Derek Hough in Footloose
|
Age: 20 (He turns 21 on 17 May.)
Currently: Starring as Ren McCormack in the West End premiere of the 1998 Broadway musical adaptation of the film Footloose at the Novello Theatre. This new production is directed and choreographed by Olivier Award winner Karen Bruce. It is Hough’s first professional principal role.
Hometown: “I’m originally from Salt Lake City, Utah,” says Hough. “It’s a very Mormon-populated community, where there are beautiful mountains.” Coincidentally, the town served as the location for the filming of the 1984 movie Footloose. “I grew up literally in viewing distance of the mill where it was filmed,” Hough says. Does he remember the movie being made? Not at all. He wasn’t even born until 1985, a year after it was released.
Crossing the Pond: In 1998, when Hough was just 12, he moved to London and has stayed here ever since. It was thanks to a combination of pursuing his then-developing passion for Latin-American dance and difficulties at home that brought him here. “I’d started out doing Latin-American dance when I was about 10 and did competitions in New York and L.A. These world champion coaches, Corky and Shirley Ballas, were travelling around the world teaching, and they saw me at this school in Utah and felt I had potential.” They also felt that Hough would be able to train with their son, Mark. Hough’s parents, who were going through a divorce at the time, wanted him out of that environment. “During the whole trauma of it, I went to six different schools,” Hough recalls. “I was a troubled kid who would bunk off school a lot. So it was fate or serendipity, I guess you could call it, that they brought me to England. I was only supposed to come over for a couple of months, but eight years later, I’m still here.”
Culture Shock: Coming to London under those circumstances and at that age must have been a bit of a shock. “It was, big time!” exclaims Hough. “The food, the weather, just everything was completely different.” It wasn’t what he expected. “Being naïve and stupid, I thought when I came over I was going to see people with little eyeglasses and horse carriages and stuff like you see in the movies.” The Ballas family provided him with security, an education and a profession. Their son was already at Italia Conti, a London performing arts school, which Hough also attended (and achieved 8 GCSEs). “It was great to be in an environment where I was being educated in something I was interested in, and I learnt everything over again.” He continued to be coached in Latin-American dancing, and the school let him pursue it. “They were very nice and understanding about the whole Latin thing—we were always off travelling around the world, and they were very accommodating to let us do that.”
Opportunity Knocks: Meanwhile, Mark Ballas came to be like a surrogate brother to Hough, who has four sisters but no brothers. They still write songs together and perform in a band called Almost Amy. Ballas has also gone on to become a musical actor and is currently in a U.K. national tour of the musical Buddy. “Growing up, we constantly did everything at the same time. I was juggling school and travelling around. We did something new at every given opportunity. I would take any opportunity that came up—just for the experience.” When he was 14 one such opportunity was spending a few weeks on the set of the first Harry Potter film. “I was only an extra, but you can see me very clearly in the first one,” says Hough. “A ghost walks through me, and I turn into an owl. It was really cool being on this amazing set at Pinewood Studios.”
Derek Hough and dancers
in Footloose
|
Panto and Flying Cars: Hough found a different home for his talents in the theatre. “I hadn’t done the theatre thing until two years ago, so I went to do a pantomime,
Jack and the Beanstalk, at Windsor. Wayne Sleep was in it, but I was the last guy on the left,” he jokes. “I also played the giant. I was 18.” Hough then made his West End debut in
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, appearing in the show for its final six months at the London Palladium. “I was the last guy on the left again,” he notes. “It wasn’t my type of show really, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.” He went on to play the title role in an amateur production of
Jesus Christ Superstar, and in the midst of that, there was a round of auditions for
Footloose. “They were just changing a few guys for the last tour,” Hough explains. “I went up for it, but I didn’t get it, actually. But the next time around, I’d improved a lot since then, and I was seen again. This time they wanted me.”
Let’s Hear it for the Boy: Playing the lead now—the first time he has done so in the West End—is quite a responsibility and a very demanding one. “This show is like running a marathon; you have to dance full-on and then bust out a song, and then do quite a serious scene especially towards the end,” Hough says. But he’s very excited by it. “The music’s really energetic and fun. And to be in a show of such high energy and with such a modern feel to it is great.” It has a particular personal resonance for him, too. “The story is very close to home for me. I grew up in quite a repressive community, which was very much like this story. And obviously being moved away from home at a young age, and my character’s father leaving him, is an absence I can relate to. It feels good and truthful to play that.” He’s also delighted by the benefits of playing the lead. “The biggest perk about doing this show is having my own dressing room. Not that I have anything bad to say about being in a dressing room with others, but I came from doing Chitty where there were 10 of us in one room. In the summer it was so hot. And backstage at the London Palladium is pretty derelict.”
Leisure Time: What does Hough do when he’s not working? “The first thing I try to do is write music. To be honest, that’s my ultimate goal. I’d love to write music and be in a band doing that. I’m still growing and developing as a person and discovering what I want and what I don’t as far as being happy goes. There are these three things in my life: theatre, Latin dancing and music. I kind of want to do it all!” So the best thing might be starring in a Latin musical that he’s written? “Quite possibly!” he exclaims. “That would be pretty interesting.” But otherwise, one of his favourite hobbies is doing water sports. “Though I’ll never have the time doing this play,” he moans. “When I go to America, we have a houseboat, and all my cousins and I go there and do wakeboarding, which is where you get pulled behind a boat on a board and you curve in and out of the waves. It’s the most fun thing in the world! But it’s not the best thing to do when you’re dancing, in case you get injured.”
Living In and Loving London: “I still live in the same place I’ve lived in since I was a kid, in Dulwich. I’m very, very fortunate, because it’s a very beautiful place and a very nice house.” He loves London. “It’s such a great city,” he says. “Especially when the sun shines. Because it’s quite rare, you appreciate it so much. And when it does, because it is so green from the rain, it just looks fantastic. I love it that I’m still finding stuff out—walking today from rehearsals to Covent Garden, I had no idea it was that close. And I love going to Leicester Square—that’s my favourite place, because I’m the biggest movie buff.”