Derek Hough Shares “Leading Lessons”, Interviewed About His New Book, DWTS, And More
It’s a big week for Derek Hough. His new book “Taking The Lead: Lessons from a Life in Motion” is hitting book shelves everywhere. He talked with USA Today all about it and his “leading lessons”. Below is a take and a video. Interesting for what Derek said on Maks. I guess the shippers are really going to be disappointed now. I also love what he said about “live with passion” in the video too. Excellent interview. Be sure to read more at the link.
Leading lesson: Power over others is weakness in disguise.
Fellow Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, known as the bad boy of the ballroom, is really insecure. Hough says Maks and his Olympic skater partner Meryl Davis were never dating, despite their closeness on the show. “No,” he says, explaining that the show created a story line for them: Meryl became the coach, Maks became the student. “I’ve always known this,” says Hough, “but (Maks) is incredibly insecure. He’s not confident in what he does as much as he puts it out. So he overcompensates. If you think about it, that’s why people lash out, get angry or frustrated – is out of fear. If you’re very confident in who you are, you wouldn’t have reason to lash out.”
Leading lesson: Surround yourself with positive influences.
Derek says his parents’ split was “an absolute pivotal moment for me. … It was kind of a big deal to us, on top of it already being a big deal because of the (Mormon) community. … For a short period of time I went off and was skipping school and getting into trouble. And doing the stereotypical child acting-out type of thing.”
So he (and sister Julianne) moved to England to live with dance pros Shirley and Corky Ballas, parents of Derek’s fellow DWTS pro and best friend, Mark Ballas. “We were still kids and getting in trouble. We didn’t do any drugs. We would drink and sneak. I wouldn’t say we’d steal things – we might nick things.”
And it was Shirley who reigned them in. “We had a very strong sense of where we were going and goals. Shirley was there driving us every single day and making sure we were going to practice, and she was at practice with us. She is an incredible woman who kept us on a straight and narrow path.”
ETA: You can also read another article at USA Today with Derek at THIS LINK!! Below Derek talks of whether he’s returning to Dancing With The Stars. Thanks to Cathy for the heads up.
“I don’t know,” he says. “We have a new executive producer. I know they want to do a bunch of different things. I’m in that place again where it’s all about progress. What’s the next thing?”
So he is thinking of leaving? “I don’t necessarily mean after Dancing With the Stars, but within the show.”
His sister, DWTS alum Julianne Hough, says, “We keep talking about it. I think he wants to be not just challenged, but inspired, to go to work every day. … He wants to feel like there’s a greater purpose than just a dance competition. He’s always trying to find something that inspires him creatively.”
Is Derek calling Julianne a liar about her claims of being abused?
:::rolls eyes::: Yeah, I’m sure that’s what he’s doing, Shelly.
This video is so sweet! What he says is so Derek. Love the way he looks here.
I wish Derek hadn’t said these things about Maks. Not that they’re not completely true, but probably better left unsaid publicly. Just like most of what Maks says is better left unsaid publicly. It just fuels all kinds of crap and doesn’t really serve any purpose.
Although at this point we’ve now had pretty much every pro confirm Maks and Meryl were a showmance, including Maks himself. Yet the shippers just keep on shipping. It’s enough to make you seasick.
So i was just about to comment that it’s really interesting that Derek would say that about Maks, even though we all know it true, but considering how polite albeit honest he likes to be. I just noticed that he’s tweeted about that comment and how it’s out of context. Now that’s more like him 🙂
But it was obvious he meant vulnerable and not coming anywhere of jealousy. It was blown out of proportion by a small group but loud fans. Now will Maks ever apologize for his throwing shade on dwts and the other pros judges or doesn’t matter because he won?
It’s always nice to see and hear Derek like in this video. He is always just so in to describing his love of dancing. He’s such a positive guy!!
It disappoints me that Derek felt the need to tweet about it. I like a little non-vanilla Derek.
Maks will never apologize for anything he’s said. And that’s why Derek is the real man.
LOL @ “non-vanilla Derek”. Yup that definitely describes it hahaa! I guess what I love with Derek is that I can for the most part peg things and say yup he’d say that or nope it’s unlike him. He doesn’t seem to have one personality for special occasions and another for others. He is who he is and I feel he tells it like it is without begin cruel or airing other ppl’s dirty laundry even when it’s stuff people already know about. Heck he was even diplomatic about Abby Lee Miller. Yup, it definitely takes a real man to apologize or correct a misunderstanding.
I really appreciate Derek’s candor here. Seems to me like many were upset Derek said anything about Maks to begin with because it’s not his “usual PC self”, but I disagree. He’s said very much the same thing when asked about Maks in his Q&A sessions on tour, so his response seemed pretty tame to me. But reading through the interview a few times, it reads very “chopped & screwed.” A lot of it doesn’t flow because of the media spin lead ins.
This kinda got lost in all the “controversy” but I like hearing about his years in England with Shirley. Sounds like an amazing lady. She raised him right. Whether I’m reading an interview or hearing him talk, Derek speaks with such maturity. Like in that little video clip, his vibe is so zen. He’s grown so much since Season 5 and he continues to grow as a person. He’s definitely in a place of fulfillment, where he loves to be inspired and inspire others. Can’t wait to get my hands on his book!
After reading the “metro-something” article yesterday,I understand much better why Derek is so attached to DWTS. Didn’t realize that he hadn’t been choreographing prior to the show, so the show really gave him the opportunity to grow and experiment. Of course, if he hadn’t been doing DWTS he might have been doing something else which would have led him down the same path. But as currently constituted, his Emmy win came courtesy of the benevolence of abc and DWTS.
