Derek Hough has waltzed, jived and freestyled his way around the ballroom with everyone from Nicole Scherzinger and Lil’ Kim to Jennifer Grey and Brooke Burke, but chances are few performances compare to dancing with Celine Dion backstage in Las Vegas.
Hough recently posted an old clip showing he and his girlfriend Hayley Erbert backstage at the Canadian songstress’ previous “Celine” residency at Caesars Palace, where she started serenading Hough after he said, “Let me know.” The trio then broke out into dance together.
“Every time I’ve met Celine Dion, she bursts out into song about something I’ve said, which is hilarious,” Hough told us while reflecting on the epic moment at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday. “I love her and she loves dancing, which is so cool.”
“It was pretty awesome, man,” Hough continued, about how it felt to be dancing with Dion. “She’s queen. What you don’t understand is my girlfriend is her number one fan, so I was very proud of how she composed herself. She was very normal, but afterwards she lost her mind!”
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As for what the entertainers talked about during the encounter? Dance, of course!
“We talked about dancing and how she does dance class after her shows and how she wants to dance more,” said Hough. “Then she burst out into song and it was just a wild moment. Her manager was like, ‘Let’s go,’ but she was like, ‘No, let’s keep going.’ Meanwhile, it’s like 10 after the hour, so people are in the audience waiting – so I apologize to them!”
Given Dion’s love for dance and her clear admiration of Hough, it’s no surprise he recently said he would switch from judging “Dancing With the Stars” – which just premiered its 30th season – to competing on the show again if he could partner with Dion.
Fans will have to stay tuned to see if the series can ever sign “Queen Celine,” as Hough calls her. In the meantime, Hough is kicking off his own residency, “No Limit” on Wednesday night at The Venetian Resort’s The Summit Showroom. And, since Dion is meanwhile gearing up to launch her new residency, “Celine,” at nearby Resorts World Las Vegas, fans are hoping the two could convene on stage.
While Hough coyly replied, “We’ll see, we’ll see,” when asked about the chances of Dion, 53, heading over to The Venetian Resort to make a surprise appearance, he did tease other celebrities who might cameo in his show.
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“My girl [violinist] Lindsey Stirling plays on some of the tracks that we do, so it’d be cool to have her get up there and play live while we dance,” Hough, 36, said. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll get Ne-Yo up there.”
Hough said his sister, Julianne Hough, and his “Dancing With the Stars” co-star and pal, Mark Ballas, would be heading out for opening night of “No Limit” on Wednesday. The dance-centric show will see him explore different styles in the intimate setting of The Summit Showroom.
“It’s called ‘No Limit’ and there’s a reason for that because there really is no limit to this show,” he said. “We have so many different genres of music and dance – Motown, rock and roll, big band music, lap-dancing, tango, ballroom, contemporary,” said Hough, who recently took home a Creative Emmy for Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality programming. “And, my dancers are just stars. They’re the most incredible dancers ever and I’m lucky to be dancing with them, so it’s a great show and I’m really proud of it. We also have a live band and amazing costumes, so it has been a lot of fun.”
“No Limit” runs from 22 September to 21 November and Hough is juggling his performances with judging season 30 of “Dancing With the Stars”, which premiered on Monday with contestants including Mel C., Brian Austin Green, Olivia Jade and Mike “The Miz” Mizanin.
“It’s a great new cast and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Hough said.
