 plus years of being here, and you’ve just made a believer outta me.” And I was like, Dude, wow. Can I put that on video? ‘Cuz that was the best testimonial I could’ve gotten from anybody. That’s how we started it off, and it really gave me this confidence to believe. It’s all about this energy that we get, just this life that we put on this stage that people [will] come [for]. I love them coming in and expecting something, then exceeding their expectations every time and I’m just so grateful. Reflecting back, you know, we only have three more shows left. This is crazy! And we’ve just been busting our butts because we just love it – we just love what we do, and it’s been an amazing experience. It really has.

You said earlier that you used to be here and see the peoples’ faces on the billboard, and now you’re one of them. What’s that experience like, and what’s it like really seeing people from all over to see you?

Yeah, [so] within the show I’m singing, and we have a live band. And that’s also kind of another thing, like [people will say,] “Oh, we had no idea you sang.” So it’s cool to share that with everybody as well. But, as an adult being here, it’s also cool because I also have those years of coming here and partying, going to clubs. You know, having a great time. But, being here and experiencing the city in a completely different way – in a healthy way, if you will, because I have to be. I’m an athlete; I have to be on every night. It’s really interesting to experience it with a different perspective and a different appreciation. It’s just a completely different experience, it really is. It’s really cool.

During those two years of the pandemic when performing arts were especially affected, how did you spend your time? Were you working on planning your current residency at that point?

Honestly, for me, I was very fortunate. Being an overachiever, the pandemic was a time for me where I was given permission to relax. It was like, hey man, go garden and go water your plants. But, with that said, the overachiever in me likes to overachieve. And so, we were doing these constant videos, Disney sing-alongs, we did these full-out elaborate performances in our house where we were learning how to video edit and everything. So, you know, we were still performing just as much as ever during the pandemic, but it was just through social media and that modality. It was a great time to be creative, and a great time to connect to people in a different way. That’s my M.O., you know? I just generally want to bring some joy and bring a little bit of light – lightheartedness and fun – and maybe a little bit of inspiration, some wisdom into my live shows. And also, during that time, through my social media and digital platforms. That was my goal. I feel like I kinda gave myself that role and it was good.

With social media, do you feel like things such as dance or other performing arts were able to flourish a little more or have they changed the landscape of this industry a little bit?

So I think, as far as the landscape goes, nothing will ever replace the feeling of being in a room with an audience watching a performer. You can never replace that, you just can’t. It’s just that collective feeling of being with a group of people sharing and experiencing together physically in person. [That feeling] can never truly be replicated, and I felt that when I did my first residency – that hunger for people coming back to see shows and the excitement that they felt.

I think the landscape of sharing content [and] sharing entertainment definitely has changed in the last couple of years, even just with streaming services and things like that. But I think that the live entertainment experience, [being in person] is just something that we’ve done for a long time as humans and as a community, whether it be for rituals or celebrations or mourning or whatever it is. I think that [the] collective congregation of people in a room to experience something will never go away.

Do you think that’s part of the reason also why people might be more excited to go see a residency, like yours, or others in Las Vegas now?

Yeah, it’s really great to see [looking at it] from a business standpoint, because obviously for the community of performers to have a job, to have a life, [and] to make money to live – I’m so happy to see that the community is getting back on its feet and getting to thrive once again. That’s all I’ve ever really wanted to do is to create opportunities to where I’m able to hire, and create jobs, and create a show that employs people as well as entertains people. I don’t take that for granted, it’s very special.

Recently, between your shows, you visited one of our local dance studios. The Nevada Ballet Theater, and spoke with some of the kids there about becoming a professional dancer. What was it like for you to interact with the local community, especially the budding dancers?

It’s amazing. What’s even more amazing, honestly, is that this new generation of dancers is extraordinary because I think they’ve been so exposed to so many different styles of dance through social media and just watching things. They’re inspired so much, whereas back in the day, to watch these cool videos we had to borrow a VHS tape and you’d watch it, then give [the tape] to someone else. So now, they can watch [these dancers] on their phones in seconds and get inspired.

For me, the one thing that I wanted to instill in them is that there’s this desire to have shortcuts, or to have [a mindset of] “I wanna be famous,” or “I wanna do this to be seen,” or whatever it is. But nothing will ever replace being in the studio working on your technique, working on your craft. You know, that rehearsal time… you can never shortcut that.

I think it’s great that people are doing Tik Tok and doing these amazing dances or even simple dances that they’re doing for fun [and] including people, but if you want a certain type of dancer in a company or a professional in theater or television – you have to do the training. There’s no substitute for that.

But, to be honest with you, when I see some of these dancers they are truly, truly extraordinary. Honestly, they inspire me where I’m like, wow, I wanna keep learning [and] growing [and] I wanna keep getting better.

As if your weekend isn’t busy enough with your last show at the Venetian, you and Hayley Erbert are going to be teaching choreography at the American Dance Movement’s National Dance Day event at the Luxor. What made you decide to participate in that, and what do you hope people take away from it?

I’ve actually known one of the creators of National Dance Day, Nigel Lithgow, since I was 13-years-old back in London. I lived in London for 10 years, and he gave me one of my first jobs on television, actually. So I’ve known him for years, and years, and years. Of course, [I would be] supporting this thing that he’s created.

American Dance Movement is its own nonprofit organization that builds healthy communities and for me, I’m always a champion of dance and so I want to continue building the world of dance and encouraging people to dance. So, I think that “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Dancing with the Stars,” [and] “World of Dance” [have] really done that and we just wanna continue doing that. This is just sort of a way to connect to people, to celebrate dance, and have some fun. At the end of the day, too, that’s what it’s about. It’s not about you have to be a professional dancer [or] you have to be the best – we’re just gonna go move around a little bit. You know what I mean? That’s it.

We’ll learn some steps, and I always say: when in doubt, shake it out. If you’re not sure what we’re doing, it’s not about that – it’s all about us being together, moving around a little bit, having some fun, and that’s what it's all gonna be about. So we’ll be [at the Luxor] on Saturday – I think it’s at 1:30 p.m. – and we’re gonna have a good time.

And now with your residency nearing its end, what’s next for you? Any plans on staying in or coming back to Vegas for another performance circuit?

There’s a few projects on the horizon, some television shows. As far as live performances go, I’d really like to go back out on tour sometime soon with a brand-new show. I would love to go into peoples’ cities and go on that adventure to see them, and we’ll see. But Vegas has been such a wonderful experience, it’s been such a positive experience. For me now, it’s kinda like a place where I’m like, okay cool. In the future, when those moments come and the timing’s right, I would love to come back and keep doing shows here.