Well, of course, Susan. You don’t get Emmy’s unless you’re on TV. Therefore, he got an Emmy because he was on DWTS. But the producers didn’t do the choreography and that Emmy benefits THEM every bit as much as it does Derek. Don’t ever forget that. Derek will go out of his way to give credit where due – sometimes more than is due.
Yeah, I was in the room when Derek was asked about Maks and Meryl and both Derek and Julianne were very happy for Maks and spoke quite fondly of him and how he worked with Meryl. But of course, for the delusion set, no apology is good enough, Derek is a horrible person. But I have to ask – what does that make Maks??
Anyway, it’s a shame that the main thrust of Derek’s book and message got lost for a few hours because of wackos – I agree that it’s very interesting to hear about his life in London. Can’t wait to read the book. And, also unfortunately for the vile fans who want backlash, the whole “maks thing” is pretty much over except for the cray cray Maks fans.
Derek has never needed anybody to make him look good. He’s the real deal, and he calls it as he sees it, and in fact, every single one of his celebrate partners looked good because of Derek’s unique talent as both dancer and choreographer. As far as most of us will agree on is that you don’t win 5 MBT’s and 6 nominations for an Emmy, (winning one already) if you don’t have what it takes to stand before Kenny Ortego and be told that you just “redefined choreography.” If I were Maks or Val, any constructive criticism that they get from this living legend should be absorbed and used to better themselves and fine tune those areas. And, as for Maks’ fans, shame on them for accusing Derek of being anything but honest with good intentions; they all need to go down to the river and get a good dunkin’ to receive a dose of right-minded thinking.
Susan, #12: if that’s the root of an Emmy win, then every nominee who wins does so at the benevolence of their show and network. I guess I don’t completely follow your point.
Rose1 — What was notable to me was realizing for the first time that Derek hadn’t choreographed prior to DWTS. I guess I hadn’t realized that. That explained to me — it might not to anyone else — why Derek has always expressed such “loyalty” to DWTS, and consistently says he will always be part of the show. Derek was given the opportunity, freedom, and support to develop into the extraordinary choreographer he is. And to your comment, I do think that’s largely true. Look at it in reverse: if a show/network doesn’t give their performers the opportunity to be brilliant, they won’t be. Certainly not everyone who gets the opportunity has the talent to take advantage of it. Derek does, and he did, and the world is clearly a better place for it.
I’m reading Derek’s book and coming to realize that he’s surrounded himself (or was surrounded by) the “right” people for him to be the man he is – clearly, not all kids would take advantage, but he sure did. So while DWTS might get credit for him choreographing, he had his parents, Shirley, Corky and Italia Conti (to name just a few) who laid an amazing foundation that he took advantage of which allowed him to be a creative genius. Clearly, everyone that DWTS hires ISN’T. So it has to be far more than just DWTS.
As for Derek’s loyalty, it’s becoming clear that he is loyal to people who are loyal and supportive to him. It’s very much a two way street with him, I think. This book may not be structured the way I would structure it as a writer, but it is *fascinating*. And that’s the best compliment I can give.
#Susan – “What was notable to me was realizing for the first time that Derek hadn’t choreographed prior to DWTS” you got it wrong.. Derek Choreographed before DWTS. In 2007 he help Bruno Tonioli in the BBC TV – DanceX show in England to win the show, yes by choreographing..
If I’m not mistaking – this is how DWTS learned, via Brubo, about Derek and his amazing talents both in choreographing and the ability to motivate & guide dancers or partners.
For me, DWTS gets credit only for giving him the opportunity/forum/stage. That’s it. Derek did the rest. There were many years, and many influences, a lot of hard work, and his innate brilliance that contributed to his ability to achieve such excellence.
Pardon me, but I didn’t get it wrong:
Longtime “DWTS” fans may be surprised to learn that Hough had never really choreographed professional routines before joining the cast. “I wasn’t a TEACHER, I wasn’t a choreographer. I was really faking it till I made it.” – See more at: http://www.metro.us/newyork/lifestyle/career/2014/08/03/derek-hough-shares-secrets-leading-dance-floor/#sthash.3h4iuD88.dpuf
Now the article may have gotten it wrong, and misquoted Derek as saying “I wasn’t a choreographer,” but that is what the article said.
I remember in an interview with Amy & Derek, I believe after the show when Abby Lee Miller was a guest judge, Derek explained why he disapproved of her way of teaching young ones to dance. The way he described his childhood dance teaching and the tremendously good influence it had on him, sounds like he is explaining it more in depth in his book. Can’t wait to get a copy. And, get his movie “Make Your Move.”
#Susan – no dispute about that, just the fact that Derek had some choreograph experience BEFORE coming into the show.
#Vered — this is how Derek was quoted by Metro.us in an article on Sunday:
Longtime “DWTS” fans may be surprised to learn that Hough had never really choreographed professional routines before joining the cast. “I wasn’t a teacher, I wasn’t a choreographer. I was really faking it till I made it.”
So whatever his experience was, he didn’t consider himself a choreographer when he began on DWTS.
This may be an instance of Derek’s memory being faulty…or the article being wrong. Because was, in fact, a choreographer in England for Bruno’s DanceX thing. There’s even video. Now, maybe he was not a *teacher* – but he was credited as choreographer. Perhaps not in the same way as he was on DWTS, where it’s all on HIM. Perhaps he was more of an associate choreographer. In any case, Derek is making some sort of distinction there. Or the article is wrong.
True and he was listed as teaching at Italia Conti too. His point was probably trying to say he was not experienced as say Louis but he didn’t let lack of experience keep him down.
I think he taught hip hop at Italia Conti – maybe that’s the distinction he’s making, that he never choreographed *ballroom* before. Because DanceX wasn’t ballroom either, as I recall.