In one week this fall,
“I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment,” Hough said with a laugh during a video interview from Minneapolis. “I love the real-time interaction with audiences, where they see you on TV and then the next day, you’re in front of them live.”
Since his 2007 debut on “Stars” as a “pro” — a professional dance partner to an eclectic roster of celebrities with varying degrees of dance talent — audiences have had ample opportunity to see Hough on both screen and stage. In addition to “Stars,” he appeared in Radio City Music Hall’s Spring Spectacular; on TV shows like “Nashville,” “High School Musical” and “Hairspray Live!”; and as a judge on Jennifer Lopez’s dance competition “World of Dance.”
That exposure has made Hough, 38, one of the country’s most visible dancers, and the rare performer who could headline a nationwide dance-centric tour that has sold out shows on both coasts and in the Midwest. “Symphony of Dance,” which began in October in Hough’s hometown, Salt Lake City, arrives at the Beacon Theater in New York on Nov. 27.
“He reminds me of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, the triple threats,” the veteran choreographer Bruno Tonioli, a “Stars” judge, said, referring to dancers who sing and act as well. “What he does always has that universal appeal.”
Hough’s popularity reflects the unlikely and enduring success of “Stars,” now in its 32nd season. Part of the show’s allure is its approachability.
“Ballroom is one of the most accessible and relatable forms of dance for mass audiences,” said Conrad Green, an executive producer who is now the showrunner for “Stars.”
There was little mainstream representation of ballroom dance when Hough was a bullied child growing up outside Salt Lake City with four sisters. He knew nothing of Kelly and Astaire but adored Michael Jackson. But there was a family connection to ballroom: His parents met on a college ballroom dance team.