Dancing With the Stars has been a staple in our household. When the show first premiered in 2005, my wife was glued to the television. Little by little, each member of my family started watching too and rooting for a certain celebrity or professional dancer. Everyone in our household has their favorite professional dancer, and one of my wife’s favorites was Derek Hough. There was something about his style and technique that made him stand out for us. We would always vote for him and his celebrity partner. What was fantastic was seeing him win his first Mirror Ball Trophy with Brooke Burke on Season 7.

Since then, he has won the Mirror Ball five more times and is now sitting on the other side of the judging table. Seeing Derek’s growth on the show has been amazing. Derek is a mentor to all of the professionals and is a fan favorite. Amongst his duties as a judge on the show, Derek has branched out and starred in movies, danced in videos, and directed his own specials. Now the 4 time Emmy-winning dancer is bringing some of that passion and professionalism to the country in his show Derek Hough: Symphony of Dance: Encore!

The show is much more than dance numbers. The show is a celebration of what makes music and dance unique. Throughout the show, Derek shares stories from his life. He talks about almost losing his wife, Haley Hough, during their tour due to a brain bleed. Derek shares a tender moment talking about his good friend, mentor, and most remembered as one of the original DWTS judges, the great Len Goodman. There was not a dry eye in the house during this moment. Lastly, Derek shares about losing one child and how rainbows gave his life light again and how this light lead to the birth of his daughter.

During all of these stories, Derek and his dance troupe express their feeling on these moments with a dance. Seeing the dancers emote their feelings with their moves is not only cathartic but also magical. As I looked around during these performances, I could see audience members swaying in their seats or wiping away tears as the music filled the theater. Music and dance not only trigger our memories, but also help create new ones.

If I had to sum up the show in one word, I would say “Engaging”! Derek kept the audience engaged, and there were many moments when they could interact with him on stage. At one moment, Derek pulled a group of ladies on stage to perform a stunt with him. Derek lined up the ladies by height. He had them all look down, and then he ran and jumped over all of them.

The man was a constant ball of energy on stage. One minute he was dancing, next minute he was playing guitar, and then he was singing songs along with an original song about his time on Dancing with the Stars.

Derek Hough is the headliner, but his dancers had some incredible moments too. The music was not only ballroom-type songs, but there were songs from Metallica, Bjork, Rolling Stones, and The Miami Sound Machine. The mixture of music was brilliant because the audience consisted of people of all ages. By the end of the night, everyone would be introduced to songs they might not have ever heard before.

Symphony of Dance: Encore was a fascinating and engaging show. Derek Hough and his dance troupe gave the audience a show that helped them escape the world for a few hours. As the show ended, Derek shared some words of wisdom with the audience to always look for the good and to enjoy all the moments you can with those you love.

As the theater lights came back on and audience members walked into the lobby, you could see that some of them had a pep to their step and a smile on their faces. Derek Hough and his dance troupe did that. They made everyone feel better and realize the power of dance and music